Bronze Age Burial Site Discovered at Sellindge Housing Development

Sellindge development unearths Bronze Age burial mounds – planners vow to preserve them in a new public park

In late 2016, a local developer quietly began laying the groundwork for what would become the Grove Park housing scheme on the east side of Sellindge. Quinn Estates, in partnership with the Bucknell family trust, brought forward proposals for the development of an 18.96-hectare site bordering the A20.

As reported by the Shepway Vox Team, Quinn Estates “booked Sellindge Village Hall on Friday July 15th 2016… to give a presentation/consultation on what they proposed and to gather views of the villagers.” This meeting marked the beginning of public engagement. It quickly revealed the challenge ahead: Sellindge’s own Neighbourhood Plan respondents had declared “that no further large development was wanted”.

Undeterred, Quinn Estates submitted a formal planning application (reference Y16/1122/SH) in 2017. Folkestone & Hythe District Council granted outline planning permission,with conditions, on 15th day of January 2019, describing the scheme as a “neighbourhood extension” of the village. The official planning decision stated the proposal was for:

“for the creation of up to 162 houses including affordable, selfbuild, & Retirement Housing up to 929 Sqm Class B1 Business Floorspace, Allotments, Recreational Ground & Multi use games area, nature reserve, and associated access, parking, amenity spaces and landscaping”

In practice, only part of that allocation is being built in the first phase. Reserved matters approval  was granted for 34 homes and 20 self-build plots. Phase 1 is complete and all but one home is unoccupied.

Grove Park Launches

By the summer of 2022, the Grove Park development was ready for a public marketing launch. In a press release hosted by Locate in Kent, the development was promoted as “Kent’s first large scale development of EPC ‘A’ rated new homes.” The homes feature:

“solar panels, high grade insulation and air source heat pumps” and be “50% more energy efficient than the average new build, and around 70% more efficient than the average UK home”.

But as showhomes were being finalised, work was simultaneously underway to uncover something far older.

A Bronze Age Cemetery Beneath the Soil

In June 2022, archaeologists from SWAT Archaeology began trial trenching across the site, as required under planning conditions. Their evaluation report soon revealed signs of deep human history. They recorded:

Late Bronze Age to Earliest Iron Age agricultural activity, mostly in form of north-east; south-west aligned rectilinear field system with a trackway.

Even more striking was the discovery of Roman burials:

“Within the central-western extent of the site a Roman burial ground was exposed containing at least two cremation urns, grave goods and potential articulated grave.”

This prompted a recommendation for a full excavation before any development could proceed:

“The proposed development will have an impact on buried archaeological resource and further mitigation measures are needed.”

The Discovery of a Ritual Landscape

Excavation began in earnest later in 2022 and continued through 2023. What the SWAT team uncovered surpassed expectations. In their Interim Post-Excavation Assessment (2023), they declared:

“Archaeological excavations have revealed the presence of [a] vast Bronze Age barrow cemetery… which appears to have close parallels with similar sites (including those that have been designated as nationally important).”

These barrows—prehistoric burial mounds—formed part of a sacred funerary landscape. Though many had been levelled by medieval ploughing, the SWAT team identified:

“two double-ring barrows… with central burials.”

Other features included Roman enclosures, trackways, pits and field systems. The site showed evidence of long-term occupation:

“Significant occupation on site from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age and Roman Period… Funerary practises appeared to take place in the west of the site… before dwindling in the late 2nd and 3rd centuries, the site being abandoned probably in the 4th century.”

No Building on the Barrows

In light of the importance of these discoveries, the development layout was modified to ensure preservation. The excavation report confirms:

“Central and western extent of Area 4 (4b) containing two Bronze Age ring barrows and series of Roman rectilinear enclosures was designated for preservation in-situ.” (Hatched in red on left)

Rather than destroying the ancient tombs, the developer agreed to protect and reconstruct them:

“Two located the most to the west ring barrows were preserved under recently reconstructed mounds which will become a permanent part of a future park and will be accompanied by two heritage lecterns providing information for the public about discoveries on the site and how they relate to similar discoveries in surrounding area.”

The barrows are now landscaped into the design as grassy mounds, forming a unique centrepiece for the development. No housing will be built on them.

The archaeologists emphasised the significance of this approach:

“By agreeing to undertake this reconstruction project, Quinn Estates are significantly contributing to the dissemination of the results of archaeological investigation and will create another worth-visit heritage-related place in the County. It will also help with integration and add a character to the newly built housing estate in the Village.”

July 2023 Stakeholder Meeting

A year after the discoveries began, in July 2023, Cllrs Scoffham, Cllr E Martin, Cllr Hollingsbee & Leader of the Council Cllr Jim Martin , planning officers and stakeholders meet the developer and owner Mark Quinn to see how works were progressing, and look at the archaeological features. The meeting provided an opportunity for reflection, reassurance, and review of the development’s future.

A New Kind of Development

Today, Grove Park is no ordinary housing estate. It is a rare fusion of future and past—where cutting-edge, zero-carbon homes rise beside sacred Bronze Age tombs. In the rush to build, too many developments bulldoze the land’s memory. Here, history was not erased; it was unearthed, honoured, and protected. The double-ring barrows—once sites of ancient ritual—now form the living heart of a modern village. Grove Park doesn’t just offer homes. It offers a story 3,000 years in the making. And it stands as proof that we can build for tomorrow without burying yesterday.

The Shepway Vox Team

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