Site Event/Activity record ESF19067 - Evaluation, Old Cinema Site, Broad Street, Bungay

Evaluation was undertaken within the area of a proposed residential development on the site of the former Cinema. The evaluation was undertaken through examination of the trenches left after the foundations of the cinema had been grubbed out. A small number of pits containing a limited amount of 12th-14th century pottery, and a couple of later features, were recorded but no structural remains were identified. The footing trenches for the front portion of the cinema had been cut to a depth of c1.1m, at this depth the natural subsoil comprising orange sand and gravel was encountered. Overlying the subsoil was a c.0.2m thick layer of pale brown sand, which in turn was sealed beneath a c.0.9m thick deposit of dark loamy soil containing occasional fragments of red brick and tile. In the auditorium area of the cinema the footings were c.1.2m deep and cut into the surface natural subsoil, the steel uprights went to a depth of c.1.3m. Removal of concrete floors showed that the front areas had been built up with soil containing early 20th C debris (glass bottles, ceramics etc) and that the back half of the auditorium had been cut into the ground but not deep enough to disturb subsoil. The cinema cellar was also identified. Followed by monitoring of the footings for the new construction but no further features were revealed (see ESF19068) (S1).