Site Event/Activity record ESF20904 - Warrens Yards, St Andrew St South, Bury St Edmunds

A group of three ovens, built into the base of a sunken or cellar room were found during excavations in advance of housing development. The site was within the urban core of the medieval town at the rear of the properties fronting the medieval Guildhall Street. The ovens were circular and between 1.8m and 2.7m in diameter and survived to the height of the oven floor. They were built against the sides of a rectangular, sunken or cellared room 7.5 x 4m cut into the natural chalk and the floor was 1.2m below the medieval ground surface. The cellar was accessed by a chalk ramp and postholes around the edge of the cellar suggest that it was part covered by a timber structure. The burning in the oven indicated that they were operated at low temperatures and in the absence of contradictory evidence were thought to be for baking bread. The size and robust build of the structure implies that these were part of a commercial bakery rather than domestic, and pottery from the cellar backfill dated them to the late 13th early 14th centuries. Report not completed. A group of three ovens, built into the base of a sunken or cellar room were found during excavations in advance of housing development. The site was within the urban core of the medieval town at the rear of the properties fronting the medieval Guildhall Street. The ovens were circular and between 1.8m and 2.7m in diameter and survived to the height of the oven floor. They were built against the sides of a rectangular, sunken or cellared room 7.5 x 4m cut into the natural chalk and the floor was 1.2m below the medieval ground surface. The cellar was accessed by a chalk ramp and postholes around the edge of the cellar suggest that it was part covered by a timber structure. The burning in the oven indicated that they were operated at low temperatures and in the absence of contradictory evidence were thought to be for baking bread. The size and robust build of the structure implies that these were part of a commercial bakery rather than domestic, and pottery from the cellar backfill dated them to the late 13th early 14th centuries. Report not completed (S1).