EDO5035 - Sherborne Old Castle, Castleton; C E Bean excavations up to 1954

‘Excavations which have been carried on for several years by Mr. C.E. Bean, FSA, to recover the ground plan of the Norman Castle at Sherborne were continued in 1949. no details are available.’ (1). C E Bean conducted further excavations at Sherborne Old Castle during 1950. This work mainly involved the filling in of trenches dug by the RCHM during 1949 for inclusion in the forthcoming ‘Dorset’ volume. However, a trial trench was also excavated inside the south main wall of the central buildings, which led to the finding of the well, belonging to the kitchen range. The well was excavated during 1953-4. Evidence for a further garderobe tower was revealed in the NW corner of the main block. A glazed tile floor was discovered in the NE corner of the hall, composed of alternate yellow and colour tiles with a border of opposing colours. C.E. Bean continued excavations, on the site of a mound on the east side of Sherborne Castle and moat during 1952. The excavations on this specific site were started in 1951. Two further buildings were discovered [buildings 2 and 3] in addition to that excavated in 1951 [building 1]. Building 2 was located on the north side of he mound, approximately 35 feet east of building 1. Its walls, foundations and plan were similar to building 1, lying E-W with evidence for two clasping buttresses in the NW and SW corners. An internal longitudinal wall formed an aisle on the south side, 6 feet wide. The building measured 94 feet x 23.5 feet internally and has a floor of loose stone and gravel. The dressed stone and wall cores seem to be 12th century and built by Bishop Roger. A trial trench was also made on the south side of the mound, near the present pleasure ground wall. Evidence for building 3 was found here, parallel with building 2 but 96 feet south of it. It was of similar character, with an longitudinal wall forming a northern aisle, traceable only by filled in wall trenches (not robber trenches). The building measured 66.5 feet by c. 25 feet internally, although the west wall was not certainly identified and may have been destroyed by a civil war trench. The only pottery from the excavations was a single sherd of red sandy ware. C.E. Bean also made a trawl of records held by the Digby estate agents, Messrs. Rawlence and Squarey. In this he found reference to the discovery of a flint corbelled vault in 1899, measuring 7 feet 3 inches long, 2 feet wide, 11 feet deep and aligned N-S. It was located 87 feet north of the castle in a line with the inner wall of the western wing of the castle. The fill contained 17th-18th century pottery, but the date and purpose of the construction are unknown (3). C.E. Bean continued his excavations at Sherborne Old Castle in 1953-4. He excavated a number of different sites. The Well: An E-W trench was dug to the north of the beech which is the traditional site of the Castle well. This revealed a circular well of Ham stone, 4.5 feet in diameter and 6 feet below the present ground surface. The well was excavated to a depth of 42 feet at which point water seepage rendered further work impracticable. The well had become square in plan at this point and the bottom was probably not much further below. The dressed strone steining ran out at 28 feet deep. A large 14 inch square upright timber lay at the base of the well. The fill contained building debris from the Norman period onwards. The well head also produced much domestic refuse from the 13th century along with traces of timber gear. The 12th century well appears to have been altered when the hall works were carried out c. 1221-3. Post holes, possibly of a wooden building, extended westwards at the 13th century level. Buildings against the west wall: a N-S aligned stone foundation ran parallel to and 17 feet inside the line of the west curtain wall. This wall had gaps for entrances and may represent the foundations of a timber building. A piece of 12th century bevelled Ham stone was inscribed with a ‘Nine Men’s Morris’. Buildings at the SE corner of the curtain wall: The remains of substantial buildings were revealed at the SE corner and along the southern curtain wall, for at least 175 feet in all, and of at least two phases (4).