NHER 6 (Monument record) - Site of Blaks-hall and find of Saxon urns

1843. Casual finds.
The Urns:
The Norfolk Chronicle (S1) provides an account of a group of "Roman cinerary urns" found in the foundation of an "old wall" on the estate of Mr. Browne in Ber Street. The urns were found to be embedded in the flint, mortar and sand wall and are described as having been filled with sand and earth and placed in the wall in a sloping direction with their mouths upwards. The urns exhibited signs of burning on the bottom and sides. The wall itself is described as being located "a foot from the surface and a large number of pottery fragements were found in the vicinity".
The article (S1) mentions that one of the urns was presented to the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM: 1976.112). A catalogue published by the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeology Society (S2) describes the location of the find as "in a garden at the back of a house in Ber Street, opposite St. John's Sepulchre Church" and adds that the wall was encountered by labourers just under the ground surface. It indicates that several urns of the same form were encountered in the wall. The urn donated to the museum is described as "large gourd-shaped urn of dark brown clay, much broken", measuring 10 inchdes high by 11 inches in diameter, and was stated to contain fragments of six other urns.
Whilst all early references date the material to the Roman period, later records (S7) confirm that the vessel is 9th or 10th century. Drawings of 7 vessels are published in E.M. Jope's article on Excavations in Norwich in 1948 (S8). Re-examination of the pottery published in (S10) indicated that Thetford Type ware (p 23, fig 8 nos 176 and 187), Early Medieval Ware, and local medieval unglazed ware is present in the the Norwich Castle Museum assemblage.
Information from transcription of newspaper article (S11), 1853 museum catalogue (S2) and NCM Record Cards (S7).
Drawings held by the British Museum referenced in several sources (S6) (S7) (S8) but not seen by HER staff. Drawings of items held in the Norwich Castle Museum published in (S8) and (S10).
Mentioned in committee proceedings (S4), catalogue (S5), the Victoria County History (S7).

Possible Coins:
The 1843 newspaper article (S1) also reports that "A silver coin of David Bruce, King of Scotland,… was found near the spot". The 1886 25" Ordnance Survey map (S12) marks "Gold coins of King Edward III found AD 1854" at this location, and this is reiterated within Ordnance Survey records cards (S13). However, contemporary proceedings from the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeology Society (S14) reported in October 1852 that Five gold coins of Edward III were recovered "on the 10th instant" by workers laying a draing in Ber Street, near Mariner's Lane. These are recorded under NHER 661 and are almost certainly the coin finds recorded on the Ordnance Survey map. However, the wording in the newspaper article, which predates the the archaeology society proceedings, make it appear likely that a single silver coin was indeed found somewhere near to the urn finds.

The wider site context:
The current building on this site, NHER 26275, dates to the 18th and 19th century, but there are traces of an earlier structure.
The 1843 newspaper article (S1) makes reference to Bloomfield, who notes in discussion of the Ber Street Gates and a common well and pit in Ber Street "On the east side of the street, opposite to the churchyard, in Blaks-hall, so called from William Blackamore, its owner in Edward the Thirds time", indicating the presence of a building in this location at least by the 14th century.
E. Rose (HER officer) has suggested that this could be a possible kiln site.

Similar finds:
Urns embedded in a wall in a similar manner were recovered from the outer wall of a vault in St Peter's Mancroft Church (NHER ?) in 1851 (S4). At the time is was suggested that they wer used "to promote the dryness of the wall and vault". Similar discoveries were noted at Fountains Abbey and other parts of the county, with this site and the shoir of St Peter per Mountergate cited as Norwich examples.

E. Rose (NLA), 21 January 1992. Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 04 July 2022.