NHER 66628 (Monument record) - Undated cess pit and late post-medieval structural remains

October 2021. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of detached annex building in the grounds of The Old Rectory.
The foundation trenches excavated revealed an oval feature, the fill of which had frequent yellowish-green organic staining, suggesting it had probably been a cess pit. This deposit also contained small quantities of butchered animal bone and oyster shell, which presumably represented food waste. This feature was most likely medieval or post-medieval but unfortunately no dating evidence was recovered.
Brick footings were exposed in south-west part of the site. The bricks in these walls were of 18th- to mid-19th-century date, suggesting there were probably associated with a former eastern extension to The Old Rectory that can be clearly seen on both the Weeting tithe map (S1) and the Ordnance Survey First Edition 25-inch map (S2). These remains included two parallel walls between which were layers of black ashy material sealed by a dump of demolition rubble – suggesting the presence of a cellar.
Unstratified finds were limited to a single sherd of post-medieval pottery and a late post-medieval coin.
See report (S3) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2022.53).
P. Watkins (HES), 19 December 2022. Amended 27 April 2024.