Monument record IPS 297 - Crown and Anchor, 10b-14 Westgate Street, Ipswich, (IAS 0703)

June 1993: Excavation by Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service (S1).

Excavation revealed evidence from mid sax to the present day, including 7 emed graves from the periphery of a known cemetery to the east (S2)

The Crown and Anchor Hotel lies on the northern frontage of Westgate Street, part of the main east-west route (comprising Carr Street, Tavern street, Westgate Street) through the historic core of Ipswich. Whilst the area was primarily of interest as an area lying to the rear of a major Anglo Saxon street frontage, the proximity of the town's late Saxon and medieval defences, some 50 metres to the north, also had potential for influencing the type of activities conducted on the site.

This excavation was important in that it yielded a group of contexts and finds from a part of the town not previously subjected to controlled excavation. The results show that there has been activity on the site continuously from the Middle Saxon period up to the present day. The only evidence for the presence of any buildings from the periods represented by the archaeological deposits on the site is the group of post-holes tentatively given a Middle Saxon date. Apart from the seven graves dated to the Early Medieval period, on the periphery of a known-cemetery lying further to the east, there is very little other evidence from which the use of the site, at any one time, can be deduced. It is likely that the excavated area always formed a back yard area to buildings fronting onto the main street. The pits may simply be rubbish and latrine pits or have been used as a source of gravel prior to being filled with rubbish.

There is little evidence for any industrial activity on the site, quantities of slag were recovered, especially from pit 87, but not enough to represent any large scale metal working in the immediate vicinity. Documentation for the site would certainly suggest that land use has remained relatively unchanged as a tavern or inn is known to have occupied the site from at least the early 16th Century.