Monument record 1160/124/1 - Medieval occupation, St Giles Square

Archaeological excavation at the Guildhall Extension site in 1990 identified a number of medieval features. In the 11th century, the area may have been part of the extra mural market area outside the late Saxon town. Timber buildings were present from the 12th century and a stone building from the late 13th century which was associated with a series of ovens in a yard area to its east. The stone building was abandoned in the early 16th century.

{1} Archaeological evaluation followed by full-scale excavation of a sample area was carried out between March and June 1990. The earliest features were two large pits and two postholes, both probably of an eleventh-century date.
Subsequently a boundary ditch was excavated across the site at fight-angles to St Giles' Street. This was later recut on a slightly different alignment. To the west of the ditch the remains of a posthole-structure were uncovered. To the east of the ditch less substantial structural remains were discovered. Further postholes possibly relate to a second phase of timber structures which may be connected with the recutting of the boundary ditch. This phase of activity is dated to the twelfth to thirteenth centuries.
A layer of stony, clay loam was laid over the remains of the posthole structures and the boundary ditch was replaced by a stone boundary wall c 3m to the east of the original boundary.
To the west of the boundary wall a stone-founded building was constructed. The front of the building had been lost due to the cellars along St Giles' Street but the back of the building survived, running at right-angles to the street for a distance of over 10m. Where the walls of the building were built over the back-filled pits of an earlier phase the footings were laid on top of large stone slabs set in a foundation trench, but elsewhere they were built directly on top of the stony layer. A build-up of c 0.3m of clay and sand floor levels and loamy occupation deposits survived within the building and three rooms divided by stone-founded walls could be identified. A pssible stone-floored passageway, c 2m wide, was located on the east side of the building. The stone-founded building was constructed sometime after the mid-thirteenth century and probably went out of use by the
early seventeenth century.

{4} Three postholes 0.29m, 0.09m, 0.39m deep their purpose was not established. Two large pits also belong to the period 1000-1150. The larger pits were filled with loamy material and may have been rubbish pits, the fills of the smaller pit contained greater proportion of clay and charcoal. A boundary ditch, aligned north to south, separated the east and west sides of the site and may have been a plot boundary. Created in the mid-12th-early 13th century it was certainly maintained until the latter half of the 13th century. The boundary seems to have shifted to the east in the late 13th century, possibly representing some re-arrangment of settlement. The boundary ditch was later replaced by a stone founded wall, a gap in the wall mirrored that of the earlier boundary ditch suggesting there was deliberate passageway between the two sites.
To the east of the wall there were no buildings; this area appears to have been an open yard.West of the boundary wall - a stone-founded building was constructed. The front of the building had been lost due to the cellars along St Giles' Street but the back of the building survived, running at right-angles to the street for a distance of over 10m. Where the walls of the buildng were built over the backfilled pits of an earlier phase the footings were laid on top of large stone slabs set in a foundation trench,but elsewhere they were built directly on top of the stony layer.A build-up of c.0.3m of clay and sand floor levels and loamy occupation deposits survived within the building and three rooms divided by stone-founded walls were identified. Possible stone-floored passageway,c.2m wide, was located on the east side of the building. Building mid-13th century - early 17th century.
A probable open yard lay to the east. There were signs of specialised activity within the yard- two/three ovens, one possibly a baking oven and another a drying oven, were found. The ?baking oven comprised ironstone slabs laid at the bottom of a shallow oval pit with ironstone blocks lining the sides to the west the upper surface and inner face of the blocks had been extensively scorched and they were covered with a deposit of charcoal. The base of a pit immediately to the west had a similar level of scorching and may therefore be part of a complex. Some 5m to the north a stone built drying oven suggests that the area may have been occupied by a bakehouse/brewhouse complex. Documentary evidence suggests this property may have been 'Bello Fronte' named in 13th-century documents.

{5} Alternative interpretation of documentary evidence suggests the property may relate to John Spriggy, former mayor of Northampton.

<1> Pike A. (Editor), 1991, South Midlands Archaeology: CBA Group 9 Newsletter (21), p.63-4 (checked) (Newsletter). SNN2091.

<2> Nenk B.S.; Margeson S.; Hurley M., 1991, Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1990, p.179 (checked) (Notes). SNN3418.

<3> Northamptonshire Archaeology Unit, 1991, Northamptonshire Archaeology Unit Report for 1990, 22 (Annual Report). SNN4329.

<4> Shaw M, 1996-7, Recent Work in medieval Northampton Archaeological Excavations on St Giles' Street, 1990, and at St Edmund's End, 1988, p. 110 (Article). SNN104071.

<5> WELSH T.C., 1999, ST GILES' SQUARE/ ST GILES' STREET PROPERTIES 15TH - 18TH CENTURY (Notes). SNN42701.

<6> Dix B., 1992, Recent Work in Northamptonshire Archaeology, p. 122 (Article). SNN104441.

<7> Shaw M, 1996-7, Recent Work in medieval Northampton Archaeological Excavations on St Giles' Street, 1990, and at St Edmund's End, 1988 (Article). SNN104071.

Record last edited

Apr 11 2025 11:06AM