Monument record 1160/3/35 - Defences at Upper Mounts/St Michael's Road

A trench excavated in 1973 identified the probable foundations of two phases of wall and a wide ditch which were interpreted as part of the town's medieval defences.

{1} Probable foundations of two periods of wall with a shallow ditch about 8m wide x 2m deep to the north. The ditch was recut with a narrow channel sometime in medieval period.

{2} Section of defences.

{3} At south end of the trench and beneath the floor of the cellar, and fronting The Mounts was tightly packed ironstone in clay. This was presumed to be the foundations of a wall. Two sherds of medieval pottery were found in the rubble. A little to the north was a further deposit of ironstone in clay at slightly lower level and with a possible vertical face at the south edge. This could also have been a wall foundation but of an earlier phase. Further north was what appeared to be a shallow ditch with a narrow recut channel which contained 8 sherds of medieval pottery. This was rather insubstantial to be the town ditch.

{4} A heavy concentration of ironstone rubble lying beneath cellar floors fronting Mounts was presumably the foundations of the town wall. To its north a shallow ditch c.7m wide had been recut.

{5} Heavy concentration of ironstone rubble lying beneath cellar floors fronting Mounts was presumed to be the foundations of the town wall. To its north was a shallow ditch c.7m wide, which had been recut.

<1> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1985, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.330 (checked) (Series). SNN77383.

<2> Williams J.H.; Shaw M.; Hardy S., 1978-1984, Northampton Development Corporation SMR Secondary Record Sheets, M116 (checked) (Catalogue). SNN108.

<3> Williams J.H., 1982, Four Small Excavations on Northampton's Medieval Defences, p.63 (checked) (Article). SNN1859.

<4> Williams J.H., 1974, Urban Archaeology in Britain, p.22 (checked) (Note). SNN41023.

<5> Brown A.E. (Editor), 1974, Archaeology In Northamptonshire 1973, p.107 (checked) (Article). SNN9109.

<6> Welsh T.C., 2000-01, Documentary Sources for The Course of The Medieval Town Wall, Northampton, (checked?) (Article). SNN103958.

Record last edited

Feb 13 2025 12:28PM