NHER 65040 (Monument record) - Medieval cess pit and possible medieval or post-medieval floor surfaces

June 2018. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of six accommodation suites to rear of 29 Market Place.
As at the site immediately to the north (NHER 52958) deep soils were present, with natural geological deposits exposed at between 1.6m and 2m below modern ground level. This is likely to be due to the fact that the site was part of formal gardens during the 19th century and then in use as a horticultural nursery during the 1970s.
The most notable discovery was a medieval flint and mortar lined cess pit at the southern end of the site. A green cess stain was present on the natural chalk at its base and against its walls. It contained a small quantity of Late Saxon and medieval pottery, with the latter suggesting it had been open in the 14th century. Two patches of redeposited chalk to the west may have been associated with a lost structure of medieval to post-medieval date.
At the southern end of the site there was evidence for a large-scale landscaping event, with a steep-sided cut running the full width of the footing trenches. This may represent terracing that took place during the construction of outbuildings to the south in the 19th century.
Numerous shallow pits of probable early to mid-20th century date were observed cutting into the subsoil. These contained a mix of soft soils, ash and household waste and presumably represented rubbish disposal from the adjacent properties.
Unstratified finds recovered included Late Saxon, medieval and post-medieval pottery sherds, fragments of post-medieval clay tobacco pipe and a small number of medieval to modern metal objects. These metal finds included a medieval/post-medieval suspension ring and copper alloy vessel fragment, a post-medieval buckle and a post-medieval/modern thimble.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 27 May 2021.