SNN102498 - Land at Broad Street/St Andrews Street, Northampton : An Archaeological Evaluation

During February 2003 Hertfordshire Archaeological Trust carried out a trial trench evaluation on land off St Andrews Street, Northampton. The evaluation was conducted in advance of proposed redevelopment of the site for residential use. Seven trial trenches were excavated, revealing considerable post-medieval levelling / terracing of the sloping site. The latter is attested by the presence of a comparable sequence of dumped deposits in all the trenches. A backfilled cellar of probable late post-medieval date was recorded in Trench 3. A single small undated pit was recorded in Trench 4. Trenches 1, 2, 5 and 6 contained former 'garden soil' overlying the natural clay and Northampton Sand deposits. Finds from this deposit were late post-medieval in date, and it was sealed by layers containing modern material. It is likely that this deposit represents a late post-medieval land surface, prior to subsequent modern levelling / terracing.