Monument record BSE 196 - North Precinct Wall, stone recording.

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Summary

Recording of collapsed section of Abbey precinct wall (see BSE 010) especially original abbey material.

Location

Grid reference Centred TL 8555 6427 (15m by 9m)
Map sheet TL86SE
Civil Parish BURY ST EDMUNDS, ST EDMUNDSBURY, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (2)

Full Description

2001: Recording of collapsed section of Abbey precinct wall (see BSE 010), especially original abbey material. Details in (S1). A total of 141 stones were recorded. The majority represented simple rectangular ashlar building blocks of a uniform size. Most were badly weathered or broken, while a notable proportion exhibited some evidence of burining. The bulk of the stonework was Barnack and is likely to have originated from the 11th-13th centuries when the majority of the Abbey and claustral ranges were constructed. The smaller amount of fine limestones are likely to have come from the later buildings and repairs (S4).

2002: Monitoring of Buttress Footings along the North Boundary Wall which was once the frontage of a range of buildings contemporary with the abbey and constructed againnst the inside of the precinct wall. The Wall includes a lot of re-used stone and post-medieval brick in its build which suggests that part of the wall is a post-Dissolution structure. During the excavation of the footing hole, the base of a further buttress that had been demolished was visible below the present ground level. It was part of the medieval wall and the scar could be seen on the wall face where the buttress had been cut away. Another foundation hole at the west end cut through the solid foundation of a separate structure to the wall, it was 70cm deep and made up of rammed mortar and tiles on a bed of wet mortar directly onto the subsoil. It ran beneath the wall. The wall also ran over a pit containing 18th century household debris. The butress and the wall running east from the post-Dissolution structure, is medieval and part of the Abbey complex.It is possible that the large buttresses reflect the two ends of a building bay, they also align with the property divisions of the building fronting Mustow Street (S3).

Sources/Archives (5)

  • <S1> Unpublished document: Suffolk County Council Archaeologcial Service. Various. Jones, A, SAU 2001/55, August 2001.
  • <M1> Unpublished document: Suffolk Archaeological Service. Parish Files. S1, S2.
  • <S2> Unpublished document: Suffolk County Council Archaeologcial Service. Various. Jones, A, SAU, Archive report, July 2001.
  • <S3> Unpublished document: Gill, D.. 2002. Archaeological Monitoring Report: Monitoring of buttress footings, abbey wall north boundary.
  • <S4> Unpublished document: Jone, A.. 2001. Abbey Gardens Boundary Wall: Stone Recording.

Finds (2)

Protected Status/Designation

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

May 29 2018 3:01PM

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