EDO7840 - 69 St James Street, Shaftesbury; monitoring 2019

During developmental works on 69 St James Street, certain activites were monitored to assess any archaeological impact on the site. The monitoring was conducted room by room and began with the removal of floor and backfill in the Outshot. Under the cobbled flooring the black earth surface was removed in 10cm split stages until the desired new layer was reached. Old lime morter and stones of approximately 50 x 20mm were uncovered from here along with modern and Victorian pottery pieces and a red ceramic tile of 17cm x 17cm x 4cm. In October of 2018, the old and new kitchen areas were worked on. Material was removed from the foundation trench of the new kitchen which initally consisted of black soil and broken brick with an average of about 12cm depth. Removal continued here until the natural sandy clay was revealed in some places. No artefacts were found. A strip of concrete was removed from the back garden to allow space for a water supply trench. Under the strip an earth fast, greensand cobbled gully was uncovered measuring 30cm wide and 20cm long. There were a few sherds of early 19th century pottery. There was 8 to 10 inch thick concrete covering the drive and once removed there did not appear to be any trace of a pre-existing cobbled surface. Upon removing the ceiling upstairs there was evidence for blocked up windows and the chimeny showed rebuilding to accommondate a Victorian fireplace in the bedroom. The 17th century fireplace in the lounge was cleared to show that the orginal hearth had been set in 6.5 inches square by 1 inch of lime mortar. This house is described as 17th century with later alterations.