Planning permission was granted by Northampton Borough Council for a housing development at Ecton Brook Playing Fields, off Great Billing Way, Northampton. A condition was attached to the planning permission requiring a programme of archaeological work be carried out in accordance with a written scheme of investigation. The works comprised trial trench evaluation followed by 'strip, map and sample' investigation. The trial trench evaluation comprised a total of five trenches, measuring between 25-50m long by 1.8m wide, were opened so as to investigate the archaeological potential of the proposed housing plots. The subsequent 'strip, map and sample' excavation comprised stripping of the subsoil within the confines of the proposed access road and stretched over an area c. 10m by 11m around features revealed in Trench 2 during the trial trenching. The only archaeological features revealed within the proposed development area were in the form of modern wheel ruts that were likely associated with the construction of the nearby Ecton Brook Primary School. The absence of any other features suggests that the area may be some distance away from any earlier settlement focus. In addition, none of the archaeological remains recorded in the Northamptonshire HER continued into the area. However, the scarce presence of Roman artefacts within the subsoil may indicate at least some level of activity datable to the Roman period in the vicinity of the site.