Monument record 264/0/43 - Possible medieval tenement plots, Little Street

Excavation identified evidence for probable medieval burgage plots as well as a large medieval quarry. Later gullies represented horticultural uses.

{1} Trial trench excavation ahead of proposed development identified a scatter of medieval pits and gullies in the middle of the site.

{2} Excavation ahead of development identified a north-south aligned ditch, 0.30m deep. No pottery was recovered from the ditch, but it was truncated by a medieval quarry. Regularly spaced postholes along on side of the ditch may have been for a fence. These features suggest that the north side of Little Street was laid out in a series of burgage plots, a form of economic land use preferred in small settlements of all sizes in the 13th century.
The later quarry measured at least 7m north-south and 10m east to west. Excavation of a geotechnical test-pit indicates that it may have been in excess of 4m deep. The backfill contained no finds, but had interleaved bands of subsoil and natural along with flecks of charcoal. Some 5m to the north of the edge of the quarry was a ditch which probably demarked the northern edges of the quarried area, with an easement for access between them. A possible beam-slot at right angle to the ditch may have been for a wind break or to prevent cart access along the edge of the unstable quarry. Three wheel-ruts may also have been associated with cart being loaded close to the quarry.
Later gullies, on a different alignment to the earlier plots, as well as a small number of slots and narrow gullies were interpreted as paddocks or garden features.

<1> Soden I, 2012, Archaeological evaluation at 'Belmont', Little Street, Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, unchecked (Report). SNN110318.

<2> Soden I, 2013, Paddocks, backyards and a local quarry industry: Excavations off Little Street, Sulgrave, Northamptonshire, 2012-2013, p.11 (Report). SNN110317.

<3> Horne B. (Editor), 2014, South Midlands Archaeology (44), p. 36 (Journal). SNN109842.

Record last edited

Feb 26 2025 7:45PM