NHER 61877 (Monument record) - Medieval to post-medieval pits and post-medieval structures

January 2015. Watching Brief and Trial Trench.
Initial programme of archaeological work undertaken prior to redevelopment of 150-152 Magdalen Street.
The first phase of work was the monitoring of the demolition of the two-storey modern building that had previously occupied the site (until recently a furniture shop). Two post-medieval cellars were revealed, both of which had been beneath 152 Magdalen Street. The smaller of the two lay at the eastern edge of the site, on the street frontage itself. The second lay further back and was floored with green and yellow quarry tiles. The partial collapse of one of the walls of this larger cellar had exposed an earlier wall made of undressed flint cobbles, red bricks and mortar. This was possibly the wall of an earlier cellar.
The single trial trench excavated was set back approximately 20m from the eastern edge of the site. It had been intended that it would be placed close to the street frontage but this proved impossible due to the presence of the cellars. Natural deposits were not reached although hand auguring suggested that they were present at a height of approximately 5.35m O.D. The earliest deposit exposed was a possible layer of dumped material comprising a grey-brown silt with fragments of charcoal, mortar and ceramic building material. This deposit had been truncated by an east-to-west aligned wall that turned to the north at the eastern edge of the trench, suggesting it formed the corner of a building. This wall was primarily made from undressed flint cobbles and mortar, although some brick was also incorporated, apparently randomly, into the fabric. A dressed stone block had also been built into the wall, this possibly derived from the demolished church of St Margaret, which lay a little way to the south (NHER 566). The date of this structure is not entirely clear – a possible 16th-century date is suggested but ultimately its non-diagnostic construction and the lack of any well-dated associated contexts mean it is impossible to be certain of its date. It appears that after this structure was demolished dumped material accumulated both internally and externally. It is unclear whether these were a deliberate attempt to raise the ground level. The remains of two demolished late post-medieval structures were also observed in the sections of the trench. These walls were most likely of 18th- or 19th-century date.
The small assemblage of finds recovered during this work includes single sherds of medieval/post-medieval and post-medieval pottery and several medieval and post-medieval bricks. No metal objects were recovered.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 25 October 2016.

April 2015. Excavation and Watching Brief.
Reduction of site to formation level of development, followed by limited investigation of any archaeologically significant remains exposed.
The earliest features recorded were a group of medieval pits that probably dated to the 14th century. These pits were all more than 6m from the eastern edge of the site so it is possible that they had lain behind a contemporary building on the street frontage. Although no medieval structural remains were identified it should be noted that this part of the site had been disturbed by a cellar and other, modern intrusions which may well have removed any trace of an early building.
Two large features at the western end of the site were probably extraction pits, the preceding evaluation having demonstrated that one was around 1.60m deep. The upper fills of these features produced material that indicated they had probably been infilled during the 17th century, although it remains possible they had been originally excavated at an earlier date. These pits were overlain by the remains of a building with a flint cobble and mortar wall, the bulk of which had been recorded during the evaluation. The main east-west wall was abutted by the remains of a small sub-square structure with a 0.70m wide break in its eastern side that probably represented a doorway. The probable date of the pit fills means that the main building is now thought to most likely date to the 17th century. It should though be noted that backfill of the smaller structure produced an assemblage of clay tobacco pipes dating to c. 1660-1680, thereby providing a probable date for its abandonment. As noted during the evaluation the demolition of this building was following by the dumping of much material both within and outside the remains of its walls. Much of this material appears to have comprised domestic refuse, with most of the deposits identified containing charcoal and ash. Dumps of construction or demolition debris were also present.
The remains of the large cellar observed during the initial watching brief had mostly been demolished prior to the commencement of this phase of work. It was however possible to observe part of its original eastern wall. This flint and mortar wall contained a number of brick fragments, with the retained examples identified as a re-used medieval brick and a floor brick of probable 18th- to 19th-century date. Later post-medieval structural remains exposed for the first time during the excavation included a north-to-south aligned red brick and flint barrel-vaulted cellar. This lay between the two previously identified cellars and extended northwards, beneath Wall Lane. It is dated by the presence of bricks of 18th- to 19th-century date, although a number of earlier bricks had also been used in its construction.
See report (S2) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 15 November 2018.

A combined archive comprising material from both phases of archaeological work at this site has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.282).
P. Watkins (HES), 19 May 2019.