Monument record 1679/21 - Medieval Tenements Fronting Onto The West Side of College Street

Excavation, following on from trial trench evaluation, identified medieval occupation beginning in around 1150 probably with the formation of a number of tenement plots. A number of stone buildings were constructed by the later 13th century. These may have been ancillary buildings associated with a domestic residence fronting onto College Street. A long-lived boundary divided the frontage from back plots which largely contained quarry pits. The buildings appear to have fallen out of use by the end of the 15th century and the area remained undeveloped until well into the 19th century.

{1} Archaeological desk-based assessment and trial excavation undertaken ahead of residential development. Although historical map evidence suggested that the site had been open ground or orchard for much of the post-medieval period, the trenches identified stone structures and plot boundaries of 12th-13th century date fronting onto College Street in the south-eastern part of the development area. The dating suggests that boundaries were in existence to at least the 15th century.

{2} Following on from the extensive trial trenching, a small excavation was undertaken ahead of residential development on land west of College Street. The majority of activity on the site is dated from the 12th to 13th centuries, when Higham Ferrers was at the height of its influence and several tenements probably occupied the site. The dating suggests that the boundaries continued in existence to at least the 15th century.

The earliest activity was a number of shallow ditches and pits dating from the around 1150 probably relating to the formation of tenment plots.

By the later 13th century several stone buildings had been constructed. A small building lay to the south-west (Building 1) of the site. It had an internal width of only 2.5m and was in excess of 4.5m long, but the west end was not located. No more than a single wall course survived. The walls were faced with roughly squared slabs of limestone and the wall core was packed with smaller limestone fragments; no mortar was observed. The north wall was 0.50-0.60m wide, but the width of the east and south walls was not determined. The east wall was totally rebuilt but with the rebuild lying at a slight angle. This rebuild was only 0.40m wide, indicating that it did not provide structural support for the main roof timbers, while the change in angle may suggest that the roof was hipped rather than gable ended. Along the north wall a break in the wall and an adjacent cluster of flat-laid limestone slabs suggest the possible presence of a doorway with an external threshold setting. This doorway may have been near central to a two bay structure some 6.0-6.5m long. No floor level survived within the building, in fact, following machining and cleaning, the interior was down to natural clays at a level below the base of the walls. The small size of the building indicates that it was a minor ancillary building.

To the immediate north of Building 1 there was a yard surface comprising small pieces of limestone in brown clay matrix, with an area of larger limestone slabs to the east. The surface extended 2.5m north of the building where it ended quite abruptly, while to the east it extended further to the north. To the north and east it petered out, and may have been lost to later disturbance.

There was also an L-shaped length of stone-lined drain. This presumably served a building to the north with the outflow probably being fed into a ditch to the west. The sides of the drain were lined with vertically set blocks of limestone and, in places, a capping of large limestone slabs survived, with the open drain 0.20-0.25m wide. To the west of the drain and north of the yard surface the base of a circular oven had survived. The chamber was 1.1m in diameter with a floor of large limestone slabs blackened and cracked from burning.

Along the northern margin of the excavated area the southern face of a limestone wall was exposed, 142. This is presumed to be the southern wall of a building lying to the north, which was at least 10m long. The L-shaped stone-lined drain must have served this building, unless it was of a different phase of activity.

In the south-east corner of the area, the northern face of a disturbed limestone wall was exposed in the edge of the trench. This was presumably the north wall of a building that lay to the south, beyond the excavated area, and also continuing further to the east. The building must have been less than 5.0m wide, as it was not present in trench 8. At the western end of the north wall a broad stone foundation ran northward. At the exposed surface it was edged with flat laid limestone slabs. This broad and short foundation presumably formed a solid base for a structure set against the north wall of the adjacent building. This might have been an external stairway, but the lack of any information about the nature of the adjacent building makes it impossible to speculate further.

A north-south wall located in two of the trial trenches may have formed a western boundary to the domestic plots. Ditches aligned east to west in trenches 3 and 7 lay approximately 20m apart and 20m north of Cemetery Lane. The distance can be equated to a four rod width: based on a rod of 16.5feet, suggesting that these ditches may have been original tenement plot boundaries. The length of these tenements is less certain, but map projection does suggest that College Street has been widened and now impinges onto the eastern ends of the medieval plots. A length of approx. 75m (15 rods) can therefore be suggested as an approximate value. Given that the statutory acre measured 40 by 4 rods, the two southern tenements, measuring 15 by 4 rods, would each have occupied 0.375 acres (3/8th of an acre).

<1> Morris S., 2002, Land off College Street, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire; Archaeological evaluation (Report). SNN102334.

<2> Jones C.; Chapman A., 2003, A medieval tenement at College Street, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire (Article). SNN112183.

<3> Jones C.; Chapman A., 2003, Archaeological Excavation at College Street, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, July 2003 (Report). SNN104809.

Record last edited

Nov 14 2022 3:53PM