Hyde Parish Hall, Hyde Street, Winchester, Hampshire

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1 Hyde Parish Hall, Hyde Street, Winchester, Hampshire An Archaeological Evaluation for Hyde Parish Council by Stephen Hammond Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd Site Code AY 135 April 2003

2 Summary Site name: Hyde Parish Hall, Hyde Street, Winchester, Hampshire Grid reference: SU Site activity: Archaeological Evaluation Date and duration of project: 19th 24th April 2003 Project manager: Jo Pine Site supervisor: Stephen Hammond Site code: AY 135 Area of site: c. 25 sq m Summary of results: An undressed chalk wall foundation, incorporating medieval pottery into its matrix, was discovered, on the line of the projected precinct boundary of the medieval Hyde Abbey. A small collection of early post-medieval pottery may suggest some use of the site in this period also. Monuments identified: probable medieval Abbey precinct wall. Location and reference of archive: The site archive is currently held by Thames Valley Archaeological Services, De Beauvoir Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5NR and will be deposited with Winchester Museum Service in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford Steve Preston i

3 Hyde Parish Hall, Hyde Street, Winchester, Hampshire An Archaeological Evaluation by Stephen Hammond Report 03/19 Introduction This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out at Hyde Parish Hall, Winchester, Hampshire (SU ) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Rodney Graham of Design Engine Architects, 3 St Clements Yard, Winchester, SO23 9DR on behalf of Hyde Parish Council An application for planning permission has been made to Winchester City Council (02/02923/FUL) to construct a new disabled access ramp to the parish hall. The proposed development site lies on the alignment of the precinct boundary of Hyde Abbey and is considered to have high archaeological potential. Therefore a field evaluation has been requested, as the site may contain important archaeological deposits. This is designed to provide further information on the potential of the site with which to draw up an appropriate mitigation strategy prior to any damage or destruction which might be caused during groundworks. This is in accordance with the Department of the Environment s Planning Policy Guidance, Archaeology and Planning (PPG ), and the City s policies on archaeology. The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Ms Tracey Matthews, Sites and Monuments Officer to Winchester City Council. The fieldwork was undertaken by Stephen Hammond and Richard Oram between 19tth and 24th March 2003 and the site code is AY135. The archive is presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Winchester Museum Service in due course, with accession code WINCH: AY135. Location, topography and geology The site is a small parcel of land at the rear of Hyde Parish Hall on the east side of Hyde Street at an approximate height of 43m above Ordnance Datum (Fig. 2). Currently the site is used solely as a garden with limited access to the property. The underlying geology as shown on maps (BGS 1993) is silty clay over chalk. This was encountered in auger holes but otherwise the trenches were not dug deep enough to confirm this. Archaeological background The site lies within the historic northern suburb of Winchester and the proposed development lies over the predicted line of the western precinct boundary of medieval Hyde Abbey (Fig. 2), a site of national importance. 1

4 The boundary has been shown elsewhere to be defined by earthworks and substantial masonry walls over 1m in width. Investigations on the eastern side have also shown this area to be defined by watercourses. On the west side of Hyde Street Roman burial deposits have also been found. No remains associated with these burials were known to the east of Hyde Street, until recent fieldwork c. 200m south of the site located two cremation groups. Objectives and methodology The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the presence/absence, extent, condition, character, quality and date of any archaeological deposits within the area of development. The specific research aims of the project were: To determine if archaeologically relevant levels have survived on the site. To determine if archaeological deposits of any period are present. To determine if there are further deposits relating to the Abbey precinct boundary are present. To determine if burial deposits of Roman date are present. Two trenches; one 2m x 1m, the other 1m x 1m were to be hand excavated. It was intended to position these trenches as close as possible to those indicated in the project specification with the larger trench being aligned east west so as to maximize the chance of encountering the precinct boundary if present (Fig. 3). Any archaeological features encountered would be hand cleaned and recorded whilst the spoilheaps created would be monitored for finds and scanned with a metal detector. The work was designed to be carried out in a manner which would not compromise the integrity of archaeological features or deposits that warrant preservation in situ, or might better be excavated under conditions pertaining to full excavation. A complete list of trenches giving lengths, breadths, depths and a description of sections and geology is given in Appendix 1. Results Trench 1 (Plate 1) This trench was 1m x 1.05m in plan and was dug to a depth of 1.2m. Several layers were revealed, but all were unambiguously of 19th/ 20th century origin. Beneath 0.23m of turf lay 0.54m of dark brown silty clay with brick rubble and occasional pieces of chalk, flint and slate. This overlay a thin layer (0.07m) of ash and charcoal. Towards the east side of the trench compact lenses of gravel and chalk of up to 0.12m thickness were revealed and are thought to be the remnants of a former path. The lowest layer comprised 0.38m of a grey brown silty clay with brick and tile, slate and chalk fragments. 2

5 Below the bottom of the trench, a further 2.8m was examined by auger down to a total depth of 4m. This revealed a continuation of the brown silty clay layer with brick, chalk and slate fragments, becoming lighter with depth. The natural geology was probably encountered at 3.3m [40.35m AOD] and comprised a light yellow/brown clay with chalk inclusions. Trench 2 (Plate 2) This trench was 3.7m x 1.0m in plan and was dug to a depth of 1.2m with a slot at the base going down to 1.6m (Figs. 3 and 4). Beneath 0.25m of topsoil, a more complex stratigraphy was revealed in contrast to trench 1. The majority of the trench was occupied by relatively modern disturbance which might include pit digging and/or robbing trench (Fig. 4; 1 6). Apart from the 19th /20th century finds from the fills of these events, the disturbance cut layers of subsoil, ash, gravel and chalk (56 61) that were also encountered in trench 1 which here formed a path unambiguously of relatively modern date. Underlying layer 61 to the east was a large cut (7), probably a large pit, that occupied most of the trench, although its extent was not determined. It cut layer 63. The upper level (62) contained brick/tile, coal, late 18th century or later pottery large fragments of slate and indicates that this feature is also of relatively modern date. Two other possible pits (8 and 9) cut pit 6. The lowest levels of the trench were occupied by two deposits of archaeological interest. At the western end was a wall or foundation (10) which comprised large pieces (80 100mm) of chalk within a matrix of sandy clay. None of the stone was dressed and no facing stones were observed suggesting that this deposit represents a foundation. The foundation butted against a grey brown silty clay (63) and probably lay within a trench that had cut the latter. Four sherds of medieval pottery of 12th and 13th century date and a fragment of tile were recovered from the matrix of the wall. Two auger holes were examined from the bottom of the trench (1.2m down) through pit 7 and revealed no variation of the fill layer 62 until the natural geology was reached at a depth of 1.7m [40.34m AOD]. Finds Pottery by Alan Vince Forty-one sherds of pottery were submitted for identification and assessment (Appendix 3). Two trenches were dug, to locate the western precinct boundary of Hyde Abbey and the foundations of a wall were discovered (10). The pottery and tile recovered from this context are consistent with a later 13th to 15th-century date and more 3

6 probably towards the end of this period. The remaining pottery, from cut 7, was mixed and either of a similar date or later (Appendix 3). A single sherd of possible 13th-century date was found in deposit 62. Description Medieval Pottery A sherd of handmade unglazed pottery tempered with abundant rounded quartz up to 1.0mm across was found in cut 10 and can only be broadly dated to the 12th century or later. A sherd of a jug with a copper-green external glaze and an offwhite, sandy fabric from cut 7 is similar to those produced in southeast Wiltshire in the early 13th century, for example in the earliest phase of the Laverstock industry. Seven sherds of a sandy earthenware were found. These have a silty micaceous groundmass with added rounded quartz and are the most common type found in Winchester in the later medieval period. Recent analysis of similar wares from High Street, Alton, suggests that they may have been made from lower Cretaceous clay which outcrops to the northeast of Winchester, for example in the Alton area. A sherd of Coarse Border Ware (Pearce and Vince 1988) found in cut 7 dates to the later medieval period. Three sherds of Tudor Green ware (Pearce and Vince 1988) were found in cuts 6 and 7. This type first occurs in the City of London in deposits of the early 15th century but continued in use into the early 16th century (Pearce 1992). Three sherds of Raeren stoneware recovered from cut 7 date from the late 15th to mid 16th centuries. Two sherds of Low Countries Red Earthenware were recovered from cut 7. This type has a long life, from the middle of the 14th century into the 16th century. Post-medieval pottery A sherd of Cologne stoneware drinking jug was recovered from cut 7. This type was used in the mid 16th century alongside Raeren stoneware. Seven sherds of an untempered red earthenware, made from a silty micaceous clay containing abundant small iron-rich specks were recovered from cut 7. The nature of the groundmass again suggests the use of lower Cretaceous clay, probably from the northeast of Winchester. Eight sherds of Verwood ware were recovered from cut 7. This ware was produced from the 16th century (or even earlier) but continued to be produced into the first half of the 20th century. 4

7 A sherd from a Westerwald stoneware drinking jug was found in cut 7. The use of a purple paint indicates a later 17th or 18th-century date. Early Modern pottery Four fragments of unglazed flowerpots were found in cut 6. They are probably of later 18th-century or later date. A sherd of a Nottingham stoneware vessel, possibly a pipkin or jar, was recovered from cut 6. This ware was produced from the late 17th century onwards although its main period of export was in the later 18th and 19th centuries. A sherd of transfer-printed whiteware was found in cut 7. It probably dates to the 19th century. A sherd of an apple green-glazed whiteware bowl, moulded in the shape of a leaf, was recovered from cut 6. It is probably of 19th or 20th-century date. Ceramic building material by Alan Vince Seven fragments of ceramic building material were submitted for identification (Appendix 4). One fragment from cut 7 is too small for identification and is therefore assigned a later 12th-century or later date. Two, from cuts 10 and 7, are of ridge tiles, in one case definitely with a knife-cut crest. These tiles were made in the same sand-tempered, silty micaceous fabric as the medieval pottery and probably have a similar late 13th- to 15thcentury date. There are four fragments of medieval floor tile, in two fabrics. The first is variegated and includes large angular fragments of white and red-firing clay of varying textures. The examples of this fabric include a slipped, yellow-glazed tile, a green glazed tile and an inlaid tile. The inlaid tile, and the shell keying on the underside of two of these tiles shows that they belong to the Wessex school, which was in operation from the mid 13th to the early 14th centuries. The second tile contains abundant quartz sand temper, together with subangular fragments of brown-stained flint. The design suggests that it belongs to the Chertsey-Halesowen school, produced in the very late 13th and early 14th centuries. Dating The pottery and tile from wall/foundation 10 dates this to the later medieval period or later. The pottery and tile from cut 6 is a mixed assemblage in which the latest sherds are of 19th-century or later date. The pottery and tile from cut 7 also form a mixed assemblage, containing within it a group of probably 16th-century wares (RAER, 5

8 DUTR, KOLN, PMLOC) dating to around the time of the dissolution. The latest sherd is of late 18th or more probably 19th-century date. The floor tiles were probably used in the abbey church. Conclusion The two evaluation trenches have revealed markedly different results. Trench 1 revealed only modern deposits for the upper 1.2m. Augering below this level suggested truncation of the natural geology at this point and probably revealed that modern deposits were present for the whole sequence above natural. Trench 2, however, revealed a more complex range of deposits, most of which are of 19th/20th century date but including a wall foundation that lies on the predicted alignment of the Hyde Abbey precinct boundary. From within the wall matrix was recovered late medieval pottery and tile. The top of the wall foundation lies relatively deeply buried at a height of about 40.84m AOD. The concentration of 15th/16th-century pottery, albeit mixed with later material, suggests some activity at this period too. References BGS, 1993, British Geological Survey, 1:50000, Sheet 299, Drift Edition, Keyworth Pearce, J, 1992, Post-Medieval pottery in London, : Border wares, HMSO Pearce, J and Vince, A, 1988, A dated type-series of London Medieval pottery part 4: Surrey whitewares, LAMAS spec pap 10 PPG16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSO 6

9 APPENDIX 1: Trench details 0m at west end Trench No. Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment m turf/topsoil; m brown/grey silty clay with brick rubble, slate, etc; m black/purple ash and charcoal; , clay, gravel, chalk layers; m grey brown silty clay with some brick rubble, slate, etc. Natural geology found by auger at 3.3m [40.3m AOD] m turf/topsoil; grey/brown silty clay with brick rubble, slate, etc; black/purple ash and charcoal,, clay, gravel, chalk layers (56-61); m pit and wall 10. Pits 1-7. Natural geology found by auger at 1.7m [40.4m AOD] 7

10 APPENDIX 2: Feature details Trench Cut Fill (s) Type Date Dating evidence Pit 19th C Stratigraphy and pottery Pit 19th C Stratigraphy and pottery Pit 19th C Stratigraphy and pottery Pit 19th C Stratigraphy and pottery Pit 19th C Stratigraphy and pottery Pit 19th C Stratigraphy and pottery Pit? 18th C+ Pottery, coal Pit? 19th C Stratigraphy Pit? 19th C Stratigraphy 2 10 Wall Late Pottery and tile 8

11 APPENDIX 3: Pottery catalogue Sherd Vessel Date Cut Deposit Name Form number number Subfabric Part Description Fine sand; sparse musc; 13.th C 10 MEDLOC Jug 2 2 brown with reduced core BS 10 MEDLOC Jar 1 1 A rq >1.0mm BS Fine sand; sparse musc; 10 MEDLOC Jar 1 1 brown with reduced core BS 6 64 LPM Flp 2 1 BS 18 th C 6 64 LPM Flp 2 2 BS 18th C Fine sand; sparse musc; 6 64 MEDLOC Bowl 1 1 brown with reduced core BS CUGL INT 6 64 NOTS Bowl 1 1 BS 18th C 6 64 TUDG Cup 1 1 BS 15th C GREEN GLAZED; MOULDED INTO 19th C 6 64 WHITE Bowl 1 1 BS LEAF FORM 7 62 CBW Jar 1 1 BS 14th C 7 62 DUTR Caul 1 1 R 16th C 7 62 DUTR Caul 1 1 BS 16th C 7 62 KOLN Dj 1 1 BS 16th C Fine sand; sparse musc; 7 62 MEDLOC Jug 1 1 brown with reduced core BS Fine sand; sparse musc; 7 62 MEDLOC Jug 1 1 brown with reduced core BS Fine sand; sparse musc; 7 62 MEDLOC? 1 1 brown with reduced core BS UNGLAZED; BLACKENED INT AND 16th C 7 62 PMLOC Jug 1 1 Fine micaceous silty BS EXT SURFACE 7 62 PMLOC Jug 1 1 Fine micaceous silty BS 16th C UNGLAZED; BLACKENED INT AND 16th C 7 62 PMLOC Jug 1 1 Fine micaceous silty BS EXT SURFACE 7 62 PMLOC Jug 1 1 Fine micaceous silty BS 16th C 7 62 PMLOC Jar 1 1 Fine micaceous silty BS 16th C 7 62 PMLOC Cup 1 1 Fine micaceous silty R 16th C 7 62 PMLOC Cup 1 1 Fine micaceous silty BS YELLOW GL INT 16th C 7 62 RAER Dj 3 3 BS 15th C 7 62 SEW Jug 1 1 BS CUGL 7 62 TPW Plate 1 1 BS 18th C 7 62 TUDG Cup 1 1 H 15th C 7 62 TUDG Bowl 1 1 R 15th C 7 62 VERW Pip 1 1 BS UNGLAZED 16th C 7 62 VERW Pip 2 2 BS YELLOW GLAZED INT 16th C 7 62 VERW Pip 1 1 BS 16th C 7 62 VERW Panc 1 1 BS LIGHT BROWN GL INT 16th C 7 62 VERW Panc 1 1 BS BROWN GLAZED INT 16th C 7 62 VERW Bowl 1 1 BS UNGLAZED 16th C 7 62 VERW? 1 1 BS UNGLAZED 16th C 7 62 WEST Dj 1 1 BS BLUE & PURPLE DEC 17th C 9

12 APPENDIX 4: Roof and floor tile catalogue Sherd Vessel Cut Deposit Name Form number Number Subfabric Fine sand; sparse musc; 10 MEDLOC Ridge 1 1 brown with reduced core Part Description 6 64 MTIL1 Floor 1 1 Bs White slipped;yellow gl 6 64 MTIL1? Floor 1 1 Bs Green gl 6 64 MTIL2 Floor 1 1 Bs Inlaid 7 62 MTIL Flat? 1 1 Bs 7 62 MTIL1 Floor 1 1 Bs Inlaid Fine sand; sparse musc; 7 62 MEDLOC Ridge 1 1 brown with reduced core Bs Kc crest Bs date 13.th C? 12th C 10

13 31000 SITE SITE Hyde Parish Hall, Hyde Street, Winchester, Hampshire, 2003 SU AY135 Figure 1. Location of site within Winchester and Hampshire. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Pathfinder 1243 SU43/53 and 1264 SU42/52 1:25000 at 1:12500 Ordnance Survey Licence AL52324A0001

14 King Alfreds Place Hyde Parish Hall, Hyde Street, Hampshire, 2003 N Hyde Street SITE Parish Hall Hyde Church Path St. Bartholomew's Church gate SU Projected line of Hyde Abbey precinct boundary Figure 2. Detailed location of site in Winchester. AY135

15 Hyde Parish Hall, Hyde Street, Winchester, Hampshire, 2003 N Projected line of Hyde Abbey precinct boundary SITE Parish Hall SU m Figure 3. Location of trenches in site. AY135

16 Hyde Parish Hall, Hyde Street, Winchester, 2003 Section 2 E W 40.84m Tile m 42.11m AOD E 50 Section 1 W B B Modern pottery B 3 63 Wall Lime 0 2m Trench 2 N m 40.84m Section 2 Section 1 0 2m Figure 4. Sections and plans of trenches. AY135

17 Plate 1. Trench 1, looking north, vertical scale 2m, horizontal scales 1m. Plate 2. Trench 2, looking south, scales 1m. AY135