From the report:

The Grounds:
"The grounds containing rain water cisterns which were fed from the barn and house roofs. Separate outbuildings near the house were fitted with large ovens; and wash house and privy. An artesian well reputed to be 30 ft deep, and located in a small ash tree grove to the west, has since been capped with a safety grill.

Also in the grounds were the demolished remains of a barn, cow/bullock stalls and walled garden which has been cleared to determine site plans.

A trial excavation was cut in a hollow below the house, exposing pottery, 'Lions Foot furniture' or fender fittings of late Georgian or early Victorian period, with horseshoes and farm ironwork etc. The section indicated a back-filled cavity for perhaps a pond or possible construction working area e.g. for lime mortar fixing.

The house was surrounded by flint pathways overlaid by demolition and natural rubble."

Finds:
"A George III 'guinea weight'; silver spoon; 1773 1/2 penny; folding knife; saddlery items including a horse brass, and lady's brass belt buckle (found by doorsill); bone china fragments; combed slipware etc; largely of late Georgian early Victorian styles were found in several places.

Considerable numbers of clay pipe fragments together with broken pottery of various types were found in the construction trench at the south wall; with a metal fireplace surround under the floor between subwalls the eastern half.

NOTE All the finds were presented to the Visitors Centre of the Capstone Rural park, many being displayed in the Centre's displays relating to the "ARCHDIG" picnic site created around the excavations. The cellar was filled for safety reasons, with display boards mounted to illustrate the history."

Interpretation
"Recorded information and local personal knowledge is limited, but evidence from the site indicates that in the late 1770's a large farmhouse was built on the site of an older structure (viz the remains of the flint wall in the cellar). This house had two stairways into the cellar, one from the front room and the other from the kitchen.

At some later date a partition wall was built, with various reinforcing walls and the existing entrances to the cellar were blocked, and the building was divided into two dwellings. This possibly coincided with the change of occupancy post 1841, when William Wedd was replaced by Thomas Woolley. Cellar access was through external lift up flaps. There were no windows on the longer side of the house on the east and west sides, possiblyan effect of the Window Taxes (1690-1851), which were increased between 1746 and 1808; therefore each room, both upstairs and down had only one window at the north and south sides respectively.
Although pottery finds were not numerous for the early occupancy they were of good quality, indicating that the first Georgian occupants had a good standard of living but when the house was divided for two families of farm labourers these standards were reduced."

(1)

<1> Lower Medway Archaeological Group, 2002, Excavations at: Upper Sharstead Farm, Chatham, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE13330.