Excavations at 16-20 Church Street, Bawtry, South Yorkshire 9780860548348, 9781407318752

Table of contents :
Front Cover
Copyright
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSS
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF PLATES
1. INTRODUCTION
2. EXCAVATION REPORT
3. FINDS REPORTS
4. DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
5. INTERPRETATION AND NARRATIVE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PLATES

Citation preview

South Yor kshire Archaeology Field and Research Unit 1996 County Archaeology Monograph Number 3

Excavations at.16-20 Church Street Bawtry, South Yorkshire

Compiled by

J. A. Dunkley and C. G. Cumberpatch Edited by C. G. Cumberpatch, I. D. Latham and R. Thorpe Principal illustrators A. M. Chadwick and I. D. Latham

BAR British Series 248 1996

Published in 2019 by BAR Publishing, Oxford BAR British Series 248 County Archaeology Monograph Number 3 Excavations at 16-20 Church Street, Bawtry, South Yorkshire © South Yorkshire Field and Archaeology Unit and the Publisher 1996 The authors’ moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860548348 paperback ISBN 9781407318752 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860548348 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com BAR Publishing is the trading name of British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd. British Archaeological Reports was first incorporated in 1974 to publish the BAR Series, International and British. In 1992 Hadrian Books Ltd became part of the BAR group. This volume was originally published by Tempvs Reparatvm in conjunction with British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd / Hadrian Books Ltd, the Series principal publisher, in 1996. This present volume is published by BAR Publishing, 2019.

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CONTENTS Acknowledgements List of Contributors List of Figures List of Tables List of Plates

Vl

vii Vlll lX lX

1

Introduction

1. 1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1. 5 1.6

The urban context The local regional context Topography and geology The organisation of the excavation The finds recording system Site summary and chronological phasing

2

Excavation Report

2 .1 2.2 2 .3 2.4 2 .5

The archaological evaluation : October 1990 The excavation: Novemberl990-March 1991 Period 1: summary Period 2 Period 3

3

Finds Reports

3 .1 3 .2 3 .3 3.4 3.5

The chipped stone The Roman finds The medieval and post-medieval pottery Vessel and bottle glass The bone objects

3. 6 3 .7 3. 8 3. 9

The amber bead Coins and tokens The copper and lead alloy objects The whetstones and hones

3 .10 3 .11

Clay tobacco pipes The iron objects

C.G . Cumberpatch and J.A. Dunkley

1 1 .5 5 5 8

J.A. Dunkley

A Myers C.G. Cumberpatch C .G. Cumberpatch Paul Courtney L. Martin, J .A. Mulville and C .G . Cumberpatch C. G . Cumberpatch Nicola S. H. Rogers Nicola S. H. Rogers P.C . Buckland and C .G. Cumberpatch D .A. Higgins Paul Harrison with contributions

11 11 13

18 48

54 54 55 138 140 141 141 142 154 154

160

by Nicola S.H.Rogers

3 .12 3 .13 3. 14 3.15 3. 16

The ironworking debris Ceramic building materials Building stone and stone artefacts The marine mollusc shells The animal bones

Paul Harrison S. Garside Neville S. Garside Neville · P . Wagner Graham Mounteney and C .G Cumberpatch

iii

166 167 173 177

180

CONTENTS

4

Documentary Evidence

K. Collis

5

Interpretation and Narrative

C.G. Cumberpatchwith contributions by I.D . Latham and R. Thorpe

5. 1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10

Introduction Period 1, buildings 10 and 12 Period 2, phase 1 Period 2, phase 2 Period 2, phase 3 PeriC'd2, phase 4 Period 3 The buildings The uses of the buildings and the activities on the site Summary

184

192 192 192 193 194 195 196 196 198 199

Bibliography

201

Plates

206

iv

V

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT S

preparation of the report on the ceramic building materials and tiles. Dr P. Budd was responsible for the identification of the iron working slag. Dr A ·Mainman commented on the amber bead and Dr D. Ashurst offered preliminary advice on the vessel and window glass. Mr B Irving (Museum of London) examined and identified the fish bones . Professor J.R. Collis offered advice and discussion concerning the recording system. Ms K. Meadows retyped a number of the specialist reports. Mr A. Henstock (Nottinghamshire Archives) and Mr G. Toop (Public Records Office) gave permission for the reproduction of the tithe maps and the staff of Doncaster Local Studies Library copied the illustration reproduced as Figure 4 .1. Thanks are due to the staff of all three organisations .

The excavations at 16-20 Church Street, Bawtry were supervised by J.A. Dunkley who also wrote the draft excavation report and compiled the preliminary phase plans . C.G. Cumberpatch was responsible for the pottery report and for co-ordinating the processing and analysis of the finds and for the finds archive. Together with I.D. Latham and R. Thorpe , he also compiled, edited and extensively revised the final text. The excavation was undertaken by Richard Barkle, Claire Bro~ Jane Brown, Adrian Chadwick, Jane Gosling, Kay Harvey, Richard Holbrey, Dominic Latham , Karen Miller , Reuben Thorpe, Claire Watson and Stephen Webster assisted by two volunteers, Graham Robbins and Elizabeth Cameron. The overall direction of the site was the responsibility of Robert E. Sydes (formerly Field Officer, South Yorkshire Archaeology Service).

The staff of the South Yorkshire Archaeology Service (Mr J. Little, Mr R. Sydes, Ms M. Francis and Ms S. Whiteley), Ms A. Waister (Sheffield City Museum), Mr A. O'Connor and Ms G. Crawley (Doncaster Museum) provided advice and support during both the excavation and post-excavation stages of the project. Conservation of a number of artefacts was undertaken by staff of the York Archaeological Trust and by Ms H. Cox (Doncaster Museum). Mr A. Davison and Mr.J. Ette of English Heritage facilitated the funding of the excavation and the production of the report.

The excavation was financed by Doncaster Municipal Borough Council, English Heritage and the Sanctuary Housing Association, with the funds administered by J.H. Little (County Archaeologist) and Sheffield City Museum. The various specialists responsible for the individual reports are credited in the text, but a number of other people offered advice and assistance without which the report could not have been completed. The help of the following is gratefully acknowledged:

The finds drawings are the work of Mr A. Chadwick, assisted by A. Burgess and S. Hallett , and the site plans and sections of Mr I.D. Latham. The site photographs are the work of the excavation team .

Ms P. Beswick, (Sheffield City Museum), Mr Adrian Cox, Dr A. Mainman, Ms S. Jennings (York Archaeologicai Trust), Mr J.G. Watkins (Humberside Archaeological Service), Dr A. Vince and Ms J. Young (City of Lincoln Archaeological Trust). Participants in the 1992 ~RG Seminar, Beverley, Dr P.C. Buckland (University of Sheffield) and Dr M. Pluciennik (St David's College, Lampeter) gave advice and assistance with the preparation of the pottery report.

All opinions expressed in the text remain responsibility of the individual authors .

the

The South Yorkshire Archaeology Field and Research Unit is funded and maintained by the Metropolitan Borough Councils of Barnsley , Doncaster and Rotherham and the City of Sheffield. It is administered by the Department of Arts and Museums , Sheffield City Council.

Ms Karen Adams and Dr Jennie Stopford (York Archaeological Trust) and Ms Ann Los assisted in the

vi

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS P.C. Buckland P. Budd AM . Chadwick K. Collis C.G. Cumberpatch P. Courtney J.A. Dunkley P. Foster S. Garside-Neville G. Gaunt P. Harrison D. Higgins I.D. Latham L. Martin G. Mounteney J.A. Mulville A. Myers N.S.H. Rogers R. Thorpe P. Wagner

University of Sheffield University of Bradford Archaeological Consultant West Glamorgan County Archive Service Archaeological Consultant Archaeological and Historical Consultant Freelance Archaeologist University of Sheffield York Archaeological Trust Geological Consultant Scottish Urban Archaeological Trust University of Liverpool Archaeological and Land Survey Consultant Institute of Archaeology, University College London Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Archaeological Consultant Derbyshire Archaeology Service York Archaeological Trust Central Archaelogical Services, English Heritage University of Sheffield

vii

LIST OF FIGURES 2 3 4 6

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

Location of Bawtry in England Location of Bawtry in its region 16-20 Church Street, Bawtry . Area of excavation Context sheet Synthesis of the phases 16-20 Church Street , Bawtry . Orientation plan

10

Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure _ Figure Figure Figure

2 .1 2 .2 2 .3 2 .4 2 .5 2 .6 2.7 2 .8 2.9 2 .10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2 .19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2 .23 2.24

Location of evaluation trenches on a basic outline of the site Long evaluation section , Trench 4 Buildings 10 and 12 Building 3 phase 1 Building 3 phase 2 Building 3 phase 3 Phase plan early 13th century Phase plan 13th/14th century Building 4 phase 1 Building 4 phase 2 Furnace 1057 detailed plan Furnace 1057 section Building 11 detailed plan Phase plan 15th/16th century Building 5 phase 1 construction phase Building 5 phase 1 habitation phase Building 5 phase 2 Building 5 phase 3 Building 5 phase 3A Building 5 phase 4 Buildings 6 and 9 Building 7 Final phase plan 17th/19th centuries Building 2

12 14 15 20 22 23 25 26 27 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 39 40 41 42 45 49 50 51

Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3 .16 3 .17

Shell Tempered ware Anthropomorphic vessel Beverley ware; Unidentified jar; Skipton-on-Swale drinking jug Humberware jugs Humberware South Yorkshire Gritty ware group B South Yorkshire Gritty ware groups A and B Cistercian wares and Blackware type Purple Glazed ware Yellow ware and Purple Glazed wares 17th and 18th century English and European wares Imported wares Glass Bone objects Amber bead Nuremburg Token Copper alloy objects

68 69 70 72 73 74 75

Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

viii

9

77

78 79 84 85 139 140 141 141 144

Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure

3.18 3.19

3.20 3.21

3.22 3.23 3.24

3.25 3.26

3.27 3.28

3.29 3.30

3.31

Figure 4.1 Figure 4.2 Figure 4.3

Copper alloy objects Copper alloy objects Lead alloy objects Whetstones Whetstone Clay pipes Scale tang knife Shears blade Ceramic tiles Brick trough Perforated stone tile Stone objects Tufa mortar 1058-3 Magnesian Limestone block

145 146 149 155 156 157 163 164 168 169 173 175 176 177

Bawtry Church and Church Street in the early 19th century 1841 Tithe map 1841 Tithe map

185 186 189

LIST OF TABLES Tables 1-59 Table 60 Table 61 Table 62 Table 63 Table 64 Table 65 Table 66 Table 67 Table 68 Table 69 Table 70 Table 71 Table 72 Table 73 Table 74

Pottery types by context and feature/ Vessel forms Residual Roman pottery Cistercian Ware Blackwares Yellow wares Imported Pottery (excluding stonewares) Shell Tempered Ware English and European Stonewares Distribution of non-ferrous metalwork across the site Distribution of clay pipe fragments Fabric list Plain glazed glazed floor tile Measurements of bricks Contexts with pantile Marine molluscs

87 121

130 131 132

133 134 135 136

150 158 170 170 171 172 179

LIST OF PLATES Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate Plate

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Building 10, northern and western walls Building 10, detail showing stake holes Medieval wall footings and northern wall of building 6 Drain 777 and square brick structure Drain 392, padstone in foreground Furnace 1057 showing surviving flue lining Building 5, tiled floor cut by walls of later cottages Building 2, with brick lined pit , walls and fireplace

ix

206 206

207 207 208 208 209

209

X

Introduction

1

INTRODUCTION C. G. Cumberpatch and J.A. Dunkley

1.1 The urban context

saint of seafarers) and street names such as Wharf Street suggest that this now abandoned and silted meander of the River Idle may have been occupied by the medieval port which, as is clear from the documentary sources (discussed more fully in Section 4), was crucial to the prosperity of the town.

The town of Bawtry lies on the county boundary between South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, on the River Idle and on the line of the Great North Road, between Retford and Doncaster (Figs 1.1 and 1.2). It has long been known that the town was an important medieval and post-medieval port, with the navigable Idle connecting it with the Humber estuary and Hull (Magilton 1977, Hey 1979, 1980), but in spite of this no archaeological excavations had taken place in the town prior to those described in this report.

1.2 The local regional context The development of Bawtry, from a small hamlet or fannstead to an inland port of considerable regional importance, has to be seen within the context of the residual 'Roman' and early medieval landscape of the region. The line of the Great North Road (the A638) from Retford to Doncaster, Roman in origin, appears to have been diverted during the 13th century to form Bawtry's medieval and modem High Street. A second road, possibly also of Roman origin (the A614), from Bawtry to Finningley forked east from the Great North Road south of the town. This, like the Great North Road itself, was probably diverted to the east through the planned centre of Bawtry to form Low Street and Church Street. Remnants of the original line can be identified within the surviving landscape. To the north of the town, the modem road still follows its original course, being diverted only where it was crossed by the railway in the 19th century. Within the built-up area the line is respected by land divisions north of Wharf Street and towards the south of the town by Low Street (Church Street). Here the northern half of the street, which would have run through the centre of the town, was diverted to the east by up to 30 metres, presumably to encompass the church (Figs 1.2 and 1.3).

In his swvey of the standing buildings in the town, Magilton noted that 'It contains a large number of good, typical town houses without possessing any outstanding building other than the Crown Hotel ... The present grid system of streets is indicative of medieval planning, and in common with Doncaster and Tickhill, it has long, narrow burgage plots surviving as present day property boundaries' (Magilton 1977:11) The buildings described by Magilton are largely of late 17th to 19th century date and are scattered throughout the modem town (Magilton 1977:12), but a number are worth noting here because of their proximity to thearea of the excavation. The site of the excavation covered an area of approximately half an acre on the comer of Church Street and Church Walle (Fig. 1.3), almost opposite the parish church of St. Nicholas. As descnbed by Magilton (1977: 11), the church includes a number of architectural features which suggest that it has been enlarged and remodelled on various occasions since the 12th century. Magilton has described it as 'a strange mixture of medieval elements' which would repay closer study.

Evidence for Roman activity in and around the town, though present, is not abundant Buckland has suggested that an early fort lies beneath the grounds of Bawtry Hall, although as he has acknowledged

On both sides of Church Street are a number of groups of mid to late 18th century cottages, similar perhaps to those which formerly stood on the site itself and were demolished in the late 1970s. An earlier building (c. 1690), known from its gabled design as 'Dutch House', stands on the comer of Wharf Street and Church Street.

'the only indication of Roman settlement is a piece of Spanish amphora from the Market Place area' (1986:32) To this must now be added the residual sherds and the coin from the excavations in Church Street, described in Section 3.2. Concrete evidence of a Roman military presence is provided by the fortlet at Scaftworth which appears to date to the second half of the 4th century (Bartlett and Riley 1958, Riley 1980:57, 103-4, Buckland 1986:32, fig. 18, Van de Noon and Davies 1993 :73).

Of particular importance from the point of view of the context of the excavation is the fact that immediately to the east of the church and the site lies an area of marshland, now crossed by the railway. The finds of waterlogged timber from the area (Magilton 1977:13), the dedication of the church to St Nicholas (the patron

1

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Introduction and the emptying of all modem pipe trenches, pits and a number of recent pet burials.

To the north of the town both the A638 and A614 are respected by the field boundaries that are shown on the 1854 Ordnance Smvey map, and which, in many instances, are still evident today. This linear field system appears to have had an important influence on the plan of the town itself. Several of the streets that are aligned on an east to west axis, (including Wharf Street, Swan Street and Church Walk) are laid parallel to the boundaries of the field system and show a similar curvature rather than fanning a systematic grid aligned at a right angle to High Street This is reflected within the burgage plots themselves, which also show a variation in width similar to that evident in the field system. This variation was identified during the excavation.

A limit of 150m was placed on the excavation of deeply cut features, including wells, in order to avoid the costs and delays associated with shoring, and also because below this depth the archaeological deposits would remain undisturbed by the proposed development. It was decided by the site director that soil samples would only be taken where conditions suitable for the preservation of environmental data were found. In the event no such areas were encountered and those soil samples which were collected were not deemed suitable for environmental analysis. Following the removal of the modem overburden, a grid based upon two metre squares was laid across the site. This utilised a base line which ran along the edge of Church Street and had been established during the evaluation. Fixed points were inserted to the east and west of the site, outside the area of excavation. Each coordinate was identified by a four figure reference, increasing to the east and north from the southwest comer of the excavation, lOmE/lOmN. Co-ordinates mentioned in the text and noted on the plans refer to the southwest comer of the relevant grid square.

1.3 Topography and geology The topography of the town made the church the natural focal point of the wharf, with the market place invisible behind it (Hey 1979:60, 1980). The position of the Church Street site, between the market place and the church, would have made it a location of some importance, part of the core of the medieval town. The geology of the area has been fully described by Carroll et al. (1979), and is dominated by the glacial and fluvial drift deposits associated with the River Idle. The site itself was underlain by soft and friable sands and gravels which, being well drained, were responsible for the poor preservation of organic remains.

Prior to the start of the excavation, a decision was taken to plan the site throughout using multi-context plans in phase, insofar as this was possible. Each plan covered an area five metres square, at a scale of 1:20. Contexts were recorded according to a single numerical sequence, starting at 100, on double sided recording sheets designed specifically for the excavation (Fig. 1.4).

1.4 The organisation of the excavation

1.5 The finds recording system

Following an evaluative excavation in October 1990 (described in Section 2.1) the main phase of the excavation began in November 1990 and concluded, fifteen weeks later, in March 1991. Although few major problems were encountered during the course of the excavation, progress was hampered by falls of snow and by the alternate freezing and thawing of the soil which delayed work during January and February. Problems were also caused by the soft, friable nature of the sandy subsoil which was frequently eroded by rainwater.

In addition to describing the characteristics of, and the relationships between, the archaeological contexts, each context sheet also acted as a finds register for that context A section was set aside to record the groups of artefacts removed from the context An individual container of finds (designated, for the sake of convenience, as a bag) was entered on to the finds register, and its allocated number was suffixed to the context number (e.g. 1001-1: context 1001, bag number 1). The system allowed different types of finds to be designated using different 'bag numbers'. Thus items which in other circumstances might have been given 'small finds numbers', were simply given sequential bag numbers (1001-1, 1001-2, 1001-3 for example). All references to finds within the text are thus identified by context number and bag number. The level of detail usually associated with the small finds system was retained as all items nonnally defined as 'small finds' were individually bagged. The same numbering system was used in the recording of all material recovered from the site, including bricks, tiles, mortar and bulk samples.

The initial phase of the excavation involved the removal, by machine, of the demolition rubble which covered the site. Once this had been completed a team of 11 individuals (assisted by a number of volunteers) undertook the excavation by hand. Because of the limited time available for the excavation and the depth of the stratigraphy revealed by the evaluative excavations, decisions were necessary regarding those parts of the site which could not be fully excavated. All modem material was removed without being recorded. This involved the mechanical excavation of the 19th and 20th century garden soils

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ExcavationReport cobblestones were only discovered after the removal of the foundations, when they were seen in the section to the east of the footings under the 17th century foundations of building 2 and the modern pavement Their position suggested that they had been laid against the walls of the 13th century buildings.

high, set in a shallow trench and bonded with clay. It was unclear whether the trench (283), visible on the line of the wall, was part of the original foundations or whether it was the result of the later robbing of the wall itself. At the northern end of the building a rectangular limestone block, measuring 0.40 m by 0.35 m, formed the northwestern comer and linked the western wall to the northern wall, 391. This appeared to have been constructed at the same time as the footings for the southern wall of building 6, (described below), and also formed part of the drain, 392. Its construction cut, 1801, servedthe same dual purpose. A double row of bricks, laid along the centre of the cut, formed the base of the drain. Overlying the edge of these bricks two courses of brick and limestone rubble, bonded with clay, were laid against each side of the cut and formed the foundations of the building as well as giving clean vertical faces to the edges of the drain.

The interior of building 5 underwent several changes during the life of the structure, the evidence far these being preserved in the floor layers. The first floor, 577, was laid over 663, a burnt layer associated with the demolition of building 10 which survived in the northern half of the building. 577 consisted of a level layer of clean clay which varied in depth between 0.10m and 0.35m and abutted the inner faces of the northern, western and southern walls and their footings but, as mentioned above, overlapped the eastern wall, and abutted the sill beam laid upon it This surface was overlain by a very thin layer of black, compacted sand and clay (context 1802). This may have been a build up of trampled material, accumulated over the original clay surface (577), but the fact that it was evenly spread throughout the building rather than being concentrated on the more readily accessible areas suggests that it was a deliberately laid floor surface. It also formed a lip touching the walls, and here it was less compacted, a characteristic which was most evident along the sides of the partition, 583, which formed a passage 1.10 m wide along the northern side of the building.

The southern wall of the building, 438, although apparently built in a similar manner to the northern, had a less regular inside face. Constructed of irregularly med limestone blocks bonded with clay, it contained no bricks and, unlike the northern wall, was not laid over the base of the drain (849). This drain was constructed of a patchwork of brick, tile and limestone, and gave the appearance of having been laid at the last minute between the walls. In complete contrast the footings of the east wall, 579, which occupied the street frontage, showed every sign of having been constructed with great care. They consisted of three courses of squared limestone blocks, bonded with clay, freestanding within an irregularly cut trench (context 662 shown in Fig. 2.15). The space · around the blocks was packed with a mixture of dirty clay and sand, probably the material which was removed from the trench during its excavation. From the unbroken construction around the northeastern corner it is clear that the eastern and northern walls (579 and 391) were built at the same time and as part of the same phase of activity. This could not be demonstrated in the case of the southeastern corner, where a later intrusion had cut through the comer of the building. The top of the foundation wall was capped with a thin spread of clay which ran along the full length. This however was only laid along the centre of the blocks and stopped 0.05m from the front edge where the stones had been chamfered at an angle of 45 degrees. The capping also stopped at the point where the make up for the internal floor (577) overlapped the inside edge of the foundation wall by 0.10m (Fig. 2.16). This implied that a sill, probably of timber, had been bedded on to the footings and cushioned by the thin spread of clay, prior to the floor being laid against the inside of it.

A number of irregularly sized limestone blocks, the traces of the footings of the partition wall (583), were found set into the clay surface with gaps, 0.80 m wide at both the eastern and western ends, dividing the partition from the eastern and western walls of the building (contexts 579 and 280). In the space at the western end, between the partition (583) and the outer wall (280) was a narrow slot 0.30m wide and approximately 0. 10m deep. This appeared to form part of the original partition as the floor matrix (577) formed a lip against both sides. The opposite end differed considerably. No slot or lip was discovered within the floor and the surface had been compressed, creating a shallow depression between the partition and a rectangular limestone slab, 1803, set into the floor (577) against the eastern wall (579). This probably indicated the position of a doorway with the limestone slab forming the base onto which the doorjamb was set. The hollow, noted along the centre of the east-west passage, pointed to a doorway at either end. An area of heavy burning (context 533) was discovered against the line of the southern wall of building 5. This was in the centre of a rectangle of clay (578) which measured 0.60 m from front to back and occupied half the width of the room. It was bounded along the outer margins by a narrow edging, context 281. This survived only at the eastern edge and as a short stub end bonded to the western wall. The remainder was inferred from the position of the slot or robber cut, context 427. The feature would seem to indicate the presence of a

The outer, chamfered, edge of the limestone blocks showed signs of having been eroded, suggesting that it had been exposed above ground level. It may have formed a curb edging the layer of cobblestones, which formed the street level some 0.25 m below it. The 37

Excavations at 16-22 Church Street,Bawtry tiled floor (1804), a layer of clay was spread across the interior of the building forming a platfonn onto which the new surface, a mixture of compacted sand and clay (384) was laid. Both the floor, which only survived in the northern half of the building, and its matrix completely sealed the line of the partition and the footings of the eastern wall. The edge of the floor still respected the inner face of the northern wall, indicating that it was retained during this period. Although the western and southern walls were not directly linked to the surface, the surviving area of the floor stopped short of them, implying that the western wall was also retained throughout this period as does the fact that it was extant in the final phase of the building (phase 4) where it was respected by the internal surface 272.

fireplace or hearth constructed as part of the first phase of the building.

2.4.15 Building 5 phase 2 Figure2.17 The second stage in the development of the building was the insertion of a new fireplace (281) and a chimney staek into the southwestern comer, replacing the earlier hearth. This involved the demolition of the western half of the southern wall and the construction of a new selfcontained structure. This might have been the result of stn1ctural instability resulting from the heat of the fire in the earlier hearth weakening the clay matrix of the wall. This suggestion is supported by the fact that no other sections of the western wall were replaced and the western end of the chimney stack abutted the inner face of the western wall (280).

No physical evidence for the street frontage remained. The floor surface 384 extended to the east of its original line under Church Street and indicated that the wall also lay beyond the area of excavation. The most likely reason for the expansion of the building in this direction would be to enclose the area underneath the jettied first floor.

The fireplace was built of reused limestone blocks which showed some signs of burning on the sides away from the hearth. The blocks were bonded with a strong grey mortar and the foundation filled the neatly cut trench into which it was set

2.4.17 Building 5 phase 3A

The insertion of this new fireplace appeared to be part of a general upgrading of the building. Although no direct relationship could be established, it is probable that a new floor was laid at the same time. This took the form of a thin skim of grey mortar (581) which was spread directly onto the earlier surfaces (577 and 1802). The new floor served two functions. Firstly, it created a level platform within the main body of the building; secondly, and more importantly, it acted as a firm bed onto which a tiled floor; 1804, was laid. Although only a small area of tiling survived (in the northwestern comer of the room) the outlines of other tiles were well preserved, impressed into the underlying mortar. This mortar was similar in colour and composition to that used in the construction of the chimney stack.

Figure 2.19 Minor alterations were made to the internal layout of the building at some stage between phases 3 and 4. These consisted of the insertion of two partition walls, 387 and 388, both made of daub (presumably on a timber framework) and rendered on both sides with white mortar. They were set directly onto the floor surface (384) but were not aligned with any other feawres associated with this surface or with any other structure encountered during the course of the excavation. Another surface (1804), similar in character to 384 and laid directly onto it, occupied the area in the northeast comer of the building. This was laid against the base of both partitions. Surface 1804 was subsequently cut by feature 394 and surface 384 by 419, both of which formed .part of the final phase, thus placing the alterations descn'bed here into a sub-phase designated

The subdivision of the building by the partition (583) was retained during this period. The floor matrix, 581, still respected its line, and a new surface within the passage (576) was laid against it. This new surface, composed of thin laminated bands of concreted sand, mirrored the pattern of the earlier level, except in the northwestern comer. Here it stopped 1.00m from the west wall, perhaps indicating the position of a door, or change in the line of the partition. No surface survived within this northwestern comer to support this change of layout

3A.

2.4.18 Building 5 phase 4 Figure 2.20 The final phase in the development of building 5 involved both a substantial refurbishment and an expansion of the property. The neighbouring buildings, 4 and 6, were demolished and parts of the areas which they had occupied became integrated into the single structure which remained on the site.

2.4.16 Building 5 phase 3 Figure 2.18

The western and the northern walls of building 5, 280 and 391, were retained in their basic fonn, with the possible addition of a doorway cut through the northern wall (and described further below). There was no evidence for any further alterations to the eastern wall

The third phase in the development of building 5 involved the removal of the partition, 583, and the replacement of the wall which formed the street frontage (579). Once again, the evidence for these changes came mainly from the floor levels. After the removal of the 38

~~

D 0

283

113N 36EI-

10

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. ~El

2~ \ - --"Q ~~-\

849 :- . I I

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·0

w \0

·389::_..··::::·_ ·_ : .:: _. :_.:..

~ Job ".

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~ed in greater detail in Tables 61 to 67. Joins between bags and contexts were noted where possible, although this procedure was not employed exhaustively, in that every sherd was not checked against every other of the same type. This, though desirable, was not deemed cost effective in terms of the information gained. In practice, joins between bags were sought within individual phases and between the phases of the buildings.

3.3.2 Methods of analysis Although a number of pottery assemblages from European medieval towns have proved suitable for analyses of the greatest methodological sophistication, the nature of the assemblage recovered from Bawtry and of the site itself prompted a more cautious approach. Work began before the phasing of the site was complete with the compilation of a descriptive catalogue of the material recovered. This forms part of the site archive, deposited with the South Yorkshire Sites and Monuments record. Once the various stratigraphical units had been identified and their inter-relationships established, the pottery was sorted and recorded in the appropriate groups.

3.3.3 Chronology The use of the pottery as a source of absolute dates for the site, though of considerable importance to the interpretation of the structural remains, was problematic in the extreme. As Watkins has pointed out (1987:53) pottery is a rather poor chronological indicator, particularly when unsupported by documentary or numismatic evidence, neither of which was abundant at Bawtry. The method which has been used most extensively is that of dating by comparison with stratified and dated sequences on other sites, notably those from Hull (Watkins 1987), Beverley (Watkins 1991), Sandal Castle (Moorhouse 1983), Doncaster (Buckland et al 1979, 1989) and Lincolnshire (Hayfield

Following a brief review of recent discussions of methods of pottery quantification (Blake and Davey 1983, Watkins 1987, 1991, Brooks 1987, Fulford and Huddleston 1991) and given the particular nature of the assemblage, it was decided to base the recording and

55

Excavations at 16-22 Church Street, Bawtry 1985). As I shall discuss in greater detail below a major problem was the lack of secme dating of vessels manufactured in the lower Don valley, the Coal Measmes or South Yorkshire Gritty wares. In addition, the size and ambiguous character of the assemblage precluded the use of the statistical techniques employed by Watkins (1987:56), quite apart from the difficulties raised by some of his assumptions regarding taste and aesthetic judgement An aspect of this latter point will be dealt with at greater length in the following section.

a disadvantage. Moorhouse (1983) and Moorhouse and Slowikowski (1987) have actually preferred the use of simple descriptive terms to those drawn from the presumed source(s) or date of the pottery, on the grounds that these have frequently proved to be erroneous, the case of Cistercian ware being only one amongst many. At this level the concept of a tradition of manufacture is a useful heuristic device, allowing the analyst to come to grips with a mass of otherwise intractable material, before breaking it down into smaller groups.

3.3.4 Tradition

There is also a second, and more important, reason for considering 'tradition' to be a useful concept

Throughout this report reference will be made , as it is in many pottery reports, to the existence of 'pottery traditions' or 'traditions of manufactme'. This concept has been discussed briefly elsewhere (Cumberpatch, in press), but a more extensive discussion is appropriate in the present context

Tradition may be seen as operating at a different scale from that of the identification of particular potteries or regional manufacturing centres, and this is a scale which does not demand (and indeed defies) reduction to a more fundamental level, although it does require explicit theorisation. The classification of pottery vessels by archaeologists hinges upon the fact that vessels were not created at random by their makers but confonned to sets of expectations held in common by both their users and their makers. If, as seems highly probable (on the basis of ethnographic accounts of pottery manufactme ), such expectations were at least as important as technological constraints in determining the shape, colour, texture and decoration of the vessels, then the definition of a tradition, in tenns of the character of the vessels involved, offers the possibility of defining some of those aspects of everyday life which the French sociologist and anthropologist, Pierre Bourdieu, has described as habitus.

The concept of a 'tradition of pottery manufactme', has been discussed and extensively employed by Colin Hayfield (1985). His use of the tenn is based upon the recognition and description of ·a series of related fabric typeS sharing a similar tempering agent and overall vessel appearance (Hayfield 1985: 11), the latter characteristic being derived from a number of criteria, with the manufacturing technique (in the broadest sense of the tenn) foremost amongst them. The concept of tradition can be considered to operate at different levels. At the level of the analysis of a pottery assemblage or group of assemblages, its definition is one of several steps towards the identification of a specific source or sources for a given type of pottery and may, as Hayfield has suggested (1985:11), represent:

3.3.5 H abitus and tradition Briefly summarised, habitus (the word is the same in both singular and plural forms) can be defined as

1) the products of a single pottery or potter 2) part of the repertoire of one or more potters

'systems of durable, transposable dispositions, structured structures predisposed to function as structuring structure, that is, as principles which generate and organise practices and representations that can be objectively adapted to their outcomes without presupposing a conscious aiming at ends or an express mastery of the operations necessary in order to attain them. Objectively 'regulated' and 'regular' without being in any way the product of obedience to rules, they can be collectively orchestrated without being the product of the organising action of a conductor' (Bourdieu 1990:53).

3) the products of a number of potters working at the samecentte 4) the products of a number of potters working at different centres At one level it is clearly desirable that traditions based upon such criteria should ultimately be disentangled and the individual potteries be identified either through the characterisation of the physical properties of the clays or by the definition of particular traits of manufacture. This desirable stage has been reached in tenns of some types of pottery, including certain types of Cistercian ware (Moorhouse and Slowikowski 1992) and medieval green glazed wares (Vince, Young, pers. comm.), but many other types, notably coarse textured utilitarian and domestic wares, remain distinguishable but anonymous, and are described only as, for example, 'Red Gritty ware' or 'South Yorkshire Gritty ware'. This is not necessarily

In practice, which is its primary sphere of operation, habitus operates as the 'way to proceed' in everyday life, structuring actions such that they are consented to and followed by the members of a particular society. In enacting and re-enacting the principles of the habitus on a day-to-day basis individuals construct and reconstruct 56

Finds Reports

Clearly such an ambitious project cannot be carried out within the context of a single small excavation such as that descn'bed in this report Equally, however, it is impossible to arrive at anything other than a mechanistic, behaviouristic description of the situation if these points are ignored, and it seems appropriate to cite some examples of caseswhich, if further explored, might be susceptible to analysis in the terms set out above.

their world, reproducing the central features of their society. Thus 'The habitus - embodied history, internalised as second nature and so forgotten as history - is the active presence of the whole past of which it is the product As such it is what gives practices their relative autonomy with respect to external determinations of the immediate present This autonomy is that of the past, enacted and acting, which, functioning as accumulated capital, produces history on the basis of history and so ensures the pennanence in change that makes the individual agent a world within the world' (Bourdieu 1990:56).

The type series set out below employs the widely accepted groupings of medieval pottery, primarily for the good reason that these are meaningful within the intellectual framework of contemporary archaeology, but also because they can be employed to elucidate certain aspects of the habitus of their makers and users. Considering the Humberware jugs and pitchers, for example, it might be instructive to ask why defining features of these vessels are their orange to brick-red surfaces and patchy green glaze, the latter usually on the upper surfaces (Watkins 1987). The persistence of this type of vessel throughout the medieval period, together with the fact that similar types of vessel were widely produced by potters working in the vicinity of many medieval towns (including Beverley, Lincoln and Nottingham) might suggest that, as well as constituting a tradition in Hayfield's terms, they also represent an element in the habitual, day-to-day lives of medieval people. To take this example further, a second major element of the household pottery repertoire was the gritty or coarse sandy ware cooking pots (Watkins 1987:93, Moorhouse and Slowikowski 1987, Cwnberpatch, forthcoming). The subdivison of these types of vessels into fabric types (such as Pimply wares, Hillam wares, Orange Gritty wares, Northern Gritty wares, South Yorkshire Gritty wares and so on) has perhaps tended to obscure the elements of colour, texture and form (and inferred function) which unify them. Although it is true that a wide variety of vessel forms were made in all of these fabrics, it seems possible to discern a tendency towards the use of gritty textured, buff to grey, usually unglazed fabrics, for the manufacture of multi-functional jars (Watkins 1987:93), while the vessels intended for the serving of liquids (perhaps wine or ale) were, as described above, predominantly finer in texture and coloured red and green (or variations thereof). Clearly this simple example misrepresents a complex situation, and the fact that pottery vessels appear in a wide range of forms means that considerably more work is required to disentangle the strands of interconnection within domestic pottery assemblages and to follow the threads of cross reference to other items of material culture (including wooden and metal vessels).

Archaeological applications of the notion of habitus have tended to follow Bourdieu's own work in concentrating on the organisation of space and the ways in which this is related to cosmological concerns and the social relationships between different groups (principally age and gender) within the society. It is clear however that the idea is of considerable importance if we are to understand the production and use of goods, including pottery, which, I would suggest, embody certain aspects of the world view and practical logic held in common by members of a society. Recent discussions of material culture have used the metaphor of the text as a way of understanding the important symbolic dimensions of the form and decoration of utilitarian and exotic goods (Hodder 1991). Such approaches to material culture have, implicitly or explicitly, involved ideas similar to that of habitus in their central assumption that mutual understanding must exist between individuals in order to allow the goods in question to function in 'text-like' manner. This is not to argue for an informationprocessing approach to material culture (van der Leeuw 1984), but rather to see the use of goods as involving a range of symbolic meanings, grounded in, but also above and beyond, their utilitarian function. Such meaning is self-evident to individual members of the society and can be manipulated by them in the context of symbolic discourse. The continued production of goods according to a mutually understood practical logic is an important element in the reproduction of the society, acting to reproduce the understood and comprehensible categories which constitute the social world (Miller 1985). For this reason the definition of traditions of manufacture, if rigorously carried out and integrated into a wider, contextually sensitive, analysis of material culture, should allow some insight into the realms of classification and categorisation through which individuals and communities structure their world. A practical example of the value of this approach has recently been given by Smail (1992), who has pointed out that it is a key element in our understanding of social change and, in particular, offers a useful insight into those specific changes in social and economic practice which constitute the Industrial Revolution.

While it is clear that changes occurred throughout the medieval period in terms of the types of vessels manufactured, a more profound change can be seen occurring during the 15th and 16th centuries. The decline in the representation of Gritty wares and a 57

Excavationsat 16-22 Church Street.Bawtry particularly the taller forms, are usually rather carelessly glazed, with the glaze covering the upper part of the vessel and trickles and streaks crossing the lower half or third. Watkins has discussed the range of vessel forms and has noted that the commonest types are jugs and pitchers, with a wider range of fonns only appearing dming the 14th century (1987:98).

similar, although perhaps less marked, decline in the green glazed wares seems to coincide with the rise of brown and purple glazed utilitarian wares. In the later 15th century the presence of Cistercian and :Early Yellow wares marks the appearance of new categories of ceramic tablewares. The extent to which these changes in form, colour and texture are associated with the wider change from the medieval to the post-medieval world remains to be explored in detail. Currently changes in pottery types are used almost exclusively by British archaeologists to document the passing of time and to calibrate the stratigraphical succession. This contrasts strongly with recent work in American historical archaeology and social history where it is clear that a concern with social practice is reflected in the approach to the data (e.g. Yentsch 1991a, 1991b, McGuire and Paynter 1991, Smail 1992). The fact that the meaning of the changes in material culture in terms of social practice has been largely ignored in British historical archaeology is an indictment both of the practice of ceramic analysis and of the funding of post-excavational analysis. Typology, which should be an enabling conceptual structure, has been transformed into a cage, holding the analyst remote from the world which should be the focus .of her/his study.

Humberwares were an important class of pottery at Bawtry and, as descnbed below, examples of fabrics similar to those from both Cowick and Holme-onSpalding Moor were recognised. Examples are shown in Figures 3.4 and 3.5. Of the later types descnoed by Watkins, the Coarse Green Glazed types were not identified, and Purple Glazed types were represented by only three small sherds, perhaps suggesting that by this time (15th - 16th centuries) wares from the lower Don valley were taking the place of the Humberwares. Seven distinct fabric types have been recognised amongst the Humberwares from Bawtry.

Humberware1 A fine, smooth textured grey fabric with extremely fine white/shiny inclusions (probably quartz). In cross section the fabric is grey with only the external surface being oxidised. The vessels are partially glazed externally, normally on the upper surface. The colom of the glaze varies from mid green to a yellowish green, sometimes on the same vessel. This fabric can be compared to that from the Cowick moated site (Hayfield and Grieg 1990).

3.3.6 Type series A preliminary version of part of this type series has been published elsewhere (Cumberpatch in prep.), but the opportunity will be taken here to revise and expand the descriptions of some of the types and to add a number of · · others. The samples described form part of the permanent pottery reference collection held by the South Yorkshire Archaeology Field and Research Unit

Humberware2 Very similar in its outward appearance (including the glaze) to Humberware 1, this type is characterised by a slightly coarser fabric with moderately abundant fine quartz inclusions.

3.3. 7 Humberwares

Humberware3

The typology and history of the Humberwares has been the subject of a considerable amount of research in recent years (Watkins 1987, 1991, Hayfield 1980, 1985, Hayfield and Grieg 1990), reflecting the importance of this class of pottery on medieval sites in the Humber basin region, and only a brief summary is required here.

A pale grey reduced fabric, considerably grittier in texture than either 1 or 2. Inclusions remain fine and scarcely visible to the naked eye, but give the fabric its characteristic texture. The glaze is generally similar to that described above, a mid to yellowish green.

The Humberware industry was an exceptionally long lived one, production at a number of rural potteries (including West Cowick and Holme-on-Spalding Moor) having continued from the late 13th to the 16th century. Though there were variations in the fabrics and in the range of fonns manufactured over that time, the basic features of the type remained discernible.

Humberware4

The pottery is typically oxidised, giving an orange to brick-red colom on the exterior. A reduced core is not uncommon and the interior of some (particularly closed) vessels is likewise often reduced. The vessels,

Humberware5

Purple Glazed Humberware with a fine sandy textured fabric. Distinguished by its dark purple glaze, this type dates to the later 15th and early 16th centuries. It has been fully described by Watkins (1987:106)

This fabric resembles Humberware 3 but contains angular quartz inclusions. These are generally fine but vary somewhat in size. The glaze is again green. 58

Finds Reports variety of sandy textured wares with green glaze. The variety of sandy textured wares with green glaze. The superficial resemblance to contemporary Humberwares suggests that they can be considered as part of the same tradition, as defined in Section 3.3.4.

Humberware 6 A red oxidised fabric, with a distinctively coarser, though still sandy, texture than those described above. It is harder and more homogeneous than type 3 and closely resembles that manufactured at Holme-uponSpalding Moor (Mayes and Hayfield 1980).

The green glazed wares from Lincoln may also be considered as part of this tradition, including as they do a variety of sandy textured fabrics with green splashed and, later, suspension glazes. A single sherd of Lincolnshire Coastal Greensand tempered ware was found in context 856-1. North Lincolnshire Sandy wares were found in a variety of contexts.

Humberware 7 A fine textured fabric, though with a slightly sandier fracture than that of Humberwares 1 and 2 described above. The presence of a metallic, brown, internal glaze suggests that it may be ratller later in date than those described above. The fabric is, however, finer than that of the early Brown Glazed Coarse ware (type 4) described below.

All the examples of these types found at Bawtry can be dated to the mid 13th to 14th centuries (Vince, Young pers. comm.).

The majority of the sherds of Humberware from Bawtry could not be assigned to specific types of vessel, but in those caseswhere it was possible to determine the type (Table 60), jugs were the commonest form. Few other fonns were positively identified, but these included a lobed cup (context 865-1, Fig. 3.5:1) which was dated to the 15th-16th century (Watkins pers. comm.).

3.3.10 DoncasterHallgate The identification of products of the pottery discovered in Hallgate, Doncaster (Buckland et al. 1979) is of considerable importance in determining the earlier history of the site. As will be discussed in Section 4 the documentary evidence suggests that the planned town was laid out in the early 13th century. If buildings were erected on the site at, or around, this date, some contemporary pottery should be expected. As will become clear the greatest proportion of medieval green glazed wares from Bawtry cannot be dated to before the mid 13th century, but Hallgate type A was current by the end of the 12th century and continued ~ be produced until at least the latter part of the 13th, while type B has yet to be found in contexts later than the 12th century (Buckland et al. 1979:56).

3.3.8 Beverley ware Watkins has recently defined two classes of pottery made in the town of Beverley (1991:80-96). Formerly subsumed under the category of Orangeware (Watkins 1987), these were manufactured between the second half of the 12th century and the early 14th century. Beverley 1 ware was current in the latter part of the 12th century, constituting over 50% of the assemblage from phase 6Ci at Lurk Lane. It gave way to Beverley 2 ware in the early years of the 13th century, which became the dominant type in phase 7 Aii. Under the name Orangeware it has also been recognised as the commonest fabric in Hull during the late 13th and early 14th centuries (Watkins 1987:82-93, 1991:90).

Very small quantities of Hallgate type wares were found on the site (contexts 1005-2, 396-9, 177-1 and 19771). All of these lacked diagnostic typological traits and, given the nature of the pottery with which they were associated, were probably late 13th century in date. Two sherds which appeared to be of the Hallgate type B fabric were identified in contexts 702 and 1005-1. The latter context which, as will be described below, was a large and mixed one, may be amongst the earliest on the site.

Beverley 2 ware was certainly present at Bawtry as descnoed below and in the tables, but Beverley 1, which, like that of Doncaster Hallgate, is critical to the identification of the early phases of the site, was tentatively identified only in context 994-1.

3.3.11 Other medieval green glazed wares

3.3.9 Lincoln and NottinghamGreen Glazed wares

This category includes sherds in a variety of fine or sandy textured fabrics, usually oxidised, though sometimes with a reduced core, and patchy or partial green glaze externally. These characteristics suggest that they are part of a medieval green glazed tradition, originating either from unidentified potteries or representing unusual products of the known potteries. Three types have been denoted by specific codes, BFR 2, BFR 3 and BFR 5 and their occurrence on the site is

The fullest description of the later medieval pottery of Nottingham and Lincoln has been presented in Coppack's unpublished thesis on the pottery of the North Midlands, but brief descriptions are given elsewhere, notably in McCarthy and Brooks (1988). The general character of the vessels from Nottingham resembles that seen elsewhere in the north Midlands, with vessels from the mid 12th to mid 14th centuries characterised by a 59

Excavations at 16-22 Church Street, Bawtry

kilns 6km to the west, where similar resources were exploited in the later medieval and post-medieval periods.

descnl>edin the pottery data tables. Their place of origin and precise date remains obscure. The most striking example of this category was the vessel partially reconstructed from sherds found in contexts 1973, 929 and 105 (Fig. 3.2). No precise parallels for this vessel, the only one from the site bearing anthropomorphic decoration, have yet been located, but it has been suggested that the fabric resembles that from potteries at Blyth (Buckland pers. comm.). The form of the hands, with supernumerary fingers, have some resemblance to those on the neck of ajug from 46-54 Fishergate, York (Mainman 1993: fig. 258, vessel number 2589). This vessel was recovered from deposits forming phase 6a on the site, dating to between 1195 and the later 13th century. The fabric of this vessel is described simply as 'sandy red ware' (Mainman 1993:658), but examination has shown it to have a rather coarser texture than has the Bawtry example.

In section the temper can be seen to consist predominantly of quartz, with grains ranging from clear angular fragments to sub-rounded particles of milky quartz. Most lie in the fine to medium sand grade, although occasional small cohesive pieces of a quartz rich siltstone appear. Both in the fracture and on the rough surface of the sherds, however, small dark brown (10 YR 2/2) particles of ironstone are particularly evident In the less highly fired, usually pink (5 YR 8/4) to white sherds (7.5 YR 9/1) these appear to consist of angular to sub-rounded grains of haematite/siderite, but the higher firing temperatures of the later kilns have resulted in the fusion of these to form vesicular inclusions indistinguishable from iron slag. This results in a rough surface texture, covered with small dark reddish brown (5 YR 2 5/2) pustules on a light grey (2.5 YR 7/2) ground. Sherds may be particularly hard, breaking with an uneven fracture to reveal a light grey (N 7) core with vitreous, vesicular inclusions and quartz grains evident. Frequently the ironstone temper reacted with the glaze during firing producing a lustrous 'purple' to blackish purple surface ...' (1989:10-11)

3.3.12 Tudor Green ware Only four sherds of Tudor Green ware were found at Bawtry and all were extremely small. None was in any way diagnostic. Tudor Green ware was produced in West Surrey from the early 14th until the early 17th century (Brears 1971). As Moorhouse (1979, 1983:93) has noted, this type of pottery was in circulation throughout the country by the early 15th century.

This description applies in many of its essential

elements also to the material from Rawmarsh (Hayfield and Buckland 1989:10), but it should be noted that the definition of the type as a single group covers a wide degree of variation, not simply between the white (Coal Measures White) and the purple (Coal Measures Purple) types but also within these two broad categories. On the basis of the material examined from Hellaby Hall (Cumberpatch in prep. 2) and from Bawtry it has been possible to distinguish, at least provisionally, a number of sub-types within the two groups, some of which can be compared directly with sherds from Firsby and Rawmarsh. The sub-groups represent differences in degree rather than in kind from an arbitrary nonn (South Yorkshire Gritty ware 1 in the case of group A and South Yorkshire Gritty ware 10 in the case of group B), and hinge upon a number of as yet subjective and unquantifiable variables including hardness, the density of the inclusions and finish.

3.3.13 South YorkshireGritty wares The type of pottery here termed South Yorkshire Gritty ware has previously been recognised on numerous sites within the county, in Humberside, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire and as far north as York (Mainman pers. comm.). A number of names have been applied to it (including Coal Measures White (CMW), Coal Measures Purple (CMP), South Yorkshire Lightly Gritted ware and Firsby/Rawmarsh ware), and this has, in some cases, led to confusion (e.g. Moorhouse unpublished). The recent publication of the results of fieldwalking at Firsby (Hayfield and Buckland 1989) and the existence, in Sheffield City Museum, of a group of wasters from Rawmarsh offer an opportunity to correct some past misconceptions and to draw up a scheme which can be used as a basis for further study of the medieval and post-medieval pottery industry of the Lower Don Valley.

The extent to which these variations represent chronological changes, variations in the working practices of individual potters or a combination of both is obscure. On the basis of material from excavations in Doncaster, Hayfield and Buckland have suggested that the purple types (CMP) are later than the white (CMW) types, with the potteries operating between the later 13th and the 16th centuries (1989:23). While this is wholly plausible and is supported by the data from Doncaster, it should be noted that the material from Rawmarsh, a group of wasters fowid together in a single pit, included both the CMW and CMP types, together with a wide range of sub-types. Unfortunately the absence of any

Hayfield and Buckland have described the fabric of the pottery recovered from Firsby in the following tenns:

'The Firsby fabric is essentially sand tempered, fired to varying degrees of hardness, either in reducing conditions, producing a white or cream coloured fabric (CMW), or oxidised to produce purples and greys (CMP). In the latter fabric many sherds are indistinguishable from the products of the Rawmarsh 60

Finds Reports reliable contextual infonnation relating to this deposit means that few firm conclusions can be drawn regarding its wider significance.

distinctive fracture pattern. The inclusions include large quartz grains and white, non-crystalline grit, probably chert or flinL It is possible that, while the clay appears (on the basis of macroscopic examination) to be similar to that of the Coal Measures type, the working practices involved were somewhat different from those found in the Firsby - Rawmarsh area.

Although the tenns Coal Measures Purple and Coal Measures White seem useful in defining the two principal variants of the South Yorkshire Gritty type, other tenns applied to this type of pottery are less so. In particular 'South Yorkshire Lightly Gritted ware' (Moorhouse unpublished) is misleading both in the implication that the fabric includes only sparse grit, and in that it should be considered as separate from the purple 'Firsby/Rawmarsh ware'. The scheme set out here is offered as an alternative, albeit a provisional one, in the hope that future work on the sites of the potteries themselves will resolve some of the difficulties sUJToundingthe various sub-types.

South Yorkshire Gritty ware - Group D A group consisting of five sub-types, having an ambiguous relationship with other South Yorkshire Gritty ware types. These fabrics have a fine, grainy texture and are generally red in colour. Fine quartz and occasional fine black grit are predominant amongst the inclusions. The surfaces are smooth and lack the characteristic roughness which is typical of other South Yorkshire Gritty ware types. It is possible that this group is rather later than others in the South Yorkshire Gritty ware series and represents an element in the transition to the Brown Glazed Coarse wares of the post-medieval period. Brown Glaz.ed Coarse ware group 6 has some affinity with it but should not be considered partofiL

South Yorkshire Gritty ware - Group A This group includes the Coal Measures Purple type, the fabrics of which have been described by Hayfield and Buckland (quoted above). Six variants have been identified from Bawtry, differences appearing in the density of inclusions and in the degree of vitrification of the fabrics (the latter judged macroscopically).

South Yorkshire Gritty ware - Group E An unusual fabric, distinguished at first glance by the surface, which is rough, though not in the sense of angularity, but rather uneven. The fabric is hard and fine textured with fine angular quartz and, in some cases, fine black inclusions.

South Yorkshire Gritty ware - Group B This large group consists of 16 sub-types, 12 of which were originally defined from amongst the Bawtry assemblage. The fabrics are white to buff in colour, sometimes with a grey core. All contain abundant subangular - rounded quartz grit and some angular black inclusions, probably, as Hayfield and Buckland have suggested (1989: 11) haematite or siderite. Some members of this group are equivalent to the 'South Yorkshire Lightly Gritted ware' defined by Moorhouse (unpublished).

Groups D and E have been included within the South Yorkshire Gritty type on the basis of the general similarity of the types of inclusions to those seen in Group B. Both contain fine quartz inclusions together with varying proportions of black grit It is probable that these types should be defined as a separate type with a name more accurately reflecting their character (perhaps South Yorkshire Sandy ware), but for the present the existing terminology will be retained.

The group is equivalent to the Coal Measures White type defined and discussed by Hayfield and Buckland. It includes a number of sub-groups which may well be amongst the earliest examples of the South Yorkshire Gritty ware type. One of these (BFR SB) appears similar in many respects to the York White wares of the 13th 14th centuries (Hayfield and Buckland 1989:23). The precise subdivision and classification of this important group of pottery awaits further research.

South Yorkshire Gritty ware - Other types

The significance of groups C, D, E and Oare less ~Y to evaluate, and their inclusion within the broad category of the South Yorkshire Gritty wares may require re-evaluation in the light of future work.

A number of sherds displayed general similarities to the South Yorkshire Gritty ware group but were not close enough to any other to be regarded as one of the above groups or to constitute a separate distinct group. Whether they represent examples of larger, otherwise unrepresented, groups or simply the inevitable variations to be expected within the products of such a substantial industry is unclear.

South Yorkshire Gritty ware - Group C

3.3.14 Shell Tempered ware

A small group consisting of two sub-types, defined according to their texture. Inclusions are not abundant but are coarse which, together with the homogenous nature of the clay body, gives the type a highly

The Shell Tempered wares of the types found in Lincolnshire from the 9th century onwards (Adams Gilmour 1988) and which formed the dominant coarse ware type in 13th century Doncaster (Hayfield 1984), 61

Excavations at 16-22 Church Street, Bawtry latter part of the 15th century (around 1475) and diminished in importance after 1550, a wide range of fonns being in existence around 1500. At Wrenthorpe Cistercian wares gave way to the Blackwares (described below) towards the end of the 16th century, but as Moorhouse and Slowikowski note

appear to survive well into the later medieval period in South Yorkshire (Johnson 1980, Cumberpatch in prep. 2). Such late survivals (as late as the 15th century) have also been noted in Lincolnshire (Moorhouse 1974) and in Hull (Watkins 1987). The prolonged existence of this type of pottery raises a number of interesting questions about the persistence of the manufacturing tradition within which it was produced, a tradition significantly different from others co-existing with it

'The transition takes place at different dates throughout the sixteenth century elsewhere in the country' (1992: 107)

The material from Bawtry had been extensively damaged, probably by the action of ground water and soil acids, and the shell temper has, in many cases, been almost completely removed, apparently in solution.

The identification of Cistercian wares is not without its problems, chief amongst these being the problem of distinguishing body sherds of Cistercian wares from similar sherds of underfired Blackwares which display a similar dark brown to black slip. In the case of bases, Moorhouse and Slowikowski have suggested that a distinction can be made on the basis of the different methods of removing the vessels from the wheelhead . Cistercian wares are said to be characterised by concentric circles around a point off-centre with respect to the vessel Black wares were removed using a straight wire (rather than a loop) which left a pattern of parallel ridges. This distinction was not always clear at Bawtry, and in certain cases (see Tables 62 and 63) identification based upon the method of removal contradicted that based upon other characteristics. It may be that different potters used both techniques at different times, and that variation is primarily between workshops rather than chronological.

The majority of rims are small, everted, triangular in cross-section and with slightly overhanging exterior lips. Parallels to this rim form have been found in Doncaster (Buckland et al. 1989:265-6, 270), although the contexts in which they occur at Bawtry appear to be somewhat later than those from Doncaster. Other rims, illustrated in Figure 3.1:1,2, are of a type believed to have ben manufactured at Potterhandworth in Lincolnshire between the mid 13th and 15th centuries (Vince, Young pers. comm.). The Shell Tempered ware sherds are listed in Table 66, together with notes on their possible origin and date.

3.3.15 Cistercian ware, Yellow wares and Blackwares

Tables 62 and 63 list and describe the Cistercian wares and Blackwares from Bawtry, the fonner being somewhat rarer than the latter. Few fonns can be identified with any confidence, but where this is possible references to Moorhouse and Slowikowski's report (1992) are given in the tables.

The typical forms have been described by Le Patourel (1966), Brears (1967, 1971), Ellison (1981) and, most importantly, by Moorhouse and Slowikowski (1992). They consist of small cups, bowls, tygs, candlesticks and other types of tableware, together with a variety of types of jars, jugs, bowls, pipkins and other vessels. Moorhouse and Slowikowski have distinguished four principal components amongst the assemblage from the potteries at Wrenthorpe in West Yorkshire and this division has been used in the analysis of the Bawtry assemblage. Details of the vessels found at Bawtry are given in Tables 62 to 64.

Early Yellow wares Alongside the Cistercian wares were a group of vessels made in a white-buff fabric with a clear glaze which gave them a bright lemon yellow colour (Moorhouse and Slowikowski, 1992:95). These have been tenned Early Yellow wares to distinguish them from later Yellow wares which were contemporary with the Blackwares. There is considerable overlap between the two categories in terms of both fonns and fabrics, but the earlier material is distinctive in being glazed directly over the white body, the later material often having a white slip between the body and the glaze.

Cistercian wares 'Cistercian ware was made in a hard, fine, tightly knit brick-red to purple fabric. It was glazed thickly internally and externally with brown or near black glaze. Fired in an oxidising attnosphere, the colour of the glaze depends either on its constituents or on the amount of iron in the body of the pot' (Moorhouse and Slowikowski, 1992:91) ·

The dating of the Early Yellow wares poses the same problems as does that of the Cistercian wares. As with the latter the Yellow wares are absent from the 1484 deposits at Sandal Castle but are present in dissolution contexts of the late 1530s. Generally it seems that Yellow wares were in common use by the middle of the 16th century and developed into the 17th century types alongside the Blackwares .

This type of pottery was absent from deposits at Sandal Castle which were securely dated to 1484, but is common in contexts associated with the dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s and early 1540s, from which it takes its name. At the national level Crossley (1990:245) has noted that the type appeared during the 62

Finds Reports Details of the Early Yellow wares are given in Table 64, together with those of the later Yellow wares.

category at one extreme and fineware categories (including Cistercian wares and Blackwares) at the other. Two widely recognised elements of the tradition are the purple glazed Hwnberwares (Watkins 1987:106) which appear in the later 15th century and the Mid.land Purple wares of the later 14th and 15th centuries. Both can be considered as part of the same tradition (as defined in Section 3.3.4), characterised by the glaze colour and by their hard, often almost vitrifi~ fabric (Brooks 1987:160).

Blackwares The fabric of the Blackwares is a hard, dark brick-red to purple grey. The glare is a deep black colour, but is frequently stained with iron. A number of vessels at Wrenthorpe appeared to have been deliberately underfired, resulting in a brown glaze over an orangered fabric. Amongst the vessels from Bawtry the black glare is far from universal and a variety of shades of dark brown were notesssible to locate with any certainty the sources of the slipwares found at Bawtry, it is not unreasonable to assume that some, and probably the majority, were of local origin. Six main types of trailed slipware have been identified from other sites in South Yorkshire (Cumberpatch in prep. 2) but only three of these (together with a number of other, probably later, types decorated with feathered motifs) have been recognised at Bawtry. The numbers used to define the types are those employed in the reference collection. Descriptions of types 3 and 4, which did not appear at Bawtry, have been omitted.

Brown Glazed Coarse ware Type 5 A hard, rough textured fracture with no visl'ble inclusions. It has a hard, metallic, brown glaze both intemally and externally.

Brown Glazed Coarse ware Type 6 A fabric distinguished from others of this class by the presence of abundant fine quartz and rarer fine, platey black inclusions. The fabric resembles that of the South Yorkshire Gritty ware group D, but is distinguished by the style of glazing which is of Brown Glazed Coarse ware type. The type is commonly unglazed externally, with shiny purple/brown glaze internally.

Typel The body is a distinctive fine textured, soft, light red {5YR 6/8) fabric giving a yellowish red (5YR 5/8) glazed surface with yellow curvilinear slip decoration. The range of fonns appears to be limited to bowls, dishes and pancheons. They are rarely glazed externally.

Brown Glazed Coars eware Type 7

Type2

A fabric distinguished by common, but not abundant, very fine quartz inclusions. It has brown glaze internally and externally marked with abundant yellow flecks.

A hard, dark red fabric with occasional fine white inclusions. The yellow slip decoration overlies a dark green glaze with some yellow mottling. The vessels appear to have been glazed inside and out with the decoration on the outside, suggesting that at least some were closed forms.

Brown Glazed Coarse ware Type 8 The classic Brown Glared Coarse ware fabric. A red oxidised fabric, subject to abrasion and with few or no inclusions but some voids. The brown glaze flakes off relatively easily and, where the exterior is unglazed (as on bowls and pancheons), a thin red slip is common.

TypeS A hard, dark red fabric with some fine, sparse inclusions and occasional voids. The glaze is clear giving a brown, slightly mottled effect both internally and externally. The white slip or pipe-clay decoration appears yellow under the glaze.

3.3.18 Slipware Although produced in large quantities by the potteries in Staffordshire during _the later 17th and 18th centuries, and distributed across much of England, slipwares were also manufactured by a considerable number of other potteries, notably in the London area (metropolitan slipware ), but also provincially.

Type6 A hard, homogenous fabric with a pronounced grey core between red oxidised bands internally and beneath the glaze. Voids are common but there are no visible inclusions. The glaze is dark green-brown overlain by the yellow slip decoration.

According to Crossley (1990), potters in London were producing slip decorated utilitarian wares by the end of the 16th century and

Feathered slipware

'by the first quarter of the seventeenth century, the typical pottery group contains slipwares. Their use continued through the eighteenth century, and they can still be found in nineteenth century assemblages' (1990:251).

This group of material was represented by a number of very small sherds. For this reason no attempt has been made to characterise the fabric. It is distinguished solely by the method of decoration, which was achieved by drawing a fine point or feather across a surface coated with different coloured slips. This type of pottery was cenainly produced at the Midhope potteries to the north of Sheffield, but whether this was the source of the Bawtry material remains uncertain.

Slipware is known to have been produced at a number of potteries in South Yorkshire, notably at Bolsterstone and Midhope in the Upper Don Valley (Ashurst 1987), and at a number of potteries in the Lower Don Valley

65

Excavations at 16-22 Church Street, Bawtry The majority of vessels identified are of a utilitarian nature; jugs/pitchers, cisterns, pancheons, jars and other vessels whose precise function is conjectural. Finewares and tablewares are represented chiefly by Cistercian wares, Blackwares and the relatively few fine Yellow wares, the Humberware lobed cup and perhaps the decorated Rhenish stoneware vessels (Fig. 3.11:4, 5). This having been said it must be noted that the identification of the various fonns varies with the nature of the vessels. The relatively high proportion of Humberware jugs and pitchers identified is attributable to the robust nature of the handles which survive when more fragile vessels, such as the Cistercian wares , Blackwares and fine Yellow wares are reduced to unrecognisable fragments.

3.3.19 English Stonewares English stonewares were not common at Bawtry (Table 67), and the majority of fragments which were recovered were of 18th or 19th century coarse ware types (Jennings pers. comm.). An exception to this was an 18th century 'scratch blue' salt glazed stoneware dish (Watkins pers. comm.) from context 147 (Fig. 3.11:3).

3.3.20 Miscellaneous wares As well as the inevitable occurrence of small, unidentifiable fragments of pottery (included in the tables as 'unidentified' (U/ID), three types of pottery (Bawtry Fine Red 2, 3 and 5) appeared with some regularity within the assemblage. As the name implies these were fine textured, red, oxidised fabrics with few, or no, visible inclusions . Their occurrence is included in the tables under the codes BFR 2, 3 and 5. They appear to be late medieval or early post-medieval in date.

Although it would be highly desirable to investigate the changing uses and status of pottery over time and space in a town such as Bawtry, the assemblage recovered from 16 - 20 Church Street does not lend itself to such analysis. It is to be hoped that future work, including excavation, will provide an opportunity to set the material descn"bed here into a local and regional context and thus permit a more sophisticated level of analysis.

Anonymous 18th and 19th century factory made wares are subsumed in the tables under the category of 'Factory made wares'. It was impossible to assign any of these sherds to specific sources, and it seems likely that they represent a mixture of locally produced wares and others imported from other potteries elsewhere in Britain.

3.3.22 Period 1 As described in Section 3.3.2 the statistics presented in the following sections are based upon numbers of sherds only. The percentages do not include the imported wares. Details of the assemblages can be found in Tables 1 to 59.

Other unidentifiable and undiagnostic sherds fell into recognisable traditions (particularly those of the Brown and Purple Glazed wares), but showed significant differences from the principal types listed in the tables. These are included in the categories labelled 'other' and these categories should be understood to include a variety of fabric types.

Buildings 10 and 12 Tables 32 and 54 Of the features associated with the earliest phase of the site only a handful produced any pottery. The most important of these was the stone-lined pit (1113-1). The pottery types included South Yorkshire Gritty ware (group B), Beverley 2 ware and a sherd of Low Countries Red ware. A single sherd of medieval green glazed ware was found in post hole 930. Six sherds were recovered from surface 1790, although only two were identifiable, one of Beverley 2 ware and one of Shell Tempered ware. None of this pottery was substantially different in character from that associated with the second phase of the site and was presumably of a similar date.

3.3.21 Imported pottery Imported pottery, by which is meant pottery originating outside the British Isles, was not abundant at Bawtry, but included a wide range of types of material from northwestern Europe. The types present, details of which are given in Tables 65 and 67, included Saintonge ware (plain wares, polychrome and all-overgreen ware), Martincamp ware, Rhenish stoneware and, the most numerous category, Low Countries Red ware. Full descriptions of these types, with references, can be found in Moorhouse (1983), Davey and Hodges (1983) and Watkins (1987, 1991). A broader consideration of the material from Bawtry is given in Section 3.3.25 below.

Contexts 1066 and 1076, which lay beneath building 5, appeared to be associated with the earlier building 10 (Table 32). Context 1066 contained five sherds of Beverley 2 ware and a single large sherd from a Saintonge all-over-green glazed jug. Such jugs appear in Hull from the late 13th century onwards and production may have continued until the second half of the 14th century (Watkins 1987: 133, fig. 254).

3.3.22 Vessel forms The assemblage of pottery from Bawtry contained relatively few complete vessel profiles, in part perhaps a reflection of the limited numbers of rapidly sealed contexts. Table 60 gives details of those vessels which were recognisable. 66

Finds Reports A single large sherd of Humberware, broken into seven pieces, was recovered from context 1076, and could easily be contemporary with the pottery from 1066.

scheme set out by Hayfield and Buckland (1989) the group B material should be contemporary with the other elements of this group, with the single group A sherd (from context 1037) an intrusive element Context 1037 also included three sherds of Saintonge ware (Table 65).

Pit 1088 (filled by 1087), contained one sherd of Nottingham type green glazed ware. Post hole 1786 (filled by 1787) contained three small sherds of an unidentifiable type of medieval ware.

Phase 1, Table 12 The pottery from contexts 865 and 1035 in the first phase of building 3 was dominated by the presence of Humberwares (80% of the total), all of which came from context 865, the primary floor surface of building 3. This group included three sherds of a Humberware lobed cup (Fig. 3.5: 1) probably of 15th - 16th century date (Watkins pers. comm.). Both contexts contained single sherds of South Yorkshire Gritty ware type A sherds, which can also be dated to the period represented by the lobed cup.

Nothing in the pottery assemblage from the first phase of the site suggested a date earlier than the first half of the 13th century.

Conventionsusedon Findsmustrations ConventionsUsed On Finds Illustrations

{~">f ".' ~i\.,~

Extent Of Glaze

•

ConcretionsOn Objects

~ ...-----.

Context 777, the drain between buildings 3 and 4, contained an assemblage similar to but slightly more diverse than that found in the buildings. Humberware constituted 44.7% of the total, Lincoln type ware, 7.8%, Beverley 2 ware, 7.8%, other medieval green glazed types, 2.6% and South Yorkshire Gritty wares 28.9% (type B, 21.0% and other typeS 5.2% ). The remaining 7 .8% was made up of unidentified types.

ProportionOf Vessel's Rim/BaseSurviving

Extent Of SnappedEdge (On Window Glass)

Contexts 947 and 949, which filled two of the post holes (946 and 948) within building A, each contained a single sherd of Hurnberware, and 94 7 also contained three sherds (which joined) of South Yorkshire Gritty ware (type B).

3.3.23 Period 2 Building 3

The contents of the drain and the first phases of the building were consistent with a date within the 13th/14th centuries, and only the presence of the two sherds of South Yorkshire Gritty ware (type A) and the lobed cup suggested that later material might be present. The possibility that these sherds are intrusive should not be ruled out.

Tables 11-14

Pre-occupationphase. Table 11 The first phase of building 3, associated with its construction, consisted of three contexts, 1037, 1038 and 1052, with 1037 stratigraphically earlier than 1038 and 1052, and possibly associated with the earlier building 10. The largest single group of pottery from this phase was Beverley 2 ware which constituted 62.5% of the total, although this figure is distorted by the 32 sherds of a single vessel from context 1052. If this vessel is counted only once the percentage falls to 27 .2%, and the Humberwares become predominant (45.5%). The two sherds of Lincoln type ware fall into the same tradition (as defined in Section 3.3.4.) as the Humberwares and Beverley wares. The presence of Beverley 2 ware is particularly interesting as Watkins (1991) has dated the appearance of this type to the first half of the 13th century. Its presence should not however be taken as a simple index of early activity on the site, as production continued well into the later 13th and early 14th centuries, parallel to that of the Humberwares which appeared in the latter half of the 13th century (Watkins 1991:99). As I have outlined above, the dating of the South Yorkshire Gritty ware types poses a number of problems, and according to the

Phases 2 and 3. Tables 13 and 14 Phase 2 was rather poorly represented in the pottery assemblage, yielding only seven sherds of po~ry from six vessels (context 665). These included two sherds of a South Yorkshire Gritty ware vessel of ambiguous character (type 0), two sherds of Brown Glazed Coarse ware and a single sherd of Humberware. This would seem to imply a mixture of intrusive and residual material, with the primary material remaining obscure. Context 756, the fill of a post hole (755), loosely connected with phase 2, contained three sherds of a South Yorkshire Gritty ware vessel (type A) suggesting that the post hole was filled in the later medieval period. The pottery from the third phase (context S 11) was scarcely any more informative than that from the second, although the presence of a sherd of Cistercian ware and three . sherds of South Yorkshire Gritty ware (type C) mat indicate a late medieval/early post67

Excavationsat 16-22 ChurchStreet, Bawtry

15

0

cm

Figure3.1

Shell Tempered ware: 1) 483-2/3; 2) 402-1; 3) 1005-1; 4) 1005-2; 5) 944-1; 6) 200

medieval date. This phase was equivalent to the second phase of building 4 (described below), although the small size of the two groups makes meaningful comparison difficult

Tempered ware and one of Beverley 2 ware. Although in stratigraphic terms it predated building 4, the types of pottery present do not suggest that it represents a significantly earlier phase of activity on the site.

Contexts 361 and 603 were loosely associated with phase 3 and contained similarly undiagnostic material. In context 361 two sherds of Humberware were associated with a sherd of post-medieval Slipware (probably of 17th cenwry date), while 603 contained only three South Yorkshire Gritty ware type sherds.

Phase 1 The pottery assemblage from the first phase of building 4 was derived from the fill (626) of the construction trench (context 625) and the floor surface 702. The single sherd of South Yorkshire Gritty ware (type A) from context 626 appeared to be somewhat later than ,the material from the floor surface, although the inferential potential of a single sherd is necessarily limited. As outlined in Section 3.3.25 below a broad date range can be assigned to the sherd of Low Countries Red ware from this context Taken alone it cannot be used as evidence for an early date for the fill of the trench and could be contemporary with the local sherd.

Context 314, which post-dated the destruction of building 3 but appeared to predate building 2, contained only a single sherd of Yellow ware, indicating a postmedieval, probably 17th cenwry, date.

Building4 and associatedfeatures Tables 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18

Pit 936, Table 15 Pit 936 was filled by context 937 and lay below building 4. It contained only three sherds of pottery, two of Shell 68

Finds Reports

~ A

Q \

n· n

n fq ~

0

•~·,

.. . ... , ......... .. .i;,

·.

.l

- - ...v -·t, ···

-·~~ -~~ P ==--~;.;i~ 15

0

cm

Figure3.2

Anthropomorphic vessel 1973, 929, 105

by South Yorkshire Gritty wares (63.1 %) of various types together with Humberwares (26.3%) and single sherds of post-medieval Midlands Purple and unidentified medieval wares (5.2% each). The group also included two sherds of late (post-1550) Frechen stoneware (Table 67).

The pottery from the floor surface (702) was of 13th/14th century date and consisted of 12.5% South Yorkshire Gritty ware (group B) and 50% green glazed types (Humberware, Nottingham type ware and wridentified green glazed ware), together with two sherds (25%) of Doncaster Hallgate type B ware and an wridenti.fiable sherd . The sherds of Hallgate B ware would seem to be residual, and together with the other scattered sherds of this type (from pit 1004) might suggest earlier (12th century) activity in the vicinity of the excavated area

A number of other contexts associated with phase 2 produced small quantities of pottery. Context 711, part of a floor layer, appeared to be contemporary with the earliest phase of the site, the pottery including four sherds of South Yorkshire Gritty ware (group B) and single sherds of Beverley and Lincoln type wares. Context 592, the fill of a post hole (591) contained a single sherd of South Yorkshire Gritty ware, type B, and might thus be contemporary with the remainder of the phase. Context 590, which filled the rather ambiguous feature 589, contained six sherds of late medieval or early post-medieval date, including two sherds of Cistercian WaI'(?(Table 17). The decorative motif on one

Pit 686 (filled by context 687) contained three sherds of pottery, one of medieval green glazed type, one of Shell Tempered ware and one of South Yorkshire Gritty type (group D).

Phase2 The levelling of the floor of the building and the laying of a new floor of clay and sand (context 586) included a group of 19 sherds of pottery. This group was dominated 69

Excavations at 16 -22 Church Street, Bawtry

1

I I

2

I I

••

3

15

0

cm Figure3.3

1) Beverleyware 2, 672-2; 2) Unidentifiedjar, 1005-1; 3) Skipton-on-Swaledrinkingjug, 1033-1

70

Finds Reports of these (shown in Fig. 3.8:1) resembled that found on type 3 decorated tall cups, as classified by Moorhouse and Slowikowski (1992). Two post holes (382 and 374) produced small quantities of late medieval/early postmedieval pottery. The fills of these features (contexts 383 and 375) both produced sherds of Cistercian ware, one of which appears to be from a type 4 cup (Moorhouse and Slowikowski 1992). The fill of the intrusive feature 627 (context 628) contained four sherds of pottery, three of which (from the same vessel) were unidentifiable. The remaining sherd was of South Yorkshire Gritty ware type A and thus probably of late medieval date.Two post holes (587 and 397) contained single sherds of post-medieval Brown Glazed Coarse ware (contexts 588 and 398). The fill of pit 561 (context 562), unassigned to any specific phase of the building, contained three sherds, including single sherds of Humberware and Cistercian ware, the latter decorated but not of any recognisable form.

question. The presence of Yellow and Black wares, which were considerably commoner than Cistercian wares, might point to a 17th rather than a 16th century date for the yard surface, although whether this implies construction or use is not clear.

Drain 944 between buildings 4 and 5, Table 16 Contexts 847, 1039 and 1040, the latter two being the clay lining of the ditch and the silt through which the drain was cut, contained nine sherds of pottery, all of 13th/14th century character. An unidentified sherd from 1039 appears to be a non-local type and might be a European import. Context 944, technically the cut itself, produced a quantity of similar pottery, most probably from the bottom of the drain. This consisted of 52% green glazed wares (Humberware, Beverley 2 ware, Lincoln and Nottingham types), 36.3% Shell Tempered ware, 6.8% South Yorkshire Gritty ware and 4.5% unidentified wares (including one sherd of BFR 5).

The wide chronological range represented by the pottery from building 4 would seems to confirm the excavator's suggestion that it remained in use until its demolition in the 16th century. If the demolition was deliberate (as implied by the excavator) then the relatively low representation of later pottery (South Yorkshire Gritty type A wares, Purple Glazed wares etc.) might not be surprising as the vessels in use would presumably have been removed before the building was pulled down.

Building 11 Tables 19 and 20 The assemblage from building 11 was a mixed one, perhaps reflecting the severely damaged state of the remains of the building. Context 845, excavated as a spit associated with, but overlying, the building, produced the greatest quantity of material, 68 sherds of mixed medieval and post-medieval material. This group was dominated by South Yorkshire Gritty wares which formed 39.6% of the total (type A, 33.8%, type B, 4.4% and type C, 1.4%) with medieval green glazed types representing 20.4% of the total (Humberware 5.8%, Lincoln type .ware 4.4%, Beverley 2 ware 8.8% and other types 1.4%). 30.6% of the total group was of postmedieval date, and included Slipwares (2.9% ), Yellow wares (10.2%), Brown Glazed Coarse wares (8.8%), Purple Glazed wares (7.3%) and Blackware (1.4%). The context also included a single sherd of a Martincamp flask, and two sherds of unidentified (probably English) stoneware. The character of the group suggests a considerable degree of mixing and it is difficult to determine how much of the pottery was associated with the building and how much was intrusive. The fact that only two sherds of post-medieval pottery were recovered from other contexts might suggest that most of these types from 845 were contemporary with the build up of the deposit and that the medieval material was derived from the underlying deposits.

Post-demolitionphase The demolition of buildings 3 and 4 was followed by the laying down of a yard surface (context 178, Tables 17 and 18) and a cobbled area (context 234, Table 18). The former included a group of pottery of mixed, but predominantly post~medieval, character. South Yorkshire Gritty wares of various types formed 34.6% of the total with Brown Glazed Coarse wares the second most numerous category, 30.7%. Cistercian wares and Yellow and Black wares constituted 21.1 % of the total with smaller quantities of Purple Glazed ware (3.8%), medieval green glazed ware (3.8%) and post-medieval Slipwares (5.7%) forming the remainder. A number of the Cistercian ware, Yellow ware and Black ware sherds have parallels amongst the material from Wrenthorpe (Tables 62 to 64), but none was complete enough for positive identifications to be made. The group also included a sherd of Frechen-Koln stoneware (post1550). Context 08, excavated during the evaluation of the site, appears to be part of this phase and produced a sherd of Midland Purple type ware.

Context 844, the clay bed of the cobbled surface 838, produced seven sherds, three of Beverley 2 ware (42.8%), and four of South Yorkshire Gritty ware (type A, 42.8% and type B, 14.2%). This co-occurrence of the two types raises the question of the nature of the relationship between them and might imply some continuation of the production of the white wares alongside the ~ey and purple types.

A wide date range is implied by the composition of the group, some of the earlier material (such as the medieval green glazed wares) being residual, and perhaps associated with the levelling and raising of the surface. This might also account for the presence of the type B South Yorkshire Gritty wares, although, as noted above, the precise dating of these types is still in

71

Excavationsat 16-22 ChurchStreet,Bawtry

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Figure 3.4

Humberware jugs: 1) 483-1; 2) 610-1, 483- 3

A single sherd of medieval green glazed pottery was recovered from the floor surface, context 998 (Table 21).

and 1002 and supported the general picture of residuality and intrusion gained from the other contexts .

Only four sherds were recovered from a second section of the floor surface, 999, and the composition of this small group resembled that from other contexts associated with building 11 (single sherds of Yellow ware, Lincoln type ware, Beverley 2 ware and South Yorkshire Gritty ware, type A).

Contextsassociatedwith oven 1057, underbuilding11 Table 21 Two contexts, 838/43 and 995, represented material which had slumped into the settling contents of the furnace or oven (1057, filled by 1058) which lay beneath buildigg 11. In terms of the composition of the pottery assemblages, these resembled the material from the furnace/oven far more closely than they did the

A similar pattern of late medieval or mixed medieval and post-medieval pottery was found in contexts 1001

72

Finds Reports

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Humberware: 1) Lobed cup; 2) DecoratedHumberware,485-1; 3) DecoratedHumberware,485-1

73

Excavationsat 16-22 ChurchStreet,Bawtry

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South Yorkshire Gritty ware group B (CMW): 1) 336-1; 2) 584-2; 3) 676/848

74

Finds Reports

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South Yorkshire Gritty waregroups A and B: 1) Bung hole cistern 355-1; 2) Jug 1058-2; 3) Bowl/pancheon 639-1

75

Excavationsat 16-22 ChurchStreet, Bawtry

scheme of chronological development outlined above, but clearly a number of other factors could have influenced the composition of this particular assemblage. The preponderance of South Yorkshire Gritty ware of type A in context 972 (79 .1 %) is the result of the presence of substantial parts of three vessels. The remaining material from this context, Cistercian wares, South Yorkshire Gritty ware types C and O and single sherds of medieval green glazed ware and an unidentified stoneware, resembles that from 744 and 745. It also contained two sherds from a Low Cowitries Red ware vessel

material from the building itself. South Yorkshire Gritty wares were predominant, fanning 78% of the total. 41.4% of the total was of type A and 36.5% type B, although the figure for the fonner is somewhat distorted by the presence of 13 sherds from a single vessel. Of the remaining sherds 14.6% were in a red oxidised fabric (BFR 2) and three (7.3 %) were unidentified. Context 995 also included four sherds of Low Countries Red ware. Of the material from the oven itself (contexts 996 and 1058) 95% was South Yorkshire Gritty ware type A and 4.9% Lincoln and other medieval green glazed types, with one sherd being unidentifiable . It was not only in tenns of the composition that the contexts were similar. Both 995 and 1058 contained substantial parts of single vessels (e.g. Fig. 3.7:2) and there were a number of joins across the contexts. The high percentage of South Yorkshire Gritty wares of type A suggests a date within the 15th or 16th centuries (Hayfield and Buckland 1989:23).

Pit 872 Table 22 Pit 872, filled by 873 and 874, cut through a hearth or oven (context 870) to the rear of building 4. It contained a small assemblage of 15 sherds of rather mixed character. With the exception of the two sherds of South Yorkshire Gritty ware (group A) however, it is possible to see this as a somewhat earlier group (Beverley 2 ware, South Yorkshire Gritty ware, group B) than those from the contexts in plot B which have been described

PlotB

above.

Tables 22 to 26

Plot B - Contextsexcavatedas spits

The burgage plot designated B lay at the southern end of the site and contained buildings 4 and 11, the pottery from which has been described above. Within the plot itself were a number of features, including pits and ovens, and a thick, internally homogeneous layer, initially interpreted as medieval garden soil, which was excavated in a number of spits.

Tables 24, 25, 29 and 30 Contexts 676 and 848 (Tables 29 and 30) were initially interpreted by the excavator as part of a layer of garden soil spreading across plot B and into plots C and D. They were amongst the most productive (in tenns of the quantity of pottery) of any contexts on the site. Not only were the quantities relatively large, but they also contained a large number of joining sherds (Figs 3.5:2, 3; 3.6:3). The commonest vessels were Humberwares (69.9%) and South Yorkshire Gritty ware group B vessels (26.3%), which suggested a 13th - 14th century date. The Beverley 2 ware spout from 676-3 (Fig. 3.2:1) can be dated to between 1200 and 1260 (Watkins pers. comm.).

Context8()4.,Table 22 This context, a deposit overlying the hearths or ovens (context numbers 861 and 831) contained five sherds of 15th or 16th century type. Two brown glazed sherds bore a close resemblance to others from context 744-1, although it was not possible to join sherds across the contexts.

Post hole 828, Table 24

The presence of the decorated Humberware (Fig. 3.5) and the South Yorkshire Gritty ware, group A, might imply that there was a phase of deposition in the early 15th century, although the contexts from which these came were by no means generally later in character, and the presence of the post-medieval sherds (Table 30) points to some degree of later intrusion.

The fill of post hole 828, 827-1, contained only a single sherd of 17th century Blackware.

Pit 973, Tables 22 and 24 Pit 973, which cut through the earlier hearths (861 and 831) and deposit 804, was filled by contexts 744, 745 and 972. The pottery assemblage from 744 and 745 was dominated by South Yorkshire Gritty ware of groups A (31.8%), B (29.5%), C (18.1 %), D (2.2%) and O (2.2%) together with a single sherd of Humberware, two sherds of Cistercian ware, a sherd of Blackware and a sherd of 19th century stoneware, the latter probably intrusive. The presence of groups A and B together in almost equal quantities raises the possibility of problems for the

The assemblage included two sherds of Low Countries Red ware (Table 65). Although this was manufactured from the late 12th until the mid 16th century, its presence in this group, closely associated with the earlier Humberwares, suggests that it was imported during the 13th -14th centuries. The exceptions to the overall character of the deposit were contextsA86 and 833 (Tables 24 and 25) which 76

FindsReports

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Cistercian wares and Blackware type: 1) Cistercian ware decorative motif 590- 1; 2) Tripod base 674-4; 3) Tripod base 674-4 and a cleaning spit 634, broadly followed the pattern of the 'garden soil' described above, although with a stronger presence of Beverley 2 ware as compared to Humberware and notable quantities of Shell Tempered wares (Table 66). A broad 13th to 14th century date seems appropriate for the majority of these contexts, perhaps somewhat earlier than the 'garden soil'. Context 988 was notable in that it contained a sherd of Low Countries Red ware. Contexts 167 and 827 contained only post-medieval material and 666 (the fill of pit 667) contained a mixed group of medieval (71.4%) and postmedieval (28.5%) pottery.

included sherds of later material, Cistercian ware, factory produced white glaz.ed ware and Brown Glazed Coarse ware together with sherds of medieval green glazed types (Table 25). The excavator's interpretation of the deposit as garden soil was not supported by the condition of the sherds of pottery contained in it All were unabraded and, as noted above, a number of partially complete vessels were reconstructed. The precise nature of the deposit remains unclear.

Plot B - Isolated contexts Tables 23, 24, 25 and 26

Building 5

The groups of pottery from 15 isolated contexts within plot B, pits and post holes (666, 877, 884, 908, 988, 1031, 1115, 167,827,564,509,629,829,940 and 856)

Tables 32 and 34 Finds from building 5 were sparse, with only six of the

77

Excavations at 16-22 Church Street, Bawtry

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contexts identified stratigraphically yielding any pottery at all.

green glazed wares (Humberware, Nottingham type ware and unidentified types) fanning 8.1 % of the total. Imported wares were represented by two sherds of Low Countries Red ware.

Context677

Context 677, the contents of a pit (678) located below the fireplace in building 5 (context 281), contained 12 sherds of pottery, 50% of which were medieval green glazed types (North Lincolnshire Sandy ware, Beverley 2 ware and unidentified typeS), and the remaining 50% South Yorkshire Gritty wares (group A, 16.6% and group B, 33.3%).

The later pottery (Table 34) included Cistercian and Early Yellow wares (14.2% of the total), Brown Glazed Coarse wares (18.3%), Purple Glazed wares (10.2%) and Colour Glazed wares (8.1 %). The group also included 11 sherds from three Frechen-Koln stoneware vessels (Table 67), one of which is illustrated in Figure 3.11:5.

Building 5, walls and floors

Contexts 391, part of the north wall of the building, and 438, part of the south wall, both produced small quantities of medieval and post-medieval pottery.

The primary floor surface within the building, context 577, produced only a single sherd of pottery, North Lincolnshire Sandy ware, dating to between the mid 13th and mid 14th centuries.

Context 438 was dominated by South Yorkshire Gritty wares (75.0%) of types A (25%), B (37.5%) and D (12.%). One sherd of Humberware and one sherd of unidentified green glazed ware (25 %) completed the group. The only sherd of pottery from context 391 was a fragment of unidentified stoneware.

Context 355, a subsequent surface (phase 4), contained more pottery than any other context within the building and included a particularly wide variety of types. Medieval types accounted for 38. 7% of the total, postmedieval types, 61.2%. The medieval material (Table 32) was dominated by South Yorkshire Gritty wares (group B, 22.4% and group A 2.0% of the total), with

A single sher4 of unidentified medieval green glazed ware was recoyered from the drain between buildings 5 and 6 (context 393, Table 32).

78

Finds Reports

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Yellow ware and Purple Glazed wares: 1) Yellow ware jar 674 - 3; 2) Yellow ware tripod pipkin 674- ; 3) Purple Glazed beaker 402-5

79

Excavationsat 16-22 Church Street,Bawtry

PlotC

Pit 1()()4.,Table 37

Tables 27, 28, 31, 35, 36, 37 and 38

Context 1005, the fill of pit 1004, produced a large group of pottery (155 sherds) the composition of which was, in a number of ways unusual. Imported material was well represented, with 20 sherds of Saintonge ware and five sherds of Low Countries Red ware (Table 65). Green glazed medieval wares formed 41.9% of the total (Beverley 2 ware, 11.7%, Lincoln type wares 13.9% and Humberwares 4.4%), but only 5.1 % of the total was of South Yorkshire Gritty ware. Shell Tempered wares were present in unusually high numbers, 35.2% of the total (Fig. 3.1:3, 4). The group also included Doncaster Hallgate types A and B, and a high proportion (17 .6%) of unidentified fabrics. The Shell Tempered ware included a rim sherd of a type no later in date than 1275 (Fig. 3.1:3; Vince pers. comm.) . It seemslikely, on the basis of the pottery assemblage, that pit 1004 was part of the earliest phase of activity on the site.

Contextsassociatedwith well 482 Tables 36 and 38

Toe deposits within the well (contexts 483, 610 and 639) were dominated by medieval pottery and, with the exception of a single sherd of Yellow ware (context 483, 1.06% of the total), apparently uncontaminated by later material. The numbers of joins between these contexts suggests that they were , for all practical pwposes, contemporary . The largest single element of the assemblage was medieval green glazed ware (71 % of the total) , including Humberwares (56.3%), Lincoln type wares (6.3%), Beverley 2 wares (4.2%) and other , unidentified , types (4.2%). The group also included a single small sherd of Tudor Green ware (1.06%). The Humberware sherds represented a maximum of 29 vessels, a number of which were partially reconstructed (Fig. 3.4: 1, 2). One of these vessels (Fig. 3.4:2) was clearly a 'second' but was not sufficiently defonned to be considered a true waster.

Pit 611, Tables 35 and 36 The fill of pit 611 (contexts 613, 614 and 615) was predominantly post-medieval in character (75% postmedieval, 25% medieval). The presence of Blackwares (25% of the total), Early Yellow wares, Cistercian ware, Slipwares and South Yorkshire Gritty wares (type A) would suggest a 16th or 17th century date for the filling of the pit The group from 615 also included a sherd of Low Cmmtries Red ware.

South Yorkshire Gritty wares constituted only 18.6% of the group and all but two ambiguous sherds (one probably of group A type) were of group B. Unidentified sherds constituted 5.3% of the total.

Contexts associated with oven217, Table 35 This group (context 216) consisted of only two sherds of pottery, most probably of 13th to 14th century date.

Imported pottery was represented by nine sherds of Saintonge green glazed ware (later 13th to 14th century), seven sherds of unglazed Saintonge ware and a body sherd from a Low Countries Red ware vessel, probably of a similar date.

Pit 318, Table 28 Pit 318, filled by context 319, contained only three sherds of Humberware, two of which joined.

A single, presumably residual, body sherd, (from context 483, 1.06% of the total) has been identified as significantly earlier than the remainder of the assemblage, almost certainly pre-conquest, late 9th to 11th century in date (Vince pers. comm.). It was the only sherd of this date from the site. The single, abraded, sherd of Roman pottery from 610 was also judged to be residual.

Isolated contexts Four contexts from plot C represented isolated features, three post holes and a pit. The three post holes (414, 480 and 683 filled by 415, 497 and 684 respectively) contained only small quantities of pottery . That from 414 and 683 was of 13th - 14th century character, while the single sherd of Cistercian ware from 497 suggests a date in the late 15th or 16th century.

The character of the pottery suggests that the well was robbed and backfilled in the later 13th or early 14th century.

The pit (context 993, filled by 994) contained a larger assemblage, which strongly resembled that from the well (482), although a notable addition was the considerable number of sherds of Shell Tempered ware (34.6% of the total), in which regard the group resembled that from pit 1004 and those from the pits and post holes in plot B. The presence of the Shell Tempered ware does not affect the overall dating of the group which, with its high percentage of medieval green glazed types (55.6%) which include Humberwares (17.3%), Beverley 2 wares (9.6%), Nottingham type ware (11.5%) Lincoln type ware (7.6%) and other green

Context 152, overlying the deposits within the well (482) and the oven (218) produced an assemblage of pottery substantially similar in character to that found within the well itself, although perhaps significantly no sherds joined with those from the well. Dominated by Humberwares (42.8%) and South Yorkshire Gritty group B wares (34.2%) and other medieval green glazed types (17 .1 %) , the only later material was a 17th century Blackware cup.

80

Finds Reports glazed types (9.6%), is clearly of 13th - 14th century character.

were the commonest type, 38.0% of the total (type A, 9.5%, type B, 28.5%) with green glazed types forming 49.2% of the total, but split into Humberwares (22.2%), Nottingham type ware (14.2%), Beverley 2 ware (3.1 %), Lincoln type ware (1.5%) and unidentified types (7.9%). The group also included single sherds of Shell Tempered ware and Tudor Green ware. 9.5% of the total was unidentifiable. This would indicate a date range within the 13th to late 14th centuries, with the South Yorkshire Gritty ware, group A and the Tudor Green ware either unusually early examples of their types or intrusive. The pit also included two sherds of Saintonge ware and a sherd of Low Countries Red ware (Fig. 3.12:2)

Pits 921 and 64-1,Table 31 Pit 921, filled by 902, contained 18 sherds of medieval pottery. Unusually this did not include any South Yorkshire Gritty ware, and over half the pottery in the pit originated in Lincolnshire. 22.2% of the total was Shell Tempered ware and 33.3% was of green glazed Lincoln type ware. Unidentified sherds accounted for a further 33.3%. South Yorkshire Gritty wares were also absent from pit 641, (filled by 640), but here the range of green glazed wares was wider. Lincoln and Beverley 2 wares were the commonest types (44.4% in each case) with a single sherd of Nottingham type ware.

Building6 Tables 39, 40, 41

Pit 555, Table 28

Building 6 produced a total of only 60 sherds, of which 39 came from context 396. It is difficult to draw conclusions from the sporadic occurrence of isolated sherds such as those commonly encountered within this building.

The fill of pit 555 (554) was distinguished by the presence of a substantial quantity of metal slag (described in Section 3.12.1), leading the excavator to suggest a possible industrial function (Dunkley pers. comm.). The pottery from the pit was of medieval type, with South Yorkshire Gritty wares (types A and B) constituting 50% of the total. Of the remainder 26.9% was a mixture of green glazed types (including Humberware, Beverley 2 ware and Lincoln type ware) while 23 % was unidentifiable. The pit also contained two sherds of Low Countries Red ware.

The material from the east wall (context 675) appeared to be of an early post-medieval date, consisting of South Yorkshire Gritty ware, type A (62.5%), and single sherds of Tudor Green ware, Yellow ware and Purple Glazed ware. The south wall (context 389) produced only a single sherd of South Yorkshire Gritty ware, which may or may not have been residual.

Contextsexcavatedas spits, Tables 27, 35, 36

The complex series of floor surfaces within the building, of which 718, 892, 896, 1026, 1027 produced pottery, could not easily be dated by means of the sherds recovered. As noted in the excavation report, the interior had been the scene of considerable activity and the surviving floor layers were seriously disturbed. In view of this it is perhaps not surprising that the pottery recovered included South Yorkshire Gritty wares, Shell Tempered wares, and Tudor Green ware. The lack of any post-medieval elements may have been the result of the truncation of the floor layers by later activity. The group from 718 included a sherd of Low Countries Red ware.

As in plot B a number of contexts in plot C consisted of a deposit interpreted by the excavator as medieval garden soil. These were contexts 484, 485, 572 and 1050, together with the layers of topsoil 155 and 437. The pottery from the four spits included the same general range of types as were found in plot B, and included Beverley 2 ware, Humberware and various South Yorkshire Gritty ware types. The character of the assemblages from the two plots were distinct in that the quantities of pottery from plot C were significantly lower than those from plot B and the relative proportions rather different, with a generally lower representation of Humberware in plot C. A number of imported sherds were recovered from these contexts. Context 572 included a sherd of Frechen-Koln stoneware, 484 six sherds from a single Low Countries Red ware vessel. Context 476, interpreted as the fill of a flowerbed (4 77), contained a single sherd of Low Countries Red ware, as did the topsoil (context 155).

A number of small features (781, 720, 807) produced single sherds of medieval and post-medieval types (Tables 39 and 40). The fill of 781 (context 714) also produced two sherds of Saintonge Polychrome ware (Table 65). Following the demolition of the building the area was levelled, resulting in the formation of context 396. The pottery from this context was a mixed group containing a wide variety of medieval and post-medieval types, although with no one type predominant. The absence of slipwares, colour glazed wares and factory made wares would seem to suggest a relatively early post-medieval date for the creation of this layer, possibly late in the 16th century. If this interpretation is correct then the

Pits cutting the boundaries of plots Band C Pit 585, Table 31 Pit 585, filled by 584 (Table 32), which cut the boundary between plots B and C, contained a large group of medieval pottery. South Yorkshire Gritty wares 81

Excavations at 16-22 Church Street. Bawtry sherd of 19th century stoneware should be seen as intrUSive.

Features cutting the boundaries of plots C andD

Pit 434. Tables 40 and 42

Context403. Table 43

Pit 434 contained a mixed, but overwhelmingly postmedieval, assemblage dominated by Brown Glazed Coarse wares (38.0%). The three medieval sherds (Table 40) were presumably residual.

Context 403, a spread of pebbly material possibly representing a laid surface, spread across the boundary of plots C and D. It contained 12 sherds of medieval pottery, including the usual range of material (green glazed wares, Shell Tempered ware and South Yorkshire Gritty ware).

Building 9 Tables 52 and 53

PlotD

The principal floor surface within building 9, context 620, contained no pottery, but the context immediately below it (623) produced a mixed medieval and postmedieval group. Humberwares and South Yorkshire Gritty wares (group A) were the commonest types (14.2% in each case) with smaller quantities of Beverley 2 ware (9.5%), Blackware (9.5%) and Purple Glazed ware (9 .5%). The group also included single sherds of Shell Tempered ware and South Yorkshire Gritty ware (groupB).

Tables 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50

Pit 880, Table 4m The earliest activities in plot D were represented by pit 880 and a number of small post holes at the western end of the plot The post holes are dealt with below . Pit 880, filled by context 881, contained 11 sherds of 13th/14th century pottery (Table 45). The commonest identifiable type was Shell Tempered ware (27.2%), followed by South Yorkshire Gritty ware, type B (18.1 %). The group included single sherds of Humberware and Lincoln type ware.

As described in the excavation report the floor of the building (620) was covered by a thick layer of clay and loam (621) which was cut by a pit, 673, the fill of which, 674, contained substantial quantities of pottery.

Well516. Tables 43 and 44

· The contents of pit 673 were clearly of post-medieval, probably of late 16th or 17th century, date. Of the 120 sherds recovered from the pit only 9 .1 % were of medieval type. The group was dominated by Purple Glazed wares (41.6%) and Yellow wares (30.8%), including a number of substantially complete jars and a tripod pipkin (Figs 3.8:2, 3; 3.9:1, 2 and 3.10:1, 2). The Cistercian/Blackwares (together forming 7 .5% of the total) included two distinctive tripod bases for which parallels have yet to be folllld (Fig. 3.8:2, 3). The character of the group, with its many partially complete vessels, suggested that the contents of the pit accumulated rapidly and with relatively little disturbance. The sherd of Low Countries Red ware should perhaps be considered with the medieval element (see Section 3.3.25).

The fill of the well was defined as consisting of three contexts, 407, 402 and 560 with the first representing the packing between the lining and the well cut and the latter two the backfilling of the well after it had become redundant. Context 407 contained only three sherds of postmedieval slipware, 17th to 18th century in character and a sherd of unidentified stoneware. The fill of the well (402 and 560) contained a great variety of pottery, and no particular types dominated the assemblage. 36.3% of the group was of post-medieval type, with the remainder (63.6%) of medieval character, including Cistercian wares. The commonest types of pottery were the medieval green glazed types which, together fonned 28.6% of the group (Humberware, 10.6%, Beverley 2 ware, 9.0%, Lincoln, Nottingham and unidentified types, 9.0%). South Yorkshire Gritty wares, groups A, B and 0 together constituted 22.7% of the group, 7.5%, 10.6% and 4.5% respectively. Purple Glazed wares were the commonest post-medieval type (15.1 % Qf the total) with Yellow wares forming 9.0%, Blackwares 4.5% and Brown Glazed Coarse wares 6.0%. The fill also included two sherds of stoneware, one of Frechen-Koln type (post-1550) and one of which could not be positively identified (Jennings pers. comm.).

It is possible that the material from context 466, a shallow depression overlying building 9, is of a similar date to pit 673, although it includes a rather greater proportion of medieval material (52.2%). It may be that the deposit consists of material brought in from elsewhere to fill a depression in the ground.

Contexts under building 9, Table 51 The fill of pit 1630, below building 9 (filled by contexts 1631 to 1635 inclusive) produced a small group of 15 medieval sherds, mainly of Lincoln (20%) and Beverley 2 type (20%), but including a single sherd of Shell Tempered ware. The presence of the pit beneath the building suggests that the latter was not constructed until sometime after the adjacent building 6.

This mixture of material, which was evenly spread throughout the fill of the well would suggest a relatively late date for the backfilling of the well, perhaps during 82

Finds Reports 311, 440, 805, 982 and hearth 984 contained both medieval and post-medieval sherds. Context 784 contained only one sherd of post-medieval pottery.

the 17th century, using material derived from earlier deposits. Amongst the pottery from context 402-5 was a sherd of · Humberware with a small fragment of lead on the underside of the base. Whether this is evidence of lead working in the area remains unclear.

Building 7 Table 33 Context 1981-1, the clay bonding of the eastern wall of the building, contained a single sherd of slightly gritty Humberware, the only pottery associated with this building .

Contexts associated with oven 924, Tables 46 and 47 The oven, (context 924) which was constructed over the well (516) was itself overlain by context 911. This . contained only four sherds of pottery, two of medieval date and two (which joined) of Brown Glazed Coarse ware.

PlotE Tables 55, 56 and 57

Ditches 285 and 435. Tables 49 and 50 Ditch 285, filled by 286, in spite of its stratigraphically later position with respect to ditch 435, contained a group of exclusively medieval pottery (Table 49). This consisted of Humberwares (25%), North Lincolnshire Sandy wares (12.5%), South Yorkshire Gritty ware, group B (37.5%) and single sherds of South Yorkshire Gritty ware, group A and unidentified medieval green glazed ware. In contrast ditch 435 contained a single sherd of Brown Glazed Coarse ware (Table 50).

Well 141, Table 55 Three contexts were associated with this well (100, 116 and 117). 116 and 117 were dominated by South Yorkshire Gritty ware, group A sherds (54.2% of the total) with smaller quantities of group B (17.1%). Earlier material was represented by two sherds of Beverley 2 ware which should perhaps be considered as residual. A sherd of 19th century stoneware (Table 67) appears to be intrusive. On this evidence (derived from the upper fill of the feature only) the backfilling of the well probably took place in the later medieval period.

Ovens 1976 and 904, Tables 46, 47 and 49 Oven 1976 (filled by 1977) contained seven sherds of pottery, all of medieval green glazed types suggesting a 13th to early 14th century date (Humberware, Beverley 2 ware, Doncaster Hallgate and unidentified types).

Isolated features Tables 56 and 57 As in the case of the other burgage plots the excavation of plot E revealed a scatter of pits and post holes (contexts 149, 154, 204, 206, 208, 236). Most of these contained a mixture of medieval and post-medieval material, with the former commoner in all features except pit 149 (filled by 148). It seemsthat the majority of these features were of medieval date, with intrusive post-medieval elements.

Oven 904, with its burnt base set in a depression, cut the earlier oven 924 and the pit 910. Only five sherds were associated with this feature (context 905) and consisted of a mixture of medieval and post-medieval types.

Pits 982 and 903. Table 49 Like oven 1976 the pottery from these two pits was dominated by green glazed types, Beverley 2 ware, Nottingham type and a variety of unidentified types. The group from pit 903 included 11 sherds of Shell Tempered ware, all, unfortunately, undiagnostic body sherds.

PlotF Tables 33 and 34 Very little of plot F was excavated, and only two feawres were defined. One of these was a well shaft (context 1111), filled by context 1078. This produced eight sherds of medieval pottery (Beverley 2 ware and South Yorkshire Gritty ware, types A and B) and a single sherd of post-medieval Purple Glazed ware. This might imply a similar date for the backfilling of the well to that established for the well in plot E. The pottery from context 188 (pit 189) was exclusively of postmedieval type. The presence of colour glazed and factory produced ware suggested a late date, perhaps as late as the 18th or even the 19th century, with some of the earlier elements (such as the Blackware) being residual.

Isolated cont~xts,Tables 45 to 50

case with the other plots, Plot D encompassed a number of pits, post holes and other features, including hearths. As can be seen from the tables these contained only modest amounts of pottery. It is hazardous to draw firm conclusions regarding the date of the features from such sparse information. The fills of contexts 311,338,443,445, 788, 796, 802, 909, 974,991 and 2006 all contained between one and eight sherds of medieval pottery. The fills of contexts 290, As was the

83

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