Back garden archaeology sheds light on historic Ledbury

Back gardens in Ledbury are about to give up secrets of the past as part of the ongoing England's Past for Everyone community history project.

The project, which has been working in the town for the last two years with local volunteer researchers, is about to commence a series of excavations across the historic town centre.

This is being done in conjunction with Herefordshire Council's archaeology service, which is providing training, tools, and professional supervision.

"It will be watched over by Chris Atkinson, the council's community archaeologist," said Bill Bloxsome, Herefordshire Council's conservation manager.

"Seven back gardens with willing owners have so far been selected for small trial trenches to be excavated by volunteer excavators. These sites are distributed right across the historic town centre, from the Homend through High Street to the Southend," added Bill.

He said the aim is to determine, from pottery discarded in the gardens and back plots, how the built-up area has expanded and contracted through the centuries.

The work commenced with training sessions for the volunteers and the digs will continue throughout October.