NHER 60779 (Monument record) - Fragmentary post-medieval structural remains and medieval and post-medieval finds

February-March 2003. Watching Brief.
Maintained during demolition of workmen's toilet (NHER 39251) and subsequent landscaping.

Three areas were reduced (Areas A-C), all of which formed part of a raised landscaped area that dates back to at least 1881.
In Area A the removal of a retaining wall revealed very little stratigraphy and the only finds recovered were post-medieval pottery sherds (although the wall itself contained some interesting pieces of worked stone). Features of note in Area B included a mortar stump (40cm square) found just within the retaining wall. A soak-away filled with broken bricks and mortar fragments was also noted. Finds from this feature included a fragment of human bone and the bones of a small mammal. No finds or features were observed during the excavation of trenches for new retaining walls in Areas A and B.
In Area C a wall was exposed that had been previously noted during archaeological work in July 2002. What had previously been assumed to be a north-south wall was shown to be the return of an east-west wall that extended at least 3m to the west. This wall incorporates re-used Norman stonework and later bricks and whilst its date is not certain, it is believed to be post-medieval. Apart from a probable demolition layer to the north of the wall little else of note was exposed in this area. Finds included a Bellarmine jug fragment.
Trenches for water pipes dug in front of the former toilet (Area D) exposed a line of brickwork running east-west - probably part of a soak-away channel or brickwork duct.

A stone heap at the side of the former toilet was also examined as part of this work. This part of the precinct has long been associated with the work of the cathedral's stonemasons and the majority of these stone were either damaged pieces that had been replaced or off-cuts from new stone. It is thought that the majority in this pile were from relatively recent work on the tower and north transept. The best examples were retained for the cathedral worked stone inventory.

See report (S1) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
See NHER 39251 for information on the former toilet that was demolished as part of this work.
Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 2 June 2015.