Monument record WSF 061 - Post Medieval Post pads for a previous building and large sand extraction pits at Pottery Cottage

The monitoring of the foundation for a replacement dwelling discovered a series of post-pads; evidence of a previous building, possibly an open-sided shed which stood previously on the site. Large pits, excavated for the extraction of sand for use in the pottery manufacturing process, were found behind Pottery Cottage. All of the pits were backfilled with a mix of yellow clay, dark silts, and a crumbly, ferruginous clay silt (a dried clay slurry/mud) was thought to be spoil or waste from the clay extraction pits or some primary clay processing associated with the pottery manufactory. Sand digging from this area seems to have occurred throughout the productive life of the pottery with the pits dating from the late 17th century through to the later 19th century.