Monument record MDO18158 - Greyhound Yard, medieval Building 952

Building 952 was found in the northern part of the east burgage plot exposed by the 1984 excavations at Greyhound Yard. Parts of two rooms survived and these had stone rubble walls with a large circular rubble base in the central part of the southern wall. In the southern room was a burnt soil floor with an area of cobbling overlying it. The northern room had the remains of an earthen floor covered with stone and with a layer of ash and charcoal. It was probably constructed in the 13th century and continued in use into the 14th century, and was probably broadly contemporary with the adjacent Building 753. This Building may have had an industrial use.

Found during the excavations carried out by Wessex Archaeology in 1984 prior to the redevelopment of the area of the former Greyhound Yard. (1) The results of the excavation were published together with the results of the adjacent Old Methodist Chapel excavations. (2) The numbers in square brackets below are context and feature numbers used in the published report (2).

Building 952 lay about four metres to the east of Building 753 in the northern part of the east burgage plot. Two rooms of this building lay within the excavation area, but the east side had been destroyed by later activity. The northern end continued out of the excavated area. The south and west footings were of one build and were about 0.6m wide and constructed of flint and limestone rubble and there was a circular rubble base in the central part of the south wall. The building was divided by an E-W rubble footing. Within the southern part of the building was a sequence of burnt soil layers, the upper surface of which was smooth and compacted suggesting it was a floor surface. Above this surface was a small area of cobbles. In the northern room, the floor surfaces only survived where they had sunk into the top of earlier features and comprised a chalky clay layer with a scatter of limestone slabs and a band of ash and charcoal above.

This building was probably constructed in the 13th century and continued in use into the 14th century. It was probably largely contemporary with Building 753. Its function is unclear but the layers of ash and charcoal, plus the large circular base suggest it may have had an industrial function

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.

Wessex Archaeology, 1984, Greyhound Yard, Dorchester excavation archive (Excavation archive). SDO9456.

<1> Woodward, P J , Davies, S M , and Graham, A H, 1984, Excavations at the Greyhound Yard Car Park, Dorchester, 1984, 99-106 (Article in serial). SDO9437.

<2> Woodward, P J , Davies, S M , and Graham, A H, 1993, Excavations at the Old Methodist Chapel and Greyhound Yard, Dorchester, 1981-1984, 94 (Monograph). SDO9411.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:27PM