Tudor mansion found under village garden

Coun Quentin Macdonald, of Church Lane, Nether Poppleton, who represents Rural West York, agreed to let the experts dig up his lawn in an effort to unlock secrets of the village's history.

The team, led by Blackadder comic Tony Robinson, were trying to determine whether Nether Poppleton had Saxon origins, and if Saxon Saint Everilda had ever set up a nunnery there.

Coun Macdonald was one of 25 residents who originally agreed to dig a one-metre deep test pit in their gardens to give the team an inkling of what to expect.

A larger excavation was then conducted on his land, next to the medieval church dating back to 1125.

The team discovered evidence of Saxon activity, including a ditch, known as a vallum, which could have been found at a nunnery.

The most exciting find were the remains of a Tudor mansion at the back edge of the councillor's garden.

"I've had the whole of the Time Team digging up my garden," Coun Macdonald said.

"The brickwork they found was absolutely immaculate. It looked like it was laid yesterday."

The full results of the excavation will not be known for about three months until a report is finished.

The Time Team episode will be screened between January and March next year.

Oliver Twinch, a researcher for Time Team, said the excavation had proved that Coun Macdonald's house had been built from the remains of a Tudor mansion that had formerly stood on the site - something that had not been proved before.

He said the residents who took part in the programme had been "very, very enthusiastic".

"We couldn't have asked for better volunteers. It went very well - what an amazing turnout," he said.

The excavation also found some pottery that was evidence of a Norman settlement in the village.

Oliver said: "We discovered that the village went back at least to Norman times. We knew there was a settlement there, but we didn't know where it was."

Updated: 08:27 Tuesday, June 29, 2004