LAND ADJACENT TO THE VICARAGE, Baschurch
NGR: SJ 422218

An archaeological evaluation prior to submission of a planning application for development located nineteenth century structures in the paddocks to the east of the church. There was no evidence of any other occupation except for a single sherd of medieval pottery recovered from subsoil.

Jeffery, S, Land adjacent to the Vicarage, Baschurch, Shropshire: Report on an archaeological evaluation, June 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 188

MOONBEAM COTTAGE, Bishops Castle
NGR: 3235 8890

Following a fire restoration works needed to be undertaken on two properties. The surviving structure of 'Chapel Yard Cottage' was recorded photographically and the remaining timbers of the main truss drawn. The other remaining timbers were sketched. A wall in the neighbouring 'Moonbeam Cottage' needed replacing and a sample section of the removal was watched to ensure that no archaeological deposits would be disturbed.

Appleton-Fox, N, Moonbeam Cottage, Bishops Castle, Shropshire: Report on building recording, August 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 198

THE FALCON HOTEL, Bridgnorth
NGR: SO 7213 9293

A trench, 15m by 2m, was excavated at the extreme south end of the property, some 50m away from the street frontage. There was no evidence of activity earlier than 12th century,as was proposed by Slater. Neither was there any evidence that part of a putative early rectilinear earthwork runs along the southern boundary of the plot.

Parts of two large, deep pits were found along with several shallow cut scoops and pits. All appear to be of late medieval or early post-medieval date. The pits were masked by a cultivation soil with a floruit from the 12th to 17th centuries; a high degree of residuality was evident in the pottery assemblage. The relatively small size of the excavation and lack of understanding of how these cut features relate to other nearby features means that the nature or function of these features is not, at present, understood. As the trench was distant from the medieval street frontage, it may be that the activity is largely of a horticultural nature.

Four of the features extend outside the evaluation trench and it is extremely likely that there are other pits and features in the area. The level of preservation of animal bone appears to be fairly good, but the high level of worm activity encountered made environmental sampling inadvisable. It is unlikely that there are any waterlogged deposits in the immediate area.

The shallow level of an existing storm drain on site probably has logistical implications for the invert heights of services and hence floors, etc. The proposed development is at pre-design stage. The degree to which ground works for the development penetrate to below the level of the base of the cultivation soil has obvious implications with regard to the future preservation of archaeological features.

Tavener, N, The Falcon Hotel, Bridgnorth, Shropshire: Report on an archaeological evaluation, August 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 199

THE CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN, Bromfield
NGR: SO 482 768

A watching brief on small scale drainage works revealed significant medieval deposits and masonry structures. These included walls and foundations presumably associated with the medieval chancel and also walling with a doorway thought to be at the southern end of the east cloister range. Seventeenth century demolition deposits associated with the sixteenth century Foxe house were abundant.

The dated remains are mostly of the twelfth or thirteenth century and of the seventeenth century. This tends to support the documented decline of the monastery from the fourteenth century. However, no evidence of the demolition of the monastic remains to make way for later buildings was found.

Beside masonry remains there was evidence of smithing and possibly of pottery or tile production as well as organic remains which provide information on the diet and environment of the monastic community.

Stone, R & Wainwright, J, The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Bromfield, Shropshire: Report on an archaeological watching brief, March 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 174

WALL TOWN FARM, Cleobury Mortimer
NGR: SO 692 793

Drainage work associated with the conversion of barns Farm was watched. In the area of the farmyard a thick layer of redeposited soil was seen. At the north the top of a wide ditch was exposed, 8.5 metres wide. Sherds of Roman pottery were recovered from most contexts but all the sherds were much abraded and likely to be residual.

Appleton-Fox, N, Wall Town Farm, Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire: A report on an archaeological watching brief, December 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 220

WALFORD HOUSE, Drayton Road, Hodnet
NGR: SJ 612 287

A watching brief was undertaken on two rooms at the back of Walford House, an early 19th century town house sited either close to, or within, the medieval core of Hodnet. One of the rooms features a chamfered spine beam which may have indicated that there were earlier elements within the existing structure. This beam was proved to be salvage incorporated into the early 19th century house. A pit was partially excavated and proved to be of 16th or early 17th century date and probably a cesspit. Part of a cobbled surface and a sandstone wall were found, and both features appeared to pre-date the existing town house. Apart from indicating the presence of earlier settlement on the site, the three features have served to provide clues as to the previous property divisions within the site.

Tavener, N, Walford House, Drayton Road, Hodnet, Shropshire: Report on a watching brief, November 2001, Marches Archaeology Series, 212

CASTLE HOUSE, Ludlow
NGR: SO 508 746

A desk based assessment of Castle House indicated that the complex was built in a series of campaigns probably starting with the construction of a barracks in the 16th century, with significant alerations in the nineteenth century. The house did not attain its final form until around the turn of the 20th century.

Appleton-Fox, N , Castle House, Ludlow, Shropshire, A desk-based assessment, March 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 176

27 BROAD STREET, Ludlow
NGR SO 5125 7446

A watching brief was maintained on the excavation of a 2m by 1m trench to investigate the foundations and ground conditions adjacent to the north-east corner of a Grade II* gazebo. A trench 3m deep was dug, and the natural subsoils were not encountered, indicating deep landsacaping. Above 0.5m of early post-medieval topsoil was 1.7m of stone and topsoil brought in during mid to late eighteenth century landscaping of which the construction of the gazebo formed a part. The gazebo was founded on the stone infill. A later layer of stone was covered with topsoil, which had been used a a dog cemetery.

Stone, R, 27 Broad Street, Ludlow, Shropshire: Report on a site investigation at the north-east corner of the gazebo, May 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 181

58-59 MARDOL, Shrewsbury
NGR: SJ 490 126

A programme of building recording and a watching brief on ground works was carried out as a condition of planning consent, following an earlier assessment of the building and an evaluation excavation. Substantial remains of a late 15th or early 16th century building survive within the core of the present frontage building. A stone cellar below this is likely to be of similar date. A small rear extension was added later in the 16th century. In the 17th century the building was raised and a rear cross wing added. Around 1750 the frontage was refaced and the internal arrangements modified, with subsequent 19th and 20th century alterations being of little interest.

The watching brief confirmed a sequence of floor levels within the building dating from the 13th or 14th century onwards. The foundations of the new building to the rear of the plot were designed to minimise damage and no significant archaeological deposits or features were noted.

Stone, R, 58-59 Mardol, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: Report on a programme of archaeological works, July 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 191

LAND BETWEEN ROMAN ROAD AND PORTHILL ROAD, Shrewsbury
NGR: SJ 4794 1221

A desk based assessment was carried out on land on which the Ordnance Survey have indicated a Roman road since their first large-scale edition of 1882 and this ascription has been supported by local researchers attempting to lead the 'Roman Road' to Llanymenech. The Ordnance Survey have not shown this route on their more carefully scrutinised maps of Roman Britain. Despite a general paucity of hard evidence, local researchers 'linked' this route to a proposed route for the major Roman route from Wroxeter to Forden Gaer. This road was believed to lie c. 1.3km to the south of the proposed development site and running along Stanley Lane into Mousecroft Lane and was shown by Margary. Archaeological fieldwork between 1998-90 has established that the true route lies c. 3km to the south of Porthill.

There are no known records of any artefacts being found within the proposed development area but the discovery of Roman artefacts in the general vicinity means that there is, perhaps, a better possibility of there being Roman or Romano-British settlement sites in the area. The discovery of building walls close to Kingsland House (c. 250m to the south-east) might indicate the presence of a Roman settlement in the near vicinity but the records for these walls contain no verifiable detail. If there were scattered Roman farmsteads or settlements in the Porthill area, then they must have had road communication with the regional network. It might therefore be unwise to discount entirely the notion that the 'Roman Road' along the western edge of the proposed development area is an ancient route.

There is no evidence for any medieval activity in the immediate vicinity. The proposed development site appears to have been open ground first enclosed c. 1724. It was probably pasture before that date but was probably converted to arable immediately after enclosure. If there are any archaeological deposits on site, then survival should be good in the easternmost of the two field enclosures (i.e. the small pasture to the south of 57, Porthill). The western portion of the site was developed in the mid to late twentieth century but large areas of the gardens, including the western frontage onto 'Roman Road' probably suffered little disturbance except by service trenches and it seems likely that archaeological features, if present, would survive.

Land between Roman Road and Porthill Road, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: Report on an archaeological desk-based assessment, October 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 211

LAND TO THE SOUTH OF THE FORMER CENTURY CINEMA, St Julian's Friars, Shrewsbury
NGR: SJ 496 124

The line of the medieval town wall runs along the southern property boundary, although it has been truncated and no part of it can be seen above the present ground level. An evaluation trench in the south-east corner of the proposed development site found that the wall survived at just below tarmac level at 51.6m O.D. A trial trench excavated in the south-west corner of the plot in 1974-5 had found that the top of town wall survived at c. 51.3m at that location.

An early ground surface was found c. 2.3m below the tarmac (c. 49.3m). Finds from the former topsoil below this surface and also from a peat layer immediately below it indicate that this surface was probably open in the 13th/14th centuries, the time that the town wall was built. Despite truncation, it is likely that the town wall stands intact to a height of c. 2.7m above the medieval ground surface at the southern edge of the site. The early ground surface sloped upwards at c. 1 in 10 to the north within the evaluation trench.

Permanently waterlogged deposits were found 0.4m lower down (at c. 48.9m) in conjunction with finds of diagnostically medieval date and natural alluvium was found at c. 48.5m. The 1974-5 trial in the south-west corner of the development area found natural clay at c. 49.2m with medieval activity or soils for perhaps 1-1.3m above that level. It seems that the early activity is slightly higher in the south-west corner of the plot.

A second medieval wall butts the earlier wall. It lies largely below the modern pavement. It is known that a gateway was created through the town wall for the friars in 1246 and enlarged in 1267. This wall may be either part of this gateway structure or perhaps part of a later alteration.

The early ground surface was buried beneath c. 1.3m depth of landfill in the 15th century resulting in a temporary ground surface at c. 50.6m (c. 1-1.2m below the tarmac). Further smaller additions of landfill raised the ground surface a further 0.5m by the end of the 16th century and the frontage on the west side of St. Julian's Friars, which had hitherto probably been a backplot or garden for a property fronting onto Beeches Lane, was developed for housing some time just before 1610 and redeveloped around 1800.

Tavener, N, Land to the South of the former Century Cinema, St Julian's Friars, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: Report on an archaeological evaluation, September 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 209

TOWN WALLS GARAGE, Town Walls, Shrewsbury
NGR: SJ 489 122

A trench was excavated in the car park of the Town Walls Garage. It disclosed a medieval ploughsoil and a ditch running parallel to the line of the town wall which was also of medieval date. From the evidence the site was not developed until the 19th century. No evidence for the burials reportedly found in 1887 was seen.

Appleton-Fox, N, Town Walls Garage, Town Walls, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: Report on an archaeological evaluation, July 2001, Marches Archaeology Series 194