SNN100295 - Archaeological Watching Brief At The Elms, High Street, Brackley, Northamptonshire

An archaeological watching brief on land at The Elms, High Street, Brackley found extensive but not densely space archaeoloigcal features across the development area. These features consisted of two stone wells, two probable ovens and a plethora of pits and quarry areas. Pottery collected from features gave a 12th to 16th century date range. The first evidence of use were in several small pits found across the development area dating to the 12th to late 13th centuries. They are presumed to lie within plots to the rear of domestic buildings fronting onto the High Street and/or Halse Road. By the end of the 13th century there is evidence of at least two buildings built in the back plots over the development area. A clay lined pit with stone lined well shaft was dated to the 13th century and is probably associated with the stone bake and brew house uncovered a few metres to the south in 1999. In the western area of the development, another well and two possible ovens were uncovered. One of the ovens dates to the 13th century. It is likely that these features were associated with a building but there was no indication of walls or other structural elements. The site seems to have been temporary abandoned but later quarrying seems to have occurred in the late medieval to early post-medieval period. Six large quarry pits, sub-rectangular in shape c.6m by c.5m were exposed cutting the natural limestone bedrock across the development area. Stratigrpahically, one of the quarry pits cuts the 13th century well pit and pottery up to the 16th century was collected from some of their fills. These large pits were probably opened up to provide stone for the expansion of Brackley in the 16th/17th centuries. The site was never reoccupied and became a garden for the early 17th century almhouses fronting onto the High Street. Around the beginning of the 20th century it became an ornamental garden belonging to a large 17th century house.