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Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Record Details

NHER Number:	26535
Type of record:	Monument
Name:	Late Saxon and medieval remains, 12 Oak Street

Summary

Archaeological excavations in 2000 and 2001 in advance of housing development revealed large quantities of Late Saxon and medieval material in this area. Of particular note was the discovery of Late Saxon metalworking deposits. There appear to have been two main phases of occupation, the first dating from the 10th to 12th centuries and characterised by a sequence of timber structures fronting onto St Miles' Alley, the second dating from the 11th to 14th centuries and evidenced by a series of pits, perhaps indicative of tanning activities. The area appears to have been abandoned in the 14th or 15th century, and re-occupied during the 15th or 16th century, again by timber structures fronting onto St Miles' Alley, which were later replaced by brick and flint buildings.

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:	TG 2281 0903
Map Sheet:	TG20NW
Parish:	NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK

Full description

July to August 2000. Trial Trenching. Contexts 1 to 475.
Excavations revealed Late Saxon features including pits and gullies, sealed by surfaces laid down in the 11th and 12th centuries. From the finds recovered, these surfaces appear to have been used for intensive industrial activity including ironworking, smelting and smithing. This phase of industrial activity appears to have drawn to a close in the late 14th century.
A trench inside the standing building to the north of St Miles' Alley revealed post holes and linear features, indicating the presence of 11th century timber buildings. These buildings formed a frontage which respected the pre-Conquest church of St Michael's. A clay floor and post holes indicated later, 14th century, occupation in this location, cut through by a post medieval building.
A large shallow pit dating to the 11th or 12th century and located on the Rosemary Street frontage was interpreted as a gravel extraction pit or evidence of prospection for iron pan. Domestic debris from this feature may indicate contemporary occupation nearby. A 14th century pit was located to the west of this area, and an 18th century pit in the same area of the site had been used for the disposal of horse remains. A prehistoric worked flint was also recovered from this area of the site.
Attempts were made to consolidate or raise the ground level in this area in the 13th to 15th centuries.
See report (S1) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S2).
D. Gurney (NLA), 3 January 2001.

April 2001. Excavation. From Context 2000.
Excavations revealed a sequence of 10th to 12th century timber structures fronting St Miles' Alley. During the 13th and 14th centuries the area appears to have become more industrialised, marked by several pits possibly associated with tanning. These pits appear to have been reused as rubbish pits, resulting in much of the southern part of the site being quarried away. The area was abandoned during the 14th to 15th centuries, and reoccupied during the 15th to 16th centuries, when timber structures associated with tanning and fronting St Miles' Alley were erected. By the 17th century these structures had been replaced by flint and brick buildings.
See published article (S3) and reports (S4)-(S6) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S7). Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 30 March 2015.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 13 February 2006.

Material from both phases of work at this site has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2005.9).
P. Watkins (HES), 15 August 2019.

Monument Types

BEAM SLOT (Unknown date)
GULLY (Unknown date)
PIT (Unknown date)
STRUCTURE (Unknown date)
FINDSPOT (Prehistoric - 1000000 BC to 42 AD)
FINDSPOT (Early Mesolithic to Early Neolithic - 10000 BC to 3001 BC)
FINDSPOT (Middle Saxon - 651 AD to 850 AD)
DITCH (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
FINDSPOT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
GULLY (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
PIT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
BEAM SLOT (Late Saxon to 12th Century - 900 AD to 1199 AD)
POST HOLE (Late Saxon to 12th Century - 900 AD to 1199 AD)
BLACKSMITHS WORKSHOP (Late Saxon to 12th Century - 1000 AD to 1199 AD)
HEARTH (Late Saxon to 12th Century - 1000 AD to 1199 AD)
IRON WORKING SITE (Late Saxon to 12th Century - 1000 AD to 1199 AD)
LINEAR FEATURE (Late Saxon to 14th Century - 1000 AD to 1399 AD)
SMELTERY (Late Saxon to 12th Century - 1000 AD to 1199 AD)
BEAM SLOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
BUILDING (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
DITCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
FINDSPOT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
FLOOR (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
GRAVEL PIT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
PIT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
POST HOLE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
RUBBISH PIT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
TANNERY (Medieval to 14th Century - 1066 AD to 1399 AD)
WALL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
TANNING PIT? (12th Century to 14th Century - 1200 AD to 1399 AD)
LINEAR FEATURE (14th Century to 16th Century - 1400 AD to 1599 AD)
ANIMAL BURIAL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
BUILDING (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
CELLAR (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
FINDSPOT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
PIT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
STRUCTURE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
WALL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Associated Finds

OYSTER SHELL (Undated)
WHETSTONE (Undated)
FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
NOTCHED FLAKE? (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
FLAKE (Early Mesolithic to Early Neolithic - 10000 BC to 3001 BC)
POT (Middle Saxon - 651 AD to 850 AD)
POT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
METAL WORKING DEBRIS (Late Saxon to Medieval - 1000 AD to 1539 AD)
SLAG (Late Saxon to Medieval - 1000 AD to 1539 AD)
ANIMAL REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
BLOOM (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
BRICK (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
NAIL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
PINCERS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
QUERN (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
ROOF TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
SLAG (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
WINDOW GLASS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
ANIMAL REMAINS (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
BRICK (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
FLOOR TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
NAIL (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
ROOF TILE (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
WINDOW GLASS (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---	Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1>	Unpublished Contractor Report: Adams, D. 2000. Report on an Archaeological Evaluation at 12 Oak Street, Norwich. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 525.
<S2>	Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 2001. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 2000. Norfolk Archaeology. XLIII Pt IV pp 707-728. p 722.
<S3>	Article in Serial: Woolhouse, T. and Cowgill, J. 2009. An Early Industrial Site at 12 Oak Street, Norwich. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLV pp 495-507.
<S4>	Unpublished Contractor Report: McDonald, T. and Crank, N. 2005. Land at 12, Oak Street, Norwich. An Archaeological Excavation. Interim Report. Archaeological Solutions. 1045.
<S5>	Unpublished Contractor Report: Grassam, A. 2005. Land at 12 Oak Street, Norwich, Norfolk. Post Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design. Archaeological Solutions. 1952.
<S6>	Unpublished Contractor Report: Woolhouse, T. 2008. Land at 12 Oak Street, Norwich, Norfolk. Grey Report. Archaeological Solutions. 3383.
<S7>	Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 2002. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk, 2001. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIV Pt I pp 162-177. p 172.