NHER 50560 (Monument record) - Late Saxon to post-medieval remains

August 2007. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of site of former shoe factory to west of Muspole Street, in use at this time by a removals company.
This site lies within a part of the city that had most likely been first occupied in the Late Saxon or early Norman period, as the settlement north of the river expanded beyond its previous limits. It is clear from documentary evidence that Muspole Street itself by built up by at least the end of the 13th century, with the Enrolled Deeds (S1) recording a variety of ecclesiastical and secular landowners. The earliest detailed cartographic sources all depict a continuous row of buildings on this side of Muspole Street, with an extensive area of open ground behind. Hochstetter’s map of 1789 (S2) shows that the southern half of this area was largely built over by this time, while the northern part consisted largely of street-front properties with gardens to the rear. The Ordnance Survey First Edition 1:500 Town Plan map (S3) shows numerous houses in this area, many of which were arranged around small yards. The shoe factory was built in the early part of the 20th century
See report (S4) for further details, including a full discussion of the available cartographic evidence. See also NHER 66814 for information on 8 Muspole Street, a building of probably 17th-century date that occupied part of this site (the last elements of which were only demolished relatively recently).
P. Watkins (HES), 2 March 2023.

February-March 2015. Trial Trenching.
Evaluation of proposed development site.
The four trenches excavated all reached natural geological deposits of iron-rich sand and gravel, which were encountered at depths of between 2.45m and 1.40m OD (with at least some of this variation likely due to the truncation of these deposits).
The pottery and other finds recovered suggest that the site probably saw activity from at least the 11th onwards, with a small number of prehistoric flints the only evidence for an earlier human presence in the vicinity. However, although this work recovered notable quantities of Late Saxon and early medieval pottery, the bulk of this material was clearly residual within later contexts, with few features or deposits identified that could potentially relate to these phases of activity. The most notable exception was a layer of burnt material identified close to the base of one of the trenches that produced more than 20 sherds of Late Saxon Thetford-type ware pottery and no later finds. It is tentatively suggest that this material might represent the burnt remains of a timber structure, although it could also represent debris from industrial activity, particularly as it also contained fragments of tap slag from iron smelting.
The majority of the features associated with early activity on the site were large pits that had probably been dug to extract the iron-rich sands and gravels present at this location. Two of these probable quarry pits were potentially Late Saxon but the majority were of medieval date. These pits had clearly been at least partially filled with waste from nearby domestic and industrial activities, although one was also found to contain fragments of human bone that represented the remains of least two individuals. A well built from flint cobbles and lime mortar was also potentially of medieval date.
In all of the trenches these early deposits and features were overlain by deep sequences of deposits likely to represent a mix of imported material, dumped waste and soil accumulations. This material had clearly begun to build up during the medieval period and it is possible that much of the waste had come from dwellings present along Muspole Street by this time. No structural remains of high medieval date were recorded by this work, although it should be noted that none of the excavated trenches were adjacent to the street frontage, where any buildings present at this time would have most likely lain. Although numerous fragments of medieval ceramic building material were recovered (including many 'early' bricks of probable 13th- to 15th-century date) most of this material was scattered throughout contexts that also produced later material. It could therefore have been deposited following either the demolition of medieval structures or later buildings in which this medieval material had been reused.
The earliest structural remains were encountered (unsurprisingly) in the trench positioned closest to the street frontage. Here a complex sequence of mortar layers and metalled flint cobble and pebble surfaces was exposed. The earliest layers were of probable 15th- to 16th-century date and cut by a curving features containing a banded foundation deposit. This banded foundation was overlain by a curving wall of flint, mortar and 'early' bricks that had possibly replaced an earlier structure of similar form. The function of this wall was uncertain but it was presumed to represent some form of structure abutting the west, rear elevation of a building on the street frontage. This wall was itself abutted by a number of deposits likely to represent later yard surfaces and material that had accumulated during their use. An east-to-west aligned band of clay and an overlying mortar deposit identified within this sequence of deposits potentially also represented some form of foundation, although no overlying structure survived. The final yard surface was the most carefully constructed, with the exposed portion consisting of tightly laid rounded pebbles with a decorative double row of reused medieval bricks. An accumulation of material above this yard surface contained pottery of 16th- to 17th-century date and was overlain by a sequence of mortar deposits that potentially represented internal floor surfaces, one of which was associated with 17th-century pottery. These layers abutted the north-north-west to south-south-east aligned rear wall of a street frontage building which incorporated bricks of 17th- to 18th-century date and a quarry floor tile of a 18th- to 19th-century date. These remains are consistent with the available cartographic evidence, with Hochstetter’s map (S2) suggesting that buildings had probably extended across the entirety of the trench by the late 18th century. The Ordnance Survey First Edition Town Plan map (S3) shows that this was certainly the case by the late 19th century. The reworking of these buildings is evidenced by a layer of demolition debris, which was cut by a pit containing a range of post-medieval finds including pottery, vessel glass and a number of hand-painted wall tiles of probable 17th-century date.
Elsewhere across the site it appears that the late medieval and earlier post-medieval periods saw a continued accumulation of soil and waste material within open ground to the rear of the buildings on the street front. These deposits were cut a number of probable waste pits of varying dates, one of which contained the remains of a horse. Late post-medieval structural remains recorded in these trenches mostly correspond with the structures shown on the Ordnance Survey First Edition map (S3).
Other finds recovered during this work included additional fragments of iron smelting slag and other probable metal-working debris; numerous animal bones; oyster and whelk shells; a fragment of lava quern; a piece of worked limestone of uncertain function; post-medieval clay tobacco pipe fragments; post-medieval window and vessel glass; a small piece of ?post-medieval textile; medieval/post-medieval tokens; medieval/post-medieval and post-medieval jettons and a range of other, medieval to post-medieval and undatable metal objects. These metal finds include medieval to post-medieval dress accessories; medieval thimbles; medieval/post-medieval suspension rings, discs, copper alloy rivets, unidentified copper alloy objects, a copper alloy tack and a copper alloy stud and post-medieval thimbles, lead weights, lead cloth seals, a mount, copper alloy trade weight and a lead window came.
See report (S5) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.292).
P. Watkins (HES), 2 March 2023.

November-December 2015. Excavation.
This second phases of archaeological mitigation undertaken ahead of the proposed redevelopment of this site saw the excavation of a rectangular 20m x 10m area adjacent to the street frontage, immediately to the south of the evaluation trench that had revealed structural remains and yard surfaces of medieval/post-medieval and later date.
There was again clear evidence for activity in the vicinity from at least the 11th century onwards, with a reasonably large assemblage of Late Saxon, Saxo-Norman and early medieval pottery recovered. The features that could be identified as being of potentially 10th- to 11th-century date all lay in the north-east corner of the excavated area, but it is possible that remains of this date had once been more extensive (being lost as a result of later activity). The surviving group comprised a number of post-holes, several irregular possible quarry pits and a sub-circular, much deeper, steep-sided pit. This more substantial pit produced more than 30 sherds of Thetford-type ware pottery and several sherds of early medieval pottery, suggesting a probable 11th-century date. The smaller assemblages recovered from the other pits suggested they were probably of a similar age. Other finds recovered from these features included animal bone, metal-working debris (including tap slag from iron smelting), a possible iron knife and a fragment of Roman tile (potentially brought to the site for reuse from elsewhere). A sample from one of the fills of the larger pit contained a small number of charred cereal grains along with a range of other debris likely to represent waste from domestic and industrial activity, including eggshell, fish bones, mollusc shells, burnt clay and ferrous globules. The organic nature of its fills suggested that it had potentially also been used as a cess pit. These features were associated with a relatively deep deposit containing additional sherds of Late Saxon and early medieval pottery, animal bone, a piece of metal-working debris and a fragments daub. Its reddish brown hue suggested it probably contained peat or wood ash.
As in the previously excavated evaluation trenches the features and deposits of probable medieval date consisted primarily of pits and various broadly contemporary layers likely to represent dumped waste and material brought in to level and consolidate the site. Groups of larger, intercutting features had probably been dug to extract the iron-rich sands and gravels. A particularly substantial, more isolated pit had probably also originally been a quarry, although the organic nature of its lower fills suggested that it had possibly been subsequently used as a cess pit. There was also some evidence to suggest that this location may not have been used solely for aggregate extraction and waste disposal during the medieval period. This included two adjacent shallower pits – one with a possible clay lining – that contained deposits of reddened, heat-affected clays and charcoal-rich burnt material likely to represent debris from nearby craft or industrial activities. These pits were associated with the remains of a possible chalk surface and a nearby possible post-pad suggested that ephemeral structures of some kind may also have been present. The majority of these features and deposits produced small quantities of high medieval pottery, with the presence of much Late Saxon and early medieval material likely to have resulted from the reworking of earlier layers. Other finds from contexts of probable medieval date including a Roman amphora handle, pieces of iron smelting and smithing slag, fragments of fired clay (included probable daub with wattle impressions) much animal bone, oyster shells, a fragment of limestone moulding and a probable pilgrim badge made from a pierced scallop shell. The faunal remains include horn cores and a notable number of goose wing bones, with cut marks suggesting that feathers were being kept for quills or fletching. Several medieval 'early' bricks and a medieval roof tile were also recovered from layers overlying a group of quarry pits at the southern end of the excavation area.
Later features included a pair of intercutting east-north-east to west-south-west aligned ditches in the southernmost part of the excavation area, which were presumably associated with some form of boundary running perpendicular to Muspole Street. These produced medieval and late medieval/early post-medieval pottery, along with a range of other finds, including medieval window glass, medieval brick and tile fragments, animal bone, metal-working debris and a possible medieval stylus made from a goose bone. A bulk environmental sample taken from these features produced a range of material indicative of kitchen or midden waste, including cereal grains, grapes, nuts and fish bones. Samples processed for diatoms and pollen suggested these features were probably permanently filled with water.
By the early post-medieval a substantial building was present at the northern end of the excavation area that had presumably fronted onto Muspole Street. Potentially the earliest structural element was an east-north-east to west-south-west aligned brick wall that turned to the north at its western end. This was built atop a relatively deep sequence of banded footing deposits and was constructed from 'early' bricks of probable 14th- to 15th-century date. It is noted that these bricks were of a similar type, with all containing unusual inclusions of chalk/snail shell -suggesting they came from the same batch (and therefore less likely to represent reused material). This wall potentially represents the remains of an initial building, with a similarly aligned wall to the west and perpendicular walls to the north and south representing three sides of a later building. These walls were built primarily from flint cobbles and mortar, although they also incorporated some bricks (all of which appear to have also been 'early' bricks of probable late medieval date). It is noted that these walls were all relatively thin and appeared to have had no associated foundation deposits – indicating they were either built directly onto the contemporary ground surface or (perhaps more likely) within narrow trenches. A gap towards the southern end of the western wall most likely represented an entrance (with a mortar deposit in this gap probably having formed the bedding for a removed brick or stone threshold). Two blocked doorways were also visible in the fabric of this wall, along with the remains of a fireplace. The base of a corresponding brick-built chimney stack survived against the external, western elevation of the wall. Both the fireplace and the chimney were built using 'early' bricks of later medieval date. A group of post-holes within the internal space defiled by these walls has been interpreted as the remains of a possible staircase structure. Find recovered from these features included pottery sherds and roof tile fragments of post-medieval date. Flint cobble walls extending westwards from the north and south walls of this building are thought to have enclosed a small open garden or yard, the western side of which was formed by an adjoining wall that also fell within the excavated area. The southern ?garden wall clearly abutted the southern wall of the main building. Two adjoining small, irregular brick and flint structures in the north-west corner of this open space are thought to have been outbuildings of some kind. These incorporated a number of post-medieval 'late' bricks as well as reused medieval bricks.
Probable garden soils in this part of the site contained numerous finds including a large quantity of post-medieval pottery (much of which is of probable 16th- to 17th-century date), medieval and post-medieval metal objects, medieval and post-medieval ceramic building material, much animal bone, oyster shells, clay tobacco pipe fragments and pieces of a post-medieval small glass bottle or phial. The fills of the pits cut into these deposits produced a similar range of finds. The faunal remains included a large number of horn cores, the bulk of which were from sheep.
North-north-west to south-south-east and east-north-east to west-south-west aligned brick walls in the south-east corner of the site represented the remains of 8 Muspole Street, the last elements of which were demolished relatively recently. We know from cartographic sources that a gap between this building and the earlier house to the north was a passageway that led to a small open area known as Yeast Yard. This later house was constructed from 'late' bricks of probable 17th-century date, which is consistent with the date suggested for 8 Muspole Street from the available photographic evidence (see NHER 66814). Various structures to the west were associated with bricks of a slightly later date and presumably represented an extension to the main street frontage range. Similar bricks had also been used to construct a well in the north-west corner of the excavated area. The earlier building also saw a number of alterations during the late post-medieval period, including the rebuilding of its southern wall in brick. Leather offcuts from 19th- or early 20th-century shoe manufacturing were found within the mortar bedding for the uppermost floor surface within this building.
Information from draft assessment and archive reports. Final versions awaited.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.326).
P. Watkins (HES), 5 March 2023.

Two pottery sherds from this site were examined as part of a petrographic study of late medieval and transitional (LMT) pottery from Norfolk and Suffolk (Samples 7 and 8). The focus of this study was a group of known and suspected kiln sites, with the sherds from this site amongst those acting as comparative examples from 'consumption' contexts.
Material was also examined from known or assumed production sites at Woodbastwick (NHER 1076), Great and Little Plumstead (NHER 64833), Norwich (Mountergate, NHER 67512), Potter Heigham (NHER 8388) and Hopton (Suffolk), along with an additional comparative sherd from a 'consumer' site at South Walsham (Suffolk). The sherds from the known and suspected production sites all have a closely related petrographic fabric. Those from the 'consumer sites' also had a comparable composition to the general petrological fabric represent by the kiln sites. This may simply reflects the homogeneous bedrock and superficial geology of this wide area, although it may indicate some degree of regional organisation to LMT production.
See report (S6) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 14 October 2024.