Pippa Middleton’s ambitious plans to improve her Barton Court property are literally running into a stone wall, and by stone we mean thousands of years old.
Archaeologists have warned that the proposed renovations could disturb prehistoric remains hidden beneath the grounds of the £15million country house.
The Middleton Matthews duo have submitted planning applications to build a conservatory, stables and garden room, along with other extensions.
But experts brought in to assess the site have flagged the risk of uncovering relics from the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, medieval and post-medieval periods.
Heritage Planning Services (HPS), the archeology consultancy, told West Berkshire Council that the property is in an area rich in ancient human activity, with flint tools and evidence of early hunter-gatherer camps discovered across the Kennet Valley.
“Mesolithic remains are known from scattered flints and semi-permanent sites in the area, and even prehistoric flints have been found directly on the estate,” the report states.
The Kennet Valley, which stretches 12 miles between Kintbury and Aldermaston, has long been famous for early human activity, with butchered animal bones and ancient campsites appearing along the river’s floodplain.
HPS warned that Pippa’s plan for a formal raised garden, the demolition of some existing structures and the construction of new ones could potentially damage an undesignated heritage asset.
