NHER 65265 (Monument record) - Medieval to post-medieval remains

January-February 2012. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of former library site, prior to its proposed redevelopment.
It was clear that there had been considerable past disturbance of the site, with natural clay deposits lying immediately beneath the modern overburden. Surviving archaeologically-significant remains were limited to the a pair of reasonably large pits in one of the southernmost trenches and a brick structure at the northern end of the site.
The larger of the two pits produced a single sherd of medieval pottery. The adjacent feature contained pottery indicative of a possible 16th-century date and a small assemblage of animal bone. A sample taken from the fill of this pit was found to contain charcoal, grains and small quantities of probable food waste, including eggshell and fish bone.
The rectangular brick structure was probably a passageway leading to a cellar associated with one of the buildings that had occupied the Church Street frontage prior to the construction of the library during the 1960s. These buildings had been present since at least the late 19th century.
No unstratified finds were recovered.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 9 January 2022.