In article , anon
writes
I have a 1970's house in Staffordshire. It's rear garden is
rectangular and only 15m by 10m at a guess. It's slightly sloping
away from the house and large patio. All winter trhe lawn has been
spongy with squelching and surface water. When it rains alot pools of
water form in the edge of the lawn.

That describes most of the country atm! ;-)

When I dug down 1.5' in the lawn the soil was red and seemed to be
clay.

Take a small piece of soil and see if you can roll it into a marble. If
it rolls into a marble without crumbling, then it is clay, if you can
roll it into a worm, it is really clayey.

Looking at my neighbors gardens mine seems slightly lower, I wonder if
this is adding to my drainage problem.

What are my options?

Wait until the summer and re-assess.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"