Monument record BSE 127 - St Edmunds Hospital & Nursing Home, (Multi Period)

Following evaluation of the site in October 1995 (S1), excavations were carried out in the grounds of St Edmund's Hospital and Nursing Home in advance of construction of an extension during February & March 1996. Excavations provided evidence for activity at the site in the Mesolithic, Late Neolithic, and Early Saxon periods, but occupation only intensified during the Middle Saxon when a boundary ditch was cut across the south of the excavated area. Most of the Middle Saxon features were close to the ditch, and it seems likely that any major occupation in the area would have been concentrated to the S of this ditch. Some Late Saxon pottery was found, and one large rubbish pit could date from the end of this period. However, the suggestion that this area formed the main focus of settlement in the pre- Abbey town of Bedericsworth had not been substantiated.

The site seems to have flourished during the medieval period, although most of the features, which include a possible structure and a grain drier, were probably of Late C12 or C13 date. Later medieval features suggest that the area formed back gardens and allotments for the houses fronting Southgate Street. Their distance from this road was probably the cause of a decline in usage by the C15, although other factors, such as a shift in population away from the centre of town may also be involved. Three Roman coins and possible Roman tile fragments were also found (S2)(S3).