Monument record 1160/0/355 - Post-medieval malting kiln and building, west of Quart Pot Lane

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken during the construction of the Sol Central Car Park in 2002. This area appears to have been open land until the late 18th to mid 19th centuries [although no deeper excavation was undertaken]. A probable malting kiln was constructed in ironstone and was of at least two phases. The backfilling of the kiln contained exclusively 16th century pottery. An east-west aligned building was constructed immediately south of the cemetery boundary and appears to have been partially terraced into the slope. The building may have been built in the late 18th century.

{1} Archaeological watching undertaken during the construction of the Sol Central car park. In the southern half of the area, there was a probable malting kiln which was constructed in ironstone. It was only partially exposed. The first phase was a stone-floored and lined pit measuring over 1.6m square, probably a fuel store or part of a larger kiln. It was rebuilt with a stone-lined and floored kiln structure that had been subjected to extreme heat. The latest phase of kiln structure was a round bowl hearth or oven. It was backfilled prior to the construction of a range of probable late 18th century buildings. The kiln is of unknown date, but the backfilling contained exclusively 16th century pottery, possibly residual.
The range of buildings appear to have been built at some point after 1770-1780 (the date of the soil into which they were cut). It was aligned east-west, immediately south of the cemetery boundary and was partially terraced into the slope. A range of rooms measuring 5m north to south and 21.5m east to west, with walls of poorly bonded ironstone rubble. Within the western most room stone paving and a stone-lined drain indicate it may have been used as a stable. A square stone-lined pit was inserted into one room and was interpreted as a cess pit. It was not excavated. A further range of buildings ran southwards from its eastern end.

{3} Archaeological evaluation undertaken in 2024 identified part of the building found previously. The building was likely constructed by 1847 and was in use into the 1950s.

<1> Harward C., 2002, Sol Central car park, Doddridge Street, Northampton, Northamptonshire; An archaeological post excavation assessment (Report). SNN102365.

<2> Museum of London Archaeology Service, 2005, Saxon, medieval and post-medieval settlement at Sol Central, Marefair, Northampton (Full Report). SNN105717.

<3> Pennell, C, 2024, Archaeological trial trench and monitoring of geotechnical works evaluation at Marefair (Doddridge Car Park), Northampton, Northamptonshire, July 2024, p. 34 (Report). SNN116855.

Record last edited

Jul 3 2025 3:31PM