NHER 37383 (Monument record) - Late Saxon and medieval features at 1 Firs Avenue

September 2002. Trial Trenching.
Three trenches dug within an area of proposed housing development. Contexts 1 - 47 used.
Archaeologically-significant remains identified included a very large pit, linear features, small pits or post holes, part of a wall or wall footing and a probable well.
Pottery, mostly medieval, was recovered from several of the excavated features.
See report (S1) for further details.
J. Allen (NLA), 22 October 2002.

December 2002. Excavation.
Excavation of four areas within the footprints of the proposed residential dwellings. Contexts 50-383.
Various features including ditches, gullies, pits and post-holes; many of which contained small amounts of Late Saxon or early medieval pottery. A series of presumably agricultural ditches and gullies in the southern part of the site were post-dated by a row of large post-holes that were probably part of some form of medieval building. A later building represented by flint and brick footings and mortar and cobbled surfaces was potentially associated with the 'Old Hall' that apparently once stood on or close to this location. The site of this building is marked on early Ordnance Survey maps but its nature remains uncertain. A dwelling known as the Manor House is known to have stood on the site until it burnt down in the late 19th century but as no trace of this survives it is impossible to say whether 'Old Hall' is a reference to this building or an earlier structure (see NHER 8580 for further details).
See publication draft (S2) and assessment report (S3) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S4).
P. Watkins (HES), 18 May 2015. Amended 12 August 2019.

A combined archive comprising material from both phases of archaeological work at this site has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.15).
P. Watkins (HES), 12 August 2019.