NHER 57848 (Monument record) - Late medieval land reclamation and early post medieval buildings and activity at South Quay, King's Lynn

January 2008. Desk-based Assessment.
Assessment of proposed development site. Evidence suggests that the land on this site was reclaimed from the river in the late medieval period. Early maps indicate that this site was developed from the late 17th century onwards. By 1887 parts of two granaries were constructed, and the foundations of these are likely to have truncated earlier archaeological remains across the centre of the site.
A geotechnical investigation carried out in July 2006 found made ground across the site, extending to a depth of between 0.7m and 4m below ground level. The water table was found to be high, suggesting some potential for waterlogged deposits.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 9 September 2015.

July 2011. Desk-based Assessment.
Report (S2) not seen.
A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 8 May 2019.

January 2012. Trial Trench.
Evaluation of proposed development site. Contexts 1-95.
The earliest activity on the site was a sequence of substantial land reclamation and levelling, presumably to reclaim land from the confluence of the Mill Fleet and the River Ouse. A single sherd of 15th-16th century pottery recovered from these sites supports an early post-medieval date for this reclamation process. Early activity on this site resulted in the deposition of a layer of occupation debris from which no clear dating evidence was obtained. However, a broadly contemporary pit contained a substantial assemblage of pottery vessels dating from 1500 to 1630, including some imported Dutch and German vessels. This assemblage is significant as the pit appeared to have been infilled immediately prior to the start of the building sequence on the site. The animal bone assemblage was found to contain the remains of chicken, geese and fish. The pit was sealed by a sequence of walls, brick and clay floors of riverside warehousing dating to the 16th to 17th century. Cobbled lanes, floor surfaces and drains, with associated walls and beams dated to the 17th to 18th century and formed a second phase of warehousing. The latest deposits were brick floors and drains related to 19th to 20th century industrial activity. No trace of any modification of the waterfront area in either the medieval or post-medieval period was present on this site.
See report (S3) for further details.
The archive associated with this work has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.584).
E. Bales (HES), 28 May 2012. Amended A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 8 May 2019 and P. Watkins (HES), 17 May 2019.