ENN7262 - Whitefriars, 1974 (Trial trench)

{1} Trial trench excavations identified the remains of buildings associated with Whitefriars, although the deep Victorian cellars suggest that much of the archaeology has been destroyed. {2} Trial trenches were excavated to the north of Lady's Lane, in the centre of the surface car park to the west of the present Crown Court, in the early 1970s. They located parts of the friary building but due to deep Victorian cellarage most of the archaeological deposits had been destroyed. Attempts during the 1980s to report on these trenches proved futile due to the state of the surviving site archive. However, it should be noted that the trench did reveal a series of quarry pits in the centre of the car park area. {3} Trial trenching between Kerr Street and Park Street revealed walls, floors, decorated tile and destruction levels. There appeared to be two parallel ranges of east-west buildings with a possible garden between. {4} Trial trench between Victoria Street and Kerr Street for Whitefriars revealed little. Trial trench between Kerr Street and Park Street revealed buildings. [the latter trench was located beneath the modern courts, but no further investigation was carried out prior to construction]