SNN116800 - ARCHAEOLOGICAL WATCHING BRIEF ON LAND AT 172-180 ST ANDREW’S ROAD, NORTHAMPTON

Archaeological monitoring and recording was undertaken during groundworks for the development of land at 172-180 St Andrew’s Road, Northampton. The development site is located c.1.3km to the northwest of the centre of Northampton, and is bounded to the west by a former mill race, diverted to the east, of a tributary of the river Nene. The site lies in an archaeologically sensitive area, located close to findspots of prehistoric and Roman date. In the medieval period, the Cluniac priory of St Andrew’s was located to the south of the site, beyond which were the town defences. The site lay outside of the developed area of the town during the medieval and postmedieval periods. Ordnance Survey maps show the development of St Andrew’s Road, and housing along its east side by the late 19th century, and development on its west side by the 1920s. The monitoring revealed a deposit of made ground indicative of the land having been levelled up prior to development. This was overlain by a deposit of crushed rubble which appeared to have been recently dumped across the site. Two late 19th century glass bottles, five sherds of 18th-19th century pottery and a fragment of lime plaster were retrieved from the monitoring.