NHER 35170 (Monument record) - Late Saxon to post medieval occupation, former Lads Club site King Street

March-April 2000. Trial Trench.
An archaeological evaluation was undertaken just behind the frontage of King Street, within the site of the former Norwich Lad's Club gymnasium. A single trench was excavated to a maximum depth of 2m below street level. The earliest evidence encountered were two pits, dated through pottery contained within their fills to between the late 9th to 11th century. These may represet quarrying activity on the boundary area between two properties, indicating that Late Saxon structures may have lain to either side of the trench. More pit-digging, probably further quarrying, took place during the 12th to 14th centuries. During the later medieval period a timber structure, represented by two large post-holes, was erected. A sequence of buildings followed this initial structure.
A make-up layer sealing the medieval sequence containing a large and important assemblage of 14th century painted glass. This is probably from an ecclesiastical source, possible the church of St Peter Parmentergate opposite the site; pottery from this deposit also dates from this period. The layer was in turn sealed by a cobbled yard, quite possibly the Lifford's Yard named on the 1885 OS map.
See report (S1) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.87).
D. Gurney (NLA), 18 August 2000. Expanded by Ruth Fillery-Travis (NLA), 15th March 2007 and amended by P. Watkins (HES), 20 April 2015 and 18 May 2019.

August 2000. Trial Trench.
As part of a formal archaeological mitigation strategy a mechanically-excavated trench was dug close to the King Street frontage in order to locate the surviving walls of the historically-attested Bird in Hand Public House, a late 15th or early 16th century structure. The north wall of a centrally-located undercroft or cellar was found, along with an internal wall of the wing lying to the north. This information, in conjunction with evidence from historic maps and 19th-century photographs, allowed a reconstruction of the ground plan of the Bird in Hand to be made.
See report (S3) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
D. Gurney (NLA), 3 January 2001. Expanded by Ruth Fillery-Travis (NLA), 15th March 2007 and amended by P. Watkins (HES), 20 April 2015.

Following evaluation and investigation piling and groundbeams not exceeding 400mm in depth will aim to preserve archaeologically significant deposits in situ.
D. Gurney (NLA), 21 January 2002.