Site Event/Activity record ESF21245 - Evaluation - Thingoe House, Bury St Edmunds, BSE 378

An archaeological evaluation was carried out on land to the rear of Thingoe House, Bury St Edmunds. Planning permission is being sought to demolish the building that occupies the site and build a care complex. The site spans a one block area within the town's medieval grid between Northgate Street, an axial road that leads to one of the town's gates and Cotton Lane, a back lane bordering the River Lark's flood plain. The earliest feature was the large ditch which formed a boundary on the floodplain edge; the ditch was filled in by the c.12-13th century but the boundary itself, later defined by a fence line, remained in existence until recently. Medieval pits, dated to 12-14th century were found within the floodplain and were probably excavated to extract the quality gravels which existed here. A layer of structural clay also indicated that some form of building or workshops existed in this area at this time. Above the floodplain post-built structures and the presence of extensive oven debris were found within what would have been an area of urban backyards. A square flint-lined well and the remains of an associated outbuilding dating to the late 15th-early 16th and late post-built structures sealed and cut the medieval backyard deposits but there was an absence of later material below the flood plain suggesting that it had become the garden by the c.15th century. The remains of a post-medieval building shown on Warren's map of 1747 were found to fronting onto Cotton Lane. Project status: Complete Yes, Validated Yes Previous/Future Work: Previous No, Future Yes Associated Identifiers: HER event no. BSE 378 Sitecode BSE 378 Contracting Unit No. 2011/193 Planning Application No. SE/11/1052 NMR No. 1548494 Project Type: Field evaluation Development Type: Public building (e.g. school, church, hospital, medical centre, law courts etc.) Methods and Techniques: Sample Trenches Position in the Planning Process: Between deposition of an application and determination Reason for Investigation: Direction from Local Planning Authority - PPS Site status: Area of Archaeological Importance (AAI) Current Land use: Other 3 - Built over, Other 12 - Verge Monument Type(s)/Period(s): SURFACE Medieval , PITS Medieval , DITCH Medieval , BUILDING Post Medieval , BUILDING Medieval , WELL Medieval , BUILDING Medieval , OVEN Medieval Artefact Type(s)/Period(s): SMALL FINDS Post Medieval , ANIMAL REMAINS Medieval , ANIMAL REMAINS Post Medieval , SMALL FINDS Medieval , NAILS Post Medieval , LITHIC IMPLEMENT Late Prehistoric, MORTAR Medieval , CBM Post Medieval , CBM Medieval , MOLLUSCA REMAINS Post Medieval , POT Medieval , POT Post Medieval PROJECT LOCATION Area 4700.00 Square metres Grid Reference: TL856644 Point PROJECT CREATOR(S) Brief originator: Local Authority Archaeologist and/or Planning Authority/advisory body Design originator: Abby Antrobus Director/Manager: David Gill Supervisor: David Gill DIGITAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service ID: BSE 378 Contents: Animal Bones, Ceramics, Metal, Worked stone/lithics, other Media: GIS, Images raster / digital photography, Survey, Text PAPER ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service ID: BSE 378 Contents: Animal Bones, Ceramics, Worked stone/lithics, other Media: Context sheet, Correspondence, Plan, Report, Section, Survey, Unpublished Text PHYSICAL ARCHIVE Recipient: Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service ID: BSE 378 Contents: Metal, Worked stone/lithics, other, Animal Bones, Ceramics BIBLIOGRAPHY Publication Type: Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript) Title: Land to the rear of Thingoe House, Bury St Edmunds, BSE 378, Archaeological Evaluation Report Author(s)/Editor(s): Gill, D. J. Other Bibliographic Details: SCCAS Report No. 2011/193 Date: 2011 Issuer/Publisher: SCCAS Place of Issue or Publication: Bury St Edmunds Description: A4, comb bound, white cover, in colour, with 7 seven appendices (also available as a pdf)