Monument record BSE 473 - Medieval and Post Medieval features at 88 Guildhall Street

2015: An area immediately to the rear of 88 Guildhall Street was excavated, with further trenching monitored. The excavation uncovered chalk quarry pits, postholes and wells of medieval and post-medieval date beginning in the 12th century, as well as post-medieval mortar deposits, culverts and drains. These features point to the presence of structures on the site. The pits were probably associated with the houses fronting Guildhall Street and may have functioned as quarries to extract chalk. These pits would have then been backfilled with household refuse. Two large rectangular pits on the site likely represent chalk quarrying on a larger scale, suggesting extensive remodelling of the existing house. The earliest well to the rear of the site appears to have remained open for a long period of time before being backfilled in the 19th century. However, there had been significant terracing of the site from post-medieval landscaping, as well as the construction of a modern small extension. It is difficult to assess how much archaeology was truncated when this occurred, although the deep stratigraphy recorded behind The Guildhall (BSE 446) nearby to this site, suggest that the truncated archaeology would have contained features that were domestic in nature (S1).

Included in the Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History annual round up of individual finds and discoveries for 2015 (S2).