Monument record BSE 295 - Land to Rear of 82 Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds

2010: Monitoring was carried out during the demolition of a garage and the construction a basement behind 82 Guildhall Street. The excavations exposed a section of the medieval town ditch and although a complete section could not be exposed it showed that the ditch was c. 5m deep from the present ground surface. No remains of the town wall were found but the line of the wall could be traced by the extent of a terrace, which had been dug into the chalk hillside from Guildhall Street. A ditch extending from Guildhall street is interpreted as a property boundary and contained the remains of a very fine glass goblet decorated in a Viennese style but probably made in Antwerp in the late 16th century and indicative of a wealthy household. The ditch was replaced by a two phases of boundary wall, the earliest of which was associated with a laid chalk floor on the south side and was contained within a long warehouse or industrial building in the 18th century. A sequence of three wells was identified with the last having been filled in during the 19th century. The north end of a substantial stable block, which was built during the first half of the 19th century was uncovered, which extended along the rear of 81-82 Guildhall Street. This building was later converted into garages by raising the floor by c. 1m thereby allowing vehicular access onto St Andrews Street in the 20th (S1).