ENN110717 - Land at Albion Place, 1996 (Desk-based Assessment)

A desk top assessment of a site which lay within historic Northampton, a town which may have been the centre of a Saxon royal estate, was undertaken. Minor excavations carried out previously at the site itself had revealed floor surfaces and other features, including two which were possibly of medieval date; one contained a sherd of medieval pottery. Post-medieval pottery and clay pipes had also been found. Documentary and cartographic evidence indicated that the site had been occupied by an important late medieval house, 'The Tower'. It was concluded that fieldwork should be undertaken to investigate the survival of this building. The possibility of encountering earlier remains also existed, as evidence of prehistoric and Romano-British occupation had been recorded near the site. [AIP]