Our Team
Richard McConnell BA (hons), MCIfA – Director, Historic Environment Consultant
Richard is the co-founder of Context One and oversees all aspects of commercial and research work and takes a lead role in project management. He has extensive archaeological experience across a wide range of fieldwork investigations both in the UK and abroad including excavation, historic building recording, geophysical survey, earthwork surveys and artefact sampling techniques. Richard has also accumulated considerable experience in archaeological reporting and contributes towards many of the project reports and consultative documents produced by the consultancy as well as authoring articles published in academic journals. He is especially interested in medieval archaeology, fieldwork techniques, computer applications and the history of archaeology. Richard regularly gives talks to day schools and archaeological society events, and is a Trustee of the Dorset Archaeology & Heritage Forum. He is also a CIfA committee member of the Community Archaeology Special Interest Group. Away from Context One, Richard enjoys long-distance walking, travelling, reading, TV and film.
Cheryl Green BA (hons), PhD, MCIfA, FSA – Post-excavation Manager and Historic Buildings
Cheryl has a broad range of archaeological experience within both the commercial and academic arenas, with specific interests in ecclesiastical archaeology and worked stone. After graduating from the University of Reading (1992-1995), Cheryl was a field archaeologist for Oxford Archaeology before embarking on her PhD (1997-2001, U of R) analysing Quarr stone as a building and object material throughout the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods. Cheryl joined Context One in 2004, predominantly writing reports but also developing her interest in worked stone and buildings archaeology. Between 2007 and 2012 Cheryl was the Post-Doctoral Research Assistant for the Glastonbury Abbey historic excavation project, led by Professor Roberta Gilchrist (U of R) and was responsible for assessing and analysing the extensive records and co-ordinating a large team of specialists. The resulting excavation monograph is a landmark for our understanding of British monasticism (Gilchrist and Green 2015, Society of Antiquaries). Since returning to Context One in 2013, Cheryl has taken on the co-ordination of the large post-excavation projects, authoring assessment reports and articles in Medieval Archaeology and county journals, and co-authoring excavation monographs. However, Cheryl also relishes being out in the field, carrying out excavation and surveying historic buildings. Public outreach is a particularly satisfying element of the role, and she gives regular presentations on current projects and enjoys working with volunteers and work experience students when these opportunities arise. Cheryl is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
Tara Fairclough BA (hons), PCIfA – Senior Archaeologist, Illustrator and Historic Buildings
Tara has worked in professional archaeology since 1996 and began her career as a Field Archaeologist, working for companies such as St Albans City Council and Wessex Archaeology. Tara joined Context One in 2006 as an assistant illustrator and became principal illustrator in 2012. During her years with us, Tara has developed a formidable range of digital illustration skills; from excavation drawings and historic building recording surveys to digital terrain models and viewshed analysis maps. Tara's work on consultancy projects also includes historic map regression, spatial historic environment plans and site phasing illustrations. In recent years, Tara has extended her role to encompass fieldwork co-ordination and report preparation. One of Tara's interests is historic buildings and she is often part of the buildings survey team.
Becky Strike BA (hons), MSc - Archaeological Project Assistant (Engagement & Post-Excavation)
Becky joined Context One in April 2026, after several years working for a heritage project in her local area. She is our practice archivist, looking after the deposition of our digital and physical archives, and she sits right at the point where post-excavation work turns into something the public gets to see. She also holds postgraduate specialist training in forensic archaeology, which she puts to use on osteoarchaeological assessments and on monitoring and recording briefs at churches and English Heritage sites.
Becky has run presentations, workshops and events for a wide range of audiences over the years, and outreach is a big part of her role now – she leads our community archaeology initiatives and heads up major events like the Festival of Archaeology. Outside work, she’s usually with her young family, exploring historical places, or just out and about.
Jackie Pugh – Accounts
Jackie joined Context One in 2011 and combines a part-time role in accounts with a similar position at Port Regis School at Motcombe. Jackie has over 20 years experience in accounting covering a wide range of roles within different industries.