Monument record 130/11 - Medieval settlement, Castle Lane/ Close

Excavation in 1982 of a row of seven medieval tenements to the south of Castle Lane. Two tenements incorporated stone buildings dating to the 12th/13th centuries which were preceded by a timber building. There seems to be no evidence of settlement after the 13th century.

{1}This is the best understood of all the areas of the medieval town, thanks to the combined evidence of detailed topographical reconstruction from the medieval charters and a large scale excavation. By 1240-50 there are references to houses in the land of the castle and of the corner of Castle Lane opposite St James' Chapel. This survived in 1830 as a narrow lane running from the centre of the presumed eastern bailey ditch to St James church, and was probably the original approach to the castle. By 1280 houses extended right up to the castle with a ‘tenement in Le Castlelande’ (probably an incorrect transcription of Castle Lane) ‘on one side near the castle moat on the other a tenement of the hospital’. The excavations were undertaken in the 1980s but as they are still not published a detailed discussion of the evidence is presented here as it is the best understood of any medieval street in any town in the county other than Northampton.

Occupation began no earlier than the late 12th century and continued until the end of the 13th century. There is equivocal evidence in regard to the construction of the Castle Lane over the backfilled bailey ditch which might indicate that Castle Lane and its tenements were constructed after the demise of the castle, but excavation on the castle itself is essential to determine this more certainly, though investigation has indicated the castle was occupied from the 11th to the 13th century. It is possible that some of the undated features adjacent to Castle Lane could be contemporary to the castle but there is no certain material before the late 12th century. Hence it would be possible for this area to have been initially a castle bailey. Equally the area might have been left open to provide a clear field of fire from the defences. However without investigation of the frontage onto the Oxford Road it will remain uncertain whether the Castle Lane row was merely constructed by subdivision of a tenement which originally fronted onto the Oxford Road and was contemporary with the castle. Whichever is the case it would appear that the occupation along Castle Lane represents part of the growth of the town some years after its initial foundation.

In the late 12th century regularly sized row of tenements approximately 8m wide were laid out along the south side of Castle Lane, with a metalled street approximately 6.5m wide.

Unfortunately the range of artefacts recovered from the tenements does not enable differentiation of trades between the tenements. There were three woodworking tools, 6 leather working and 7 wool or cloth working tools. The latter however were supported by 12 spindle whorls. The preponderance of wood or cloth relate artefacts is not surprising in Brackley but does suggest that one or more of the tenants in castle lane was involved in he wool or cloth industry. Hence though wool or cloth working is the main trade represented, leather working, carpentry and smithing are also present.

The archaeological evidence from Castle Lane is for the desertion of the five tenements at some time around 1300, far earlier than one might otherwise expect from the famines and then the plagues of the 14th century. This may simply be a reflection of specific factors relating to that tenement row and its owners, or indeed to changes within the town itself with some form of shift from the Castel End towards the market place and the High Street. However it could reflect a wider pattern of decline in the boroughs in the region in the late 13th and early the 14th century

{2} Excavation was carried out in order to investigate several medieval tenements identified in 13th century documents.
Activity during the medieval period was represented by two phases of building. The first building phase was a timber structure with no firm dating evidence; the second phase can be attributed to the 12th or 13th century.
The later phase was a row of stone built tenements. Two of the seven buildings had a free standing stone cellar. The relationship between the documentary evidence and the excavated buildings is determined in part by an excavation of part of the castle moat and one fish pond. Both were out of use during the second phase of medieval activity in Castle Lane. All activity in the excavated area declined around the late 13th century although no reason for this has been established.

{3} In the late 12th century regularly sized row of tenements approximately 8m wide were laid out along the south side of Castle Lane, a metalled street approximately 6.5m wide. An apparently terraced row of timber post buildings, each 4m. By 8m., with similar ground plan fronted the lane in 4 tenements. In addition they had on their western side buildings c.4m wide running back from the terraced row in each tenement. There was evidence of a metalled yard behind the buildings and then a garden beyond. The rear of the tenements did in some cases contain a few pits but there was only restricted excavation of the gardens.

In one of the tenements the hearths in the frontage building appear to represent a workshop, possibly involved in metalworking as the tenement contained finds of smithing slag.

Whereas the two tenements at the eastern end of the row not only had a different ground plan but also each had a large stone line pit which might in some way relate to the particular occupation of these tenants. Unfortunately the range of artefacts recovered from the tenements does not enable differentiation of trades between the tenements. There were three woodworking tools, 6 leather working and 7 wool or cloth working tools. The latter however were supported by 12 spindle whorls. The preponderance of wood or cloth relate artefacts is not surprising in Brackley but does suggest that one or more of the tenants in castle lane was involved in he wool or cloth industry. Hence though wool or cloth working is the main trade represented, leather working, carpentry and smithing are also present.

Tenement 1
The tenement was defined on the west by a boundary wall or possible building, which partly sealed a line of 6 post holes on a similar alignment. The post holes defined a fence; they were not regularly spaced and measured 7.65m north to south. Other features included the north and south walls of a building in the north of the tenement and a stone-lined pit in the south west corner of the building. The pit had a diameter of 1.55-1.7m and a depth of 0.5m The lining was of rough-hewn limestone slabs, several being heavily burnt on their inner faces. The nature of the stonework and similar features in the other tenements dated it to the medieval period but its function is unclear. A circular cut, possibly a storage pit, was found near the south limit of the trial trench. Finds included a few items of medieval metalwork and 365 sherds of medieval pottery.

Tenement 2
Tenement 2 was 7.6-8.2m wide, its western boundary comprising a line of post holes. Most of the building foundations had been erased by later activity, but fragments of walls and the residue of stone robbing could be seen. The most prominent features were a stone-lined pit and a hearth surface. The pit was circular and 1.5m in diameter. It was constructed of weathered limestone slabs with traces of burning. The lack of evidence for continued combustion may suggest that it was used as a storage pit. The hearth surface was comprised of a spread of compacted limestone, part of which was thoroughly burnt. It was punctuated by a V-shaped alignment of stakeholes, a sub-rectangular depression and various slight indentations. The tenement also contained fragmentary remains of medieval stonework, a large storage pit, several truncated post holes and a cavity within which sat the lower half of a storage vessel. Finds included iron, copper alloy and stone objects and 320 sherds of C12/13 pottery.

Tenement 3
The west boundary of tenement 3 was formed by the surviving walls of a well preserved structure. Little survived in the area of the building to the north of the tenement although a small group of eroded and heavily burnt stones formed a hearth setting and a west-east alignment of post holes was noted. In the south of the tenement a yard surface was seen, as well as a finely constructed cellar. This stone-lined cellar was the most substantive feature revealed by the excavations. The cellar measured 6.15 by 3.9m although a change in construction technique in the east and west walls indicated that it had been extended. The walls were of roughly squared limestone slabs and eroded limestone blocks. There was no evidence for a superstructure so the 'cellar' may not have underlay additional storeys. The entrance to the cellar was in the north east corner and consisted of a flight of 5 steps. The floor of the cellar was comprised of several compacted layers of redeposited natural limestone. The cellar was deliberately backfilled and blocked. Finds included 60 iron and copper alloy objects and 1961 sherds of medieval pottery.

Tenement 4
The boundaries of tenement 4 were formed by the western walls of the cellars in tenements 3 and 4 and were 8.5m apart. The outline of the building on the frontage of the tenement were discernable in the fragmentary remnants of walling and post holes. It contained a hearth of close-packed limestone slabs and a reused stone lined storage pit. The pit contained finds of iron, copper alloy and stone objects. In the south of the tenement, a yard area was revealed, as well as a well constructed stone cellar. The cellar measured 4.2 by 2.85m with a floor comprised of limestone blocks and walls of roughly squared limestone slabs and rough-hewn limestone blocks. There were similarities in the construction of this cellar and the one in tenement 3. Three steps in the north east corner comprised the entrance although there is evidence of an earlier entrance to the east. The cellar steps were later blocked by a west-east wall but the function of this is unclear, and the cellar was later backfilled. There was no evidence of a superstructure. Finds included iron, lead and copper alloy objects as well as 699 sherds of C12/13 pottery. To the east of the cellar lay a quarry pit in which was the remains of a wall, possibly an ancillary structure. The pit contained 1708 sherds of pottery.

Tenement 5
The west boundary was formed by a row of post holes and an associated ditch. The tenement was 8.3m wide. The preservation of wall foundations and other stratified material was better in this tenement than in the others. The building to the north of the tenement was formed of walls sealing earlier post holes which would have formed the first timber buildings on the site. The later walls were composed of medium and large limestone slabs arranged in an irregular fashion, and had a rubble core. The east wall of the building may have been a common wall between tenements 4 and 5. The building measured 7.6 by 5.9m. There may have been a passageway between the buildings in tenements 5 and 6. A hearth was found in this building: it was represented by a setting of limestone slabs around which were three post holes, possibly a protective screen or canopy. A yard surface was visible further south with the foundation walls of another structure. The yard showed two phases of occupation with the stone walls cutting a series of earlier post holes. The lack of a west wall to the structure in the yard may mean that it was an open enclosure, or may just be the consequence of later stone robbing. Within the building was a large oval stone-lined pit; many of the limestone slabs had been burnt. Finds included 2568 sherds of pottery and 47 miscellaneous metal and stone objects.

Tenement 6
Tenement 6 was bounded on the west by a building wall and a boundary wall further south, and was 8.1m wide. Three distinct parts of the tenement were discovered: the north building, the yard, and a garden area. The north building was represented by three stone wall footings and a robber trench, overlying earlier post holes. The post holes were deliberately filled and the floor surface levelled, indicating that the stone buildings were constructed immediately after the destruction of the earlier timber buildings. The building measured 8.0 by 5.8m and the uniformity of the ground plan indicates that the walls were built in phase to a deliberate design. The interior of the building was filled with industrial features which left no space for domestic occupation. The interior features comprised a sub circular cut that was originally stone-lined and probably functioned with the adjacent hearth; a hearth bowl of 2.75 by 2.5 by 0.15m, initially lined with compacted limestone, and an oblong cut to the south of the hearth which could have been a furnace or oven. A pit oven or bowl furnace was found a the east end of the building. The yard contained pits, post holes and short sections of walling, but in no coherent outline. The south part of the tenement was given over to cultivation and rubbish deposition. Two conjoined L-shaped walls divided the yard and the garden. The yard was comprised of densely packed cobbles. Metal slag and copper alloy workings were found in the yard. Animal bone and pottery were recovered from the garden. A large sub-rectangular storage, and later refuse, pit was found in the north east corner of the garden. Finds from the tenement included 5750 sherds and 95 special finds.

{7} A watching brief undertaken prior to the construction of a supermarket after the 1982 excavations. Three pits were seen in tenement 2. In the area of 6-8 were ?two medieval pits, one of which may have been the origin of a broken copper alloy buckle dated from around 1150 to 1450 which matches the dating of the pottery (late 12th to 13th century).
At the eastern edge of the site were a series of medieval pit fills which were cut by stone walls which may be similar to those seen forming cellars further to the north. Walls forming three sides of a rectangle were seen, with a fill that contained pottery of 11th to 13th century date. Two pits lay to the north east of the possible cellar and also contained pottery of 11th to 13th century date.

<1> Ballinger J.; Foard G., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Brackley, Section Castle lane (Digital archive). SNN100499.

<2> Brown A.E. (Editor), 1983, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1982, p176 Brackley (unchecked) (Article). SNN24591.

<3> BARCHAM R., 1982?, Brackley, Castle Lane, (unchecked) (Typescript Report). SNN70228.

<4> Young S.M.; Clark J.; Barry T., 1982, Medieval Archaeology (26), 26/198 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN3639.

<5> Brown A.E.(ed), 1982, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1981, p.102 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN100413.

<6> Youngs, S M, Clark, J & Barry, T B, 1983, Medieval Britain in 1982, p. 197 (Article). SNN113459.

<7> ROBERTS M, 1994, Tesco's development next to Brackley Castle, Oxford Road, Brackley, Northamptonshire, p.3 (unchecked) (Report). SNN40435.

<8> Shaw M., 1982, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (12), p. 31-2 (Journal). SNN22160.

<9> Hall, D N, 1983, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (13), p. 23, 25-6 (Newsletter). SNN48541.

Record last edited

Jul 21 2022 11:03AM