Monument record MDO18106 - Old Methodist Chapel post-medieval building 116 - The Wood and Stone Inn

Found during the 1982 excavations at the Old Methodist Chapel, Dorchester. Part of a rectangular stone building found on the southern half of the site, with a hearth in the eastern end. Originally it had an earthern floor, later replaced by a cobbled surface. It was constructed in the 17th century and was demolished in 1875. It was an outbuilding to the 'Wood and Stone Inn' on Durngate Street, perhaps a stable behind the inn.

Found during the excavations carried out by Wessex Archaeology in 1982 after the demolition of the South Street Methodist Chapel on the corner of South Street and Durngate Street, Dorchester. (1) The results of the excavation were published together with the results of the adjacent Greyhound Yard excavations. (2) The numbers in square brackets below are context and feature numbers used in the published report (2).

This rectangular building lay on the southern side of the excavations and was built on a shallow terrace cut into the slope. Only the northern part of this building was exposed and comprised a limestone slab and rubble wall defining a rectangular building 15m long internally. The west wall had been destroyed. A hearth or oven with a base of limestone slabs was built against the internal face of the east wall. The original floor was earthen and contained earlier 17th century pottery. The floor was later replaced with a stone cobbled floor, which had a drain running across it. Changes in the nature of the cobbled floor suggest there may have been an internal division within the building.

An extension was built on the NE corner. Only a single wall survived.

The dating of this building was provided by pottery of late 16th/early 17th century incorporated into the fabric of the walls and a mid or later 17th century sherd from the earliest levelling layer inside the building. Material in the later accumulations on the floor included 19th century pottery and the building appears to have continued in use until its demolition in 1875.

This building is shown on Hutchins’ map of 1772, as well as a small structure attached to its NE corner, which lay at the back of the properties on Durngate Street. (3) Documentary evidence shows that by the early 19th century its connection with the Wood and Stone Inn in Durngate Street was established. (2) The character of the cobbled floor suggests that this building may have been a stable behind the Inn.

Wessex Archaeology, 1982, Old Methodist Chapel excavation archive (Excavation archive). SDO9442.

Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Dorchester, Durnovaria: Excavations in the town centre at Greyhound Yard, and the Old Methodist Chapel (1982-1984): Interim and introductory notes to the current excavations (Unpublished document). SDO9435.

<1> Woodward, P J, 1982, Excavations at the South Street Methodist Chapel, Dorchester (Article in serial). SDO9436.

<2> Woodward, P J , Davies, S M , and Graham, A H, 1993, Excavations at the Old Methodist Chapel and Greyhound Yard, Dorchester, 1981-1984, 107-109 (Monograph). SDO9411.

<3> Hutchins, J, 1863, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. Volume 2. 3rd edition, 335 (Monograph). SDO9443.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:26PM