Following an archaeology-themed greetings card design competition with Barratt and David Wilson Homes, two imaginative pupils from a school in Grove are spreading joy to residents at the homebuilder’s development, Brookside Meadows.

As part of a ‘Welcome Home’ project, the housebuilder reached out to Grove CE Primary School to ask the children to design greeting cards that can be handed out to new home buyers.

The pupils were tasked with educating home buyers on the history of the site on Denchworth Road which, last year, uncovered a series of archaeological finds, including a remarkable Roman villa complex.

Local Year 5 pupils, Ivy and Elliott, were chosen as the winners of the competition by the five-star housebuilder and will now see their cards distributed to residents at the growing Brookside Meadows development. Elliott’s design will be sent to Barratt Homes customers, whilst David Wilson Homes buyers will receive Ivy’s cards.

Ivy and Elliott hand-delivering some of their Welcome Home cards at Brookside Meadows

placeholder image — Ivy and Elliott hand-delivering some of their Welcome Home cards at Brookside Meadows

Alecia Leon, Year 5 Teacher and Deputy Headteacher at Grove CE Primary School, said: “We were thrilled to be asked to take part in this competition. The children were very excited to learn about the artefacts that had been found on the site during the early excavation. We spent a lot of time looking at the pictures and reading the news articles as preparation for our artwork.”

Ivy and Elliott’s unique designs featured the message ‘Welcome Home’ to greet new members of the Oxfordshire community, with subtle nods to archaeology incorporated into the designs.

Each competition winner has received a £50 book token from Barratt and David Wilson Homes.

Working in collaboration with Barratt and David Wilson Homes, Red River Archaeology carried out the excavation on the site and came across a wide range of fascinating discoveries.

Ivy and Elliott writing in some of the cards following the competition with Grove CE Primary School

Evidence suggests the landscape was inhabited since the Bronze Age and includes a villa complex, richly decorated with painted plaster and mosaics, and a monumental hall-like ‘aisled building’ with hints of internal colonnades. The artefact-rich site was long-lived, with Roman activity extending from the 1st or 2nd Centuries into the late 4th, or perhaps even the early 5th Century AD.

The finds include astounding quantities of painted plaster inclusive of floral motifs, mosaic tesserae, hypocaust box flue tiles, a complex brickwork floor, miniature votive axes, ‘Samian’-style red-slip tableware, hundreds of coins, rings and brooches, and a horse-headed belt buckle dating to AD 350-450.

Emma Hawkins, Sales Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Southern, said: “It’s important to us to make our residents feel welcome as they join our new communities, and we are thankful to the pupils of Grove CE Primary School for helping us to do just that.

“Whilst welcoming new home buyers to Brookside Meadows, we hope Ivy and Elliott’s cards will share a great insight into the wonderful archaeological discoveries found here in Grove as we continue to celebrate the site’s history.”

Elliott and Ivy with Sales Adviser, Hugo, with the cards detailing the finds of Red River Archaeology in Grove

Set amongst plenty of open space, residents at Brookside Meadows can enjoy the conveniences of modern living. Located close to the historic market town of Wantage, residents are granted access to a range of local amenities within walking distance.

To learn more about the properties available, visit the websites at Brookside Meadows (Barratt) and Brookside Meadows (DWH).

For more information about any developments in the county, visit the websites at Barratt Homes in Oxfordshire and David Wilson Homes in Oxfordshire