Monument record 1160/395/14 - Open land between Quart Pot Lane and Pike Lane

Much of the land between Quart Pot Lane and Pike Lane was open and used for pitting in the 14th century until the 20th century. Many of the pits were stone-lined and may have originally served as a cess pits but were subsequently used as rubbish pits

{1}In Trench 12, two medieval pits cut into the red loam. In Trench 13, beneath brick paviours and sand bedding lay dark olive brown cultivation soil. An earlier layer of similar material was cut by two late medieval pits. The early cultivation soil lay directly on top of natural ironstone. A further pit was seen to cut the ironstone at the base of the trench.

{3} In the 14th century, land to the west of Pike Lane and east of Quart Pot Lane appears to have been mainly open ground into which a number of scattered pits were dug. A number were stone-lined including a circular pit. Subsequently re-used as a rubbish pit it may have originally been a cess pit. In the 15th and 16th centuries there was relatively little archaeological activity other than further square and rounded ironstone-lined pits. Finds from this period included an iron buckle, an iron ?needle, a bone needle, a fragment of crucible and remains of a ceramic mould. In the 17th century and early 18th century there were three circular ironstone-lined pits probably used as soakaways or cesspits, two of them linked by drains (equating to those found in Trench 13 in the evaluation). In the period 1750 until the beginning of the 20th century were four large rectangular ironstone-lined pits.

<1> Soden I., 1998, Archaeological Evaluation at Barclaycard, Marefair, Northampton - Stage 2: Trial Excavation, (unchecked) (Report). SNN39581.

<2> Chapman A, 1998-9, Northampton, Marefair, (unchecked) (Note). SNN104058.

<3> Museum of London Archaeology Service, 2005, Saxon, medieval and post-medieval settlement at Sol Central, Marefair, Northampton, p. 30 (Full Report). SNN105717.

<4> Steele A.; Wroe-Brown R., 2001, Sol Central Marefair, Northampton - An Archaeological Post-Excavation Assessment And Updated Project (Report). SNN101157.

Record last edited

Sep 9 2016 11:31AM