Monument record 1160/0/12 - Late Saxon pottery kiln, (Site A) Horsemarket

Pottery kiln identified during excavations in Horsemarket, Northampton in 1971. The kiln comprised a bowl shaped feature up to 0.5 metres deep and 1 metre in diameter. Its sides had been burnt. Wasters had been found in association with the depression. The pottery fabric contains quartzitic and ironstone inclusions, the clay source probably the nearby Upper Lias or Lower Estuarine. Forms included wheel thrown wheel-thrown and coil-made cooking pots, storage jars, bowls and crucibles. Production took place between 900-975. The pottery is in the British Museum. The kiln was subsequently linked to the production of Northampton Ware.

{1}Late Saxon pottery kiln revealed; shallow bowl-shaped feature about 1.25m across & filled with burnt material & charcoal; large quantity of pottery mainly of sandy cooking pots; pottery similar to Stamford ware & has been called 'Northampton Ware'; kiln probably operational in C10th;

{2}Site A: late Saxon pottery kiln; shallow unlined bowl-shaped feature; originally semi-circular & about 1.5m deep; filled with burnt material & charcoal; group of cooking pots recovered were wheel turned & well finished in hard sandy fabric similar to Stamford Ware; Site B: further occupation traces noted in same trench about 35m to north; small excavation 3m square revealed five periods of occupation associated with same pottery as kiln group; four floor levels identified with postholes; probably Saxo-Norman C10th-C11th;

{3}Pottery kiln; group of cooking pots recovered were wheel turned & well finished in hard sandy fabric similar to Stamford Ware; Saxo-Norman date;

{4}Late Saxon pot sherds;

{5}Possible kiln with late Saxon pot sherds (sample only);

{6}At corner of St Mary's Street & Horsemarket kiln with associated smooth sandy Saxo-Norman Ware revealed;

{7}Probable kiln revealed with group of cooking pots; wheel-turned & well finished; hard sandy fabric similar to Stamford Ware; small excavation nearby revealed four successive floor levels; Saxo-Norman;

{8}Saxo-Norman kiln with pottery & wasters dated to C11/12th;

{9} Refers to the probable pottery kiln. Fabrics comparable to several of those found in association with the kiln have been discovered on a number of sites around the town and are known as Northampton Ware. However, the pottery is almost indistinguishable to that from the kilns at Wharf Road and Castle, Stamford. The assumption is that when found in Northampton it is a local product unless there is clear evidence it is from Stamford (fabric, glaze or form). A 9th-10th century date seems likely.

{10} Northampton ware has affinities to other late Saxon wheel-thrown pottery often found at centres within the Danelaw (ie Thetford, Stafford and Stamford). The origins of production have been a subject of much debate; were these wares introduced during the Danish incursions of the later 9th century or did they have earlier origins still? Northampton ware often appears in association with St Edmund Memorial pennies. Denham suggested a date of c900-c975. However, the use of the coins has been refined and a period c895-917-8 has been suggested, indicating the production of the pottery began when Northampton was under Danish control.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.389 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

<2> Williams J.H., 1974, A Saxo-Norman kiln group from Northampton, 46-56 (unchecked) (Article). SNN331.

<3> Williams J.H., 1973, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (3), 29 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN896.

<4> British Museum Accession Register, (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN10055.

<5> 1973, BRITISH MUSEUM MEDIEVAL POTTERY REGISTER, (unchecked) (Uncertain). SNN482.

<6> Brown, A E (ed), 1972, Bulletin of the Northamptonshire Federation of Archaeological Societies, 42 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN58344.

<7> Brown A.E. (Editor), 1973, Archaeology in Northamptonshire 1972, 21 (unchecked) (Journal). SNN8956.

<8> Shaw M.; Williams J., 1971-1981, Northampton Development Corporation SMR Record Cards, M99 (checked) (Index). SNN133.

<9> Williams J.H., 1979, St Peter's Street, Northampton: Excavations 1973-1976, p. 158 (in The Pottery, by M McCarthy) (Report). SNN342.

<10> Williams, J H, Shaw, M, & Chapman, A, 2021, Anglo-Saxon Northampton Revisited, p. 59 (Article). SNN112908.

Record last edited

Sep 12 2025 8:43AM