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Archaeology in Worcester
2000/01 - City Centre
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 (Aerial survey by MAPS 1999™) |
City Centre - The city centre has seen a period of smaller scale
change, at least so far as it affects archaeological remains. However,
there have been some very important results from smaller watching
briefs and evaluations. In particular these have been valuable in
building up a picture of the overall nature of deposition in the city
centre, which is an important counterpart to the evidence from larger
excavations. The 'deposit model' which is being built up will eventually
play a major part in predicting the likely character of archaeological
remains on development sites, and the potential impact of new buildings
on them. Nowhere has this new information contributed more than around
the southern end of the High Street. |
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Archaeological Sites in Worcester City
Centre 2000/01 - Click on a site marker or highlighted area to see details. |
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At the Guildhall (WCM 100813, MNA), a ground investigation on behalf of Worcester City Council took place below the north wing, in advance of the proposed insertion of a lift shaft. A test pit, 0.8 x 1.6m, was excavated archaeologically. Archaeological deposits were proved to a depth of at least 4m from the modern ground level, though natural was not reached. A robbed foundation probably represented the wall of a Roman building, aligned N-S; the robbing seems to have taken place in the 17th or 18th century. This wall may have been associated with a pebble surface, which was more securely dated to the Roman period. Roman deposits were succeeded by a 'dark earth' layer. A substantial medieval mortared stone foundation was also aligned N-S, and may relate to the medieval Guildhall, possibly part of a basement. A watching brief during the resurfacing of the eastern part of Fish Street (WCM 100820, MNA), on behalf of Worcester City Council, produced surprising results, in spite of the apparently superficial nature of the street works. The street runs just inside the Roman defences, with two of Worcester's early churches (St Helen and St Alban) on its N side. 12th-14th century levelling or occupation deposits were found close to modern ground level on the S side of the street, at the W end. Various street surfaces of medieval and post-medieval date were recorded. Close to St Helen's church, fragments of 17th and 18th century grave memorials had been reused in a culvert and wall foundations. A tree hole, excavated by hand, produced a medieval clay floor and a large quantity of pottery and glazed roof tiles dated to the 12th-15th centuries. Location plan A further watching brief took place before and during the construction of an apartment block at 15/19 Fish St (WCM 100877, Worcs CC), on behalf of Roland Jones Homes. Observation of a borehole survey (WCM 100791, WCC) had shown that the depth of archaeological deposits was fairly consistent at between 4.7 and 5.3m. Although the deposits are therefore extremely deep, the outline sequence seemed from this limited exposure to be very much what would be anticipated for this area of Worcester, with Roman deposits succeeded by 'dark earth' and medieval and post-medieval occupation and other layers. However, the state of preservation of organic remains was exceptional, especially in the lower part of the medieval sequence. As a result the subsequent watching brief (by Worcs CC) was particularly targeted towards recovering samples of organic material from these very rich deposits for analysis, before their partial destruction by piling. Analysis is currently underway. These small exposures of deposits along Fish Street have drawn attention to the very varied depositional history of the area. In particular the very high level archaeology which medieval deposits have been found is surprising. It may be that this is due to the survival of the late Roman defensive bank as a buried earthwork. The change in ground levels between Fish Street and Copenhagen Street has long been interpreted as a reflection of the Roman bank and ditch. Location plan Further south, at 105-106 High Street (WCM 100746, WCC), a watching brief was carried out on the insertion of a new doorway into a post-medieval garden wall. Completely encased within this wall was the plinth, with chamfered top, of a stone wall. This was recorded in elevation, and in section where the new doorway was cut through. The wall appears to represent the remains of a substantial medieval building, potentially associated with St Andrew's Rectory, and set back from the street frontage in much the same way as the recently excavated medieval building at 37 Friar Street. 105 High Street was very unusual in that the street frontage remained undeveloped until the early 20th century. Location plan Lowering of a cellar floor at 26 College Street during refurbishment (WCM 100852, WCC) revealed slaggy surfaces of probable Roman date; only limited investigation was possible, but these surfaces may have been part of a yard or street. Location plan A watching brief at 11 Edgar Street (WCM 100815, MNA) revealed medieval soil deposits below the floor of the 18th century cellar. The front wall of the cellar was in part a well built stone structure, which seemed to extend beyond the plot on both sides; this may have been part of the medieval monastic precinct wall. The great depth of medieval deposits at this site may reflect the presence of Roman ditches below. Location plan At St Alban's school (WCM 100856, MNA), a watching brief recorded deposits which may have been the infilling of the Civil War ditch which has previously been recorded in this area. Although Roman burials have been found in the immediate area, none were found during this work. Location plan A floodlighting scheme was carried out at St Andrews spire (WCM 100795, WCC). This provided an opportunity to test the quality of preservation of the medieval foundations, as well as the nature of deposits both within the church and in the former churchyard. The S wall of the church and an internal masonry structure had both been demolished to about 0.3m below the modern surface, and below this level the remains were well preserved. A foundation pit on the S side of the church cut a complex sequence of floor layers and occupation surfaces of probable late medieval or early post-medieval date. There was also evidence of burials outside the church on the N and W sides. A further burial was recorded during minor groundworks on the south side of Worcester Technical College (St Andrew's Building), which extends over the northern part of the former churchyard (WCM 100922, WCC). Location plan Extensive groundworks associated with the Quay Head fountain and repaving scheme (WCM 100753, Worcs CC) were subject to a watching brief. Over 3m of deposits were present below the paving of South Quay. The remains of a medieval stone building were recorded here, prior to its consolidation, and buried remains of several stone-walled structures were also found. In a smaller watching brief at Band House, South Quay (WCM 100758, MA), further stone walls were recorded. Location plan There has been plentiful activity in the St Clements Gate area, including further desk-based assessments. CAT updated their earlier (1997) assessment of the area N of Dolday and The Butts, on behalf of Kimberley Developments Ltd (WCM 100625). Added to this was an assessment of a large part of the north side of Newport Street (WCM 100626), on behalf of Countrywide Farmers. AIL also produced a desk-based assessment of the area N of Dolday (WCM 100759), on behalf of an unstated client. All of these assessments identified areas thought to be of considerable archaeological significance, including the City Wall and ditch, Civil War defensive features, Roman ironworking, and medieval burgages and buildings along Dolday and Newport Street. Location plan The Cattle Market, which occupied part of this site, has now been demolished, and the area has been developed as a temporary car park. To inform details of design and landscaping, Worcester City Council commissioned a field evaluation of the southern part of the site (WCM 100853, MNA). As well as remains of the City Wall (see below), the walls of part of St Clement's church were found, probably the E end of the N aisle. This has allowed the position of the church to be fixed more accurately. The walls were partly robbed to the lower part of their foundations, though they also stood to above a surviving floor level at one point. The foundations of the church and city wall were both cut into a bank of soil containing large quantities of Roman iron slag and pottery. However it was unclear from the small area examined whether this was indeed a Roman period deposit, or alternatively represented redeposited material, perhaps at the time of the foundation of the church in the mid 11th century. Location plan Worcester city centre is now covered by a network of closed circuit TV cameras linked to a central control room at the new police station in Castle Street. Creating the CCTV network has involved the excavation of shallow trenches for ducting, and deeper pits for column bases. Although earlier parts of the scheme were not watched, it has been possible to arrange watching brief cover for major extensions of the CCTV network in 2000-01 (WCM 100752, Worcs CC),and 2001-02 (WCM 100876, MNA), with important results in a number of areas, in particular for the City Wall and gates (see the following section). Location plan |
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