Monument record 7198/112 - Post Medieval/Modern Tenement, Market Place

Archaeological excavations on the southern fringe of Kettering Market place revealed the truncated remnants of 18th-20th century tenements. All evidence of medieval building appears to have been cleared, and the ground level reduced, in the post-medieval period.

{1, 2} A watching brief conducted at the Market Place during geotechnical test pit excavation identified the remains of post-medieval structures at its southern end. These relate to former properties which were demolished c1926-1950. the features comprised an ironstone cellar wall, a brick-lined pit and an ironstone wall footing.

{3} Excavation in the Market Place revealed the truncated remains of 18th-20th century tenements. The frontages lay outside the excavated area. Associated outbuildings, yards and boundaries were observed, but where they survived the beginning of the sequence consistently dated to the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Nothing tangible remained of the medieval buildings that almost certainly stood within the site. These appear to have been cleared en masse in the post-medieval period which appears to have involved the reduction of the original ground level across the entire site; this would account for the almost complete lack of medieval pottery.
In the eastern part of the excavated area a series of heavily truncated wall foundations and two small cellars were the only remnants of the rear wing and yard of Plot 5, as depicted on historical maps of the C18th-C20th.
Evidence for the later C19th/earlier C20th yard structures depicted on historic maps was entirely absent, presumably their formation levels were too high to escape the truncation of the site after the demolitions of 1935. The truncation affecting Plot 5 was even more pronounced to the west where, beyond a small groupof features in Plot 4, very few remains of the other tenements survived. In Plot 4, wall foundations of the rear wing of a building depicted on historic maps from 1721 onwards were found, as well as a cess -pit, pits and postholes. Plot 3 was almost entirely occupied by a large cellar. Payne's Cake Shop was present here from at least 1890. The earliest recorded features lay in Plot 2; a stone-lined well and a pit. Documentary research identified these as the remnants of commercial premises.

<1> Brown, J., 2008, An Archaeological Watching Brief at the Market Place, Kettering, Northamptonshire, August 2008 (Report). SNN106279.

<1> Mason P., 2010, Excavation of Post-Medieval Tenements at Market Place, Kettering, April-July 2010, p.24-25 (checked) (Report). SNN107022.

<2> Horne B. (Editor), 2009, South Midlands Archaeology (39), p.27 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN106544.

Record last edited

Jan 22 2024 3:39PM