Blue Bridge Lane
&
Fishergate House
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Following the dissolution of the priory in November 1538, the site underwent a number of gradual changes. The period between the mid-16th and the 20th century has been assigned to Period 9, but can be subdivided into four key sub-phases (Periods 9A to 9D). During Period 9A (mid-16th to late 18th century), both the cemetery and the Priory precinct appear to have been unoccupied; the consecrated burial ground appears to have been avoided as an area of domestic activity, while the Priory precinct was given over to orchards, arable land, pasture and meadows. Some property boundaries were maintained and consolidated, however, demonstrating some continuity from earlier periods. From the late 18th century, however, this area was reoccupied (Period 9B), and saw the construction of substantial villas, and the more grand Fishergate House; associated brick-built structures, outbuildings and service areas were encountered during excavation. These developments were succeeded by more brick walls and below-ground features (Period 9C), dating from the late 19th century, representing further development of the Fishergate frontage, and the increasing use of this area for leisure and residential purposes. Period 9D, which dates from the mid-20th century, saw a change in the character of the Blue Bridge Lane site from residential to more industrial and commercial use. Throughout Periods 9C and 9D, the Fishergate House property remained little changed, although documentary sources demonstrate the changing use of the building itself.
PHASE A
Orchard, arable or pasture soils
Sealing evidence for the later monastic industrial activity, a series of deposits of brown silty clay were found to have accumulated across the site, forming an homogenous pack which sealed many of the Period 8B features. This layer was identified across Intervention 15 (C1221B=C1255B). Following excavation of exploratory test pits (F82B, F83B, F84B) this layer was found to have been deeper at the western end of the site; in the eastern part of the site, however, it had been truncated by later activity, and isolated deposits of similar material were recorded individually, and later interpreted as belonging to the same accumulation of material (C1166B, C1211B, C1216B). These soils, which were also recorded in Intervention 10 (C1109B), Intervention 11 (C1097B, C1098B), Intervention 12 (C1135B, C1138B), Intervention 13 (C1153B, C1155B), Intervention 20 (C1307B) and Intervention 21 (C1309B, C1305B, C1308B) had been observed in Intervention 2 (C1022B) and appear to have been similar to those contacted during earlier excavations by York Archaeological Trust. In some areas, the earlier phases of accumulation were found to be fairly stony (C1169B), and frequently, distinct phases of accumulation could be identified. In Intervention 16, for example, three distinct contexts were identified within the pack of brown soils (C1831B, C1832B, C1833B), the earliest of which sealed a Period 8 hearth (F380B). In contrast, in Interventions 17 and 18, comparable deposits (C1233B and C1253B=C1228B) were found to lie directly over subsoil (a potential posthole identified during excavation in Intervention 18, F98B, was later found to be an undulation in the interface between this context and subsoil). This material may have been imported onto the site, or could be the result of the gradual accumulation of material over time.
Across the Blue Bridge Lane site, this homogenous brown pack was found to have been succeeded by a turf layer (C1220B), which had again been identified during earlier phases of investigation (C1021B, C1108B, C1096B, C1134B, C1156B), and in the YAT excavations. This layer was also observed in Intervention 16, as C1830B.
These deposits could not be precisely dated, and are likely to represent the accumulation or deposition of agricultural or horticultural soils over some considerable time. Their accumulation post-dates the latest activity within the monastic precinct, which appears to have ceased with the dissolution. Ceramic evidence from Intervention 18 supports the idea that these soils had not formed before the mid-16th century, and mixed assemblages of ceramic were found throughout may of these deposits. Finds from Intervention 2 (C1022B) were dated from the 13th to the 18th century, and included a post-medieval fork. Cartographic and documentary evidence dating from the 18th century record orchards, arable land, or meadow in this area, which would provide a context for the accumulation of these soils; the continued presence of vegetation and trees on the site might account for the mixed assemblages of finds in these, and earlier deposits.
Demarcation of property boundaries
The southern boundary of the priory precinct persisted into Period 9, and
has survived as the boundary of Blue Bridge Lane to the modern day. During
Period 9A, this boundary was partly delimited by a limestone wall, recorded
on 19th century maps to have been the remains of the medieval Priory wall
(Plate 106, right). However, detailed study
undertaken prior to, and during, demolition of this wall (F64B) suggested
that the feature is post-medieval in origin. The limestone makeup of this
wall (C1197B) represented development over a number of phases; the massive
limestone construction that represented its initial construction was deemed
to date to no later than c.1700
(Appendix P). The fabric was found to contain architectural elements of medieval
date, which are likely to have derived from the Priory itself, probably after
its dissolution (Appendix Q). In the western part of the site, a date in
the early to mid-17th century was further supported; the underlying final
backfill of F208B (C1291B) contained clay pipe of early 17th century date,
and may have been deliberate preparation for construction of the wall.
A further limestone wall (F66B) was identified running perpendicular to
the line of F1B, some distance to the east, running for 7m on a north-south
alignment. The wall had been constructed on the same alignment, and directly
over earlier ditch (F219B), assigned to Period 8A. F66B was constructed from
limestone blocks (C1296B) bonded with mortar. A stone mortar was identified
within the fabric (Plate 107, right), which
is likely to date to the 13th to 14th century; reuse of broken mortars as
rubble building material is a common phenomenon. Adjacent to the western
edge F66B, a shallow ditch (F200B) was identified. Measuring 1.50m wide,
the feature was over 10m in length and up to 0.35m in depth, backfilled with
a dark brown silty clay, over an earlier, clean backfill (C1272B, C1307B,
C1437B). A copper alloy folded dagger chape was recovered from the backfill
of this feature, along with fragments of post-medieval glass.
Evidence for a less substantial boundary was identified in test pit F84B,
which revealed the badly truncated base of a possible wall (F85B), beneath
a layer of brown silty clay (C1216B) (Plate 108,
right). The construction of this wall, from brick, tile and limestone (C1217B),
might represent the reuse of building materials from the dissolved priory.
Although only a small part of this feature survived, this wall might have
been a subdivision of property within this open land, although it appears
to have fallen into disuse while the arable or orchard soils were still accumulating.
Cemetery abandonment
Little activity was identified on the site of the Fishergate House cemetery from the mid-16th century onwards, which concurs with the overall chronological assessment of the ceramic evidence. A small quantity of Period 9A ceramic material was recovered from the soils into which graves had been cut (C1003F = C1516F), as well as a single, halfpenny trade token, issued in York in the 17th century. Contemporary finds were recovered from within a number of the graves themselves, in particular F77F (C1147F), which produced fragments of mid-16th century pottery, F46F (C1086F), F67F (C1127F), F76F (C1144F), all of which produced small quantities of clay tobacco pipe (three fragments or less), and F82F (C1154F), which produced pottery of mid-17th century date. Mid-16th century pottery was also recovered from posthole F103F (C1197F) and pit F104F (C1198F). The small size of these assemblages, and the high levels of disturbance caused by the many large trees that currently occupy the site, suggest that this material is likely to intrusive, and cannot reliably be used as dating evidence. The layer which sealed the cemetery (C1439F) also produced a small quantity ceramic of early 17th century date; this deposit was subsequently sealed by turf (C1438F), further supporting a general lack of activity on the site.
PHASE B
Prior to the mid-19th century, the southern part of Stone Wall Close was enclosed and developed, and two houses were constructed, while Fishergate House was built to the south of Blue Bridge Lane. The archaeological remains that have been assigned to Period 9B predominantly represent the structural remains of these, and associated, buildings (Figure 73).
Figure 73. Location of Period 9B features
Freshfield Cottage
A series of brick walls, identified in the central area of Intervention 15 appear to represent the remains of a substantial, late 18th to early 19th century house that was constructed to the north of Blue Bridge Lane, known in 1892 as Freshfield Cottage (Structure 5). A series of walls, represented by F133B (C2330B),F165B (C2331B) and F134B (C2101B), represent the southern, eastern and western walls of the main part of Freshfield Cottage, associated with a possible east-west internal wall F138B (C2332B). The construction cut of F134B, (F135B) was identified to the east of the wall, backfilled with a dark brown clay silt with gravel and mortar flecks (C2083B).
Almost central to the space delimited by these walls, a square feature was
identified (F139B, C2333B), closely resembling a similar structure adjacent
to the internal face of north-south wall F604B (C2334B), a short distance
to the east. F139B comprised a square, brick-built surface, less than 1.0m
across, which showed signs of heavy sooting, and was open on one side. It
is possible that this represents the base of a copper or boiler that would
have been used for heating water within the building (Plate
109, right).
Ancillary buildings
On the eastern edge of the Freshfield Cottage property, adjacent to the north-south boundary represented by F66B (Period 9A), a rectangular building is known to have been constructed, depicted on Ordnance Survey editions of 1852 and 1892. This structure respects the earlier boundary, demonstrating the continuation of this boundary into Period 9B; the structures have been identified as the stables that were mentioned on the deeds of 1851, and would have delimited the eastern edge of the courtyard of the property.
Well F140B
Within the courtyard Freshfield House, a circular, brick-built well was
identified,immediately to the east of the building (F140B) (Plate
110, right). The well, which had been backfilled with C1262B, was found
to have a brick lining (C1297B, C1298B), and measured approximately 1.0m
in diameter. The presence of a nearby pump marked on the Ordnance Survey
edition may suggest that the well had fallen out of use by 1852, or the well
head had been altered to a more convenient means of drawing water.
F103B and F104B
Within the yard of the building, two brick-built, subterranean features
were identified, which appear to fit neatly outside the known mid-19th century
footprint of Freshfield Cottage (Plate 111,
right). F104B (C2235B) appeared to be an open, brick-built chamber, of unknown
depth, to the north of a similar feature (F103B C2336B), which was seen to
contain a rivetted iron tank (C2337), later secured in concrete. The function
of this tank is uncertain, although it is possible that it represents a water
storage tank.
F97B
F97B was identified in plan as a NW-SE aligned cut, visible only in the
northeastern corner of Intervention 18. The feature was initially recognised
due to its clear contrast with the orange clay subsoil (C1629B), and was
seen in section to have cut through the dark brown layer (C1253B), interpreted
as part of the Period 9A soils. F97B was backfilled with a very dark brown
clay silt (C1252B), which was found to contain residual Roman and medieval
ceramic, and pottery dating from the 17th century onwards. The cut of F97B
was found to be steep and regular; after hand-excavation to a depth of 1.50m,
the trench was machined excavated further, and F97B was still evident at
depths of over 2.00m. The function of this feature is unclear, and the overall
extent of the feature could not be judged within the 2m x 2m area of Intervention
18. This may have represented a large ditch, or large pit; its proximity
to F96B, the wall of the icehouse, suggests that it may have represented
a pit or sump excavated prior to the construction of this structure (Plate
112, right). No features were excavated within Intervention 15 which
could be identified as a continuation of F97B.
Isolated postholes in Intervention 2 (F12B C1023B) and Intervention 17 (F94B C1245B and F95 C1246B), and two small pits in Intervention 16 (F379B C1829B and F377B C1825B) were found to cut the homogenous pack of orchard or arable soils, and have been assigned to Period 9B; no further dating material was recovered, and their functions remain unclear.
Drain F267B
Cutting the backfill of F97B, a west-east aligned limestone feature was
identified, extending across the centre of Intervention 18 and butt-ending
at the interface between F97B and subsoil. This feature, F267B, consisted
of two courses of unbonded limestone (C1630B), with two faced edges and a
looser core, up to 0.80m in height (Plate 113,
right). Initially identified as a wall, the feature was found in section
to have been situated within the base of a vertical cut, 0.94m wide and 1.00m
in depth, through the backfill of F97B. The cut of F267B was subsequently
backfilled with a very dark brown silty clay (C2016B), from which no finds
were recovered, and then sealed by a layer of orange clay, which produced
pottery dating from the 17th century onwards, indicating construction after
this date (C2015B). The loose, unbonded make-up of F267B, and its profile,
have led to interpretation as a drain; this may have exploited the negative
cut of F97B.
The Icehouse (F96B)
The remains of the associated icehouse were also identified, located at the southern edge of Intervention 18 (F96B), within the garden area to the norther of the house. Up to 0.8m of brown silty clay identified in Intervention 17 was found to contain fragments of white china (C1227B), indicating continued accumulation of soils over the earlier orchard soils (C1233B). Following the initial clearance of modern debris, the main chamber was visible in plan as a circular, brick-built structure, approximately 4.0m in diameter. The removal of abutting deposits in Intervention 18 revealed a clear construction cut (see Plate 111), demonstrating that the mortared brick walls (C1250B) sat within a circular cut, which had been packed with a thick lining of yellowish-brown clay (C1632B), with some variation in colour (C1249B), approximately 0.40m wide, and seen in section to reach at least 0.83m in depth (Figure 74). The clay lining, which contained ceramic of mid-18th century date, appears to have petered out towards the east, where deposits were truncated by later disturbance. Cartographic and documentary evidence have been used to demonstrate that the ice house and associated structures are likely to have been constructed between the latter years of the 18th century, and the mid-19th century.
F96B cut the backfill of the steep-sided cut of F97B, which had also been cut by drain F267B; both features were then sealed by rubble sinkage of C1251B. The precise relationship between the cut of F267B and F96B was not clear during excavation, although is seems most likely from the available dating evidence that the icehouse construction post-dated that of the drain.
Horse burial
Within the yard of Freshfield Cottage, a sub-circular pit was identified, following removal of layer C1162B by machine. The pit (F74B) contained the partly articulated remains of a horse; bones beneath the distal tibia and radius had been removed, suggesting that the animal was skinned prior to interment (Figure 75).
Fishergate Villa
To the west of the property boundary (F66B), a second house appears to have existed by 1852, in the northeastern corner of a square parcel of land (OS 1852). Few features were identified which can be associated with this building, as much of the area was truncated by later buildings. A number of small postholes and scoops within the surrounding grounds (F192B, F155B, F212B, F213B, F214B) can tentatively be assigned to this period, and may represent garden features. The backfill of F192B (C1377B) contained quantities of CBM, and a bronze coin weight of mid-18th century date, while F155B was situated close by, and was found to have contained ceramic of mid-17th century date. F212B, F213B and F214B were clustered at the southwestern corner of this parcel of land; no secure dating evidence was recovered.
Fishergate House
Fishergate House is known to have been constructed in 1837, and would have badly truncated the remains of the medieval cemetery. The excavations on the site did not directly contact structural remains relating to the house, although a brick-built culvert (F200F C1378F, C1622F) running roughly east-west along the northern boundary of the Fishergate House site may have been part of an early phase of construction. A small area of a further linear feature (F248F C1461F) was identified beneath F200F; it has been suggested that this may have been associated with the construction of F200F. Both features had demonstrably caused considerable damage to the underlying cemetery. A second drain was recorded in the north-facing section of Intervention 2 (F235F C1444F), constructed from bricks, with a visible ceramic sole plate. This runs perpendicular to F200F, and may have drained into it.
Just outside the area of investigation, close to Intervention 2, a circular,
brick-built feature was visible, measuring less than 1.0m in diameter (F335F
C1659F). The feature (Plate 114, right) lay
outside the area of investigation, but was identified during work on site
and was therefore not fully investigated; its function was not established,
although it may represent some form of well, or a chute or vent connected
with the cellars of Fishergate House. Across the remainder of the site, Intervention
1 to 4 did not reveal significant levels of activity in the surrounding grounds,
and it seems likely that they remained open ground, or landscaped gardens.
A watching brief undertaken to the west of the house identified further brick
structures, which appear to have been situated directly within the entrance
to the house, as depicted on the 1891 Ordnance Survey map.
PHASE C
Development of the Fishergate frontage
Post-dating the mid-19th century, a number of structure features have been identified which represent further development of the Fishergate frontage, specifically between 1854 and 1892 (Figure 76).
At the eastern edge of Intervention 15, a series of brick walls were identified, which can be associated directly with three terraced houses depicted on the Ordnance Survey edition of 1892, orientated west-east and fronting onto Fishergate (Plate 115). The wall dividing the southernmost of these properties (S6) from its northern neighbour (labelled in 1892 as a Post Office) survived for much of its original extent, and was allocated F45B (C1165B). This feature, and a perpendicular wall, were encountered during the previous evaluation (Intervention 5), numbered as F18B C1048B, F24B C1055B, and interpreted as a cellar F25B C1056B); consideration of cartographic evidence show that these walls represent the foundations and lower courses of the external walls of Structures 6 and 7 (Plate 116). A north-south wall running from the southern edge of Intervention 15 (F53B C1176B) represents an internal wall within this building. Within Structure 6, a drain (F47B C1170B) was identified running parallel to, and to the south of, wall F45B. This may be equated with the salt-glazed pipe identified in Intervention 5 (F21B C1051B). As these features were cut into subsoil, the relationship between the drain and the wall could not be fully ascertained, but it is possible that they represented internal services associated with the initial construction, or later modification, of these buildings.
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| Plate 115 | Plate 116 |
To the north of F45B, the rear external walls of Structure 7 (known to have been a Post Office), with rectilinear internal divisions, were clear in plan (see Plate 114). The brick frontage of this building was identified during excavation of Intervention 4 (F16B C1035B), and a quarry tile floor identified to the north of, and abutting, F45B, appeared to represent the associated internal surface. This floor was encountered and recorded in Intervention 3, lying adjacent to the Fishergate frontage (C1016B), and was found to have been bedded on a series of brick and mortar preparation layers (C1017B), a sealing a mortar-filled scoop probably from construction (F11B C1020B). Beneath this floor, a foundation trench (F10B C1019B) and a salt-glazed pipe (F9B C1018B) were identified, potentially associated with the original construction of the house. The cellars observed against the Fishergate frontage would also have been associated with these buildings.
The wall dividing Structure 7 from the property to the north (Structure 8), and part of NW-SE aligned passage way leading into the yard to the rear of the larger of the three properties survived in plan (F81B C1048B; F605B C2338B, F606B C2339B, F607B C2340B, F608B C2341B, F609B C2342B, F610B C2343B).
Cartographic evidence shows that, although further development occurred on other areas of Intervention 15, these houses retained the same layout into the 1930s and probably much later; these houses are visible on photographs of the 1920s, when people frequented the Rialto cinema (formerly the City Picture House and the Casino), which lies to the north of Intervention 15.
PHASE D
No further evidence for activity was identified on the Fishergate frontage following the initial construction of these houses; their plan appears to have remained largely unaltered until their demolition in the 1990s, and the quarry tile floors and cellars of the Period 9C houses were still in evidence when archaeological work began on the site. Across much of the remainder of the site, however, evidence for the demolition of the Period 9B and 9C buildings was identified, and structural evidence relating to more modern buildings was encountered (Figure 77).
Similarly, there appears to have been little change on the site of Fishergate House following its construction in the early 19th century. During the war, the house is known to have been appropriated for use as War Offices, and a small complex of prefabricated offices was still upstanding at the start of the project. A photographic survey was undertaken prior to their demolition (Intervention 3). The structures comprised three wings, arranged in an irregular U-shape. The structures were found to have been constructed from concrete pillars, with timber trusses and supports, and a corrugated asbestos cement roof. The building had been subdivided into small rooms, with one larger, possible briefing room, which was found to contain an original hatch, and wall panels, presumably for the display of information. The buildings had integrated toilets from the outset; narrow windows and urinals appear to represent original features. Also original were some light fittings and four-panelled doors; the structure had, however, been more recently modified with further sub-partitioning; the structures represent typical World War II constructions (Plates 117 and 118).
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| Plate 117 | Plate 118 |
The retaining wall of the site appears to have been replaced at some point during the 20th century; the surviving length along the northern edge of Intervention 1 was found to have concrete foundations, and a clear construction cut was identified (F6F C1010F). Evidence also indicates the modernisation of services for the house; a number of brick-built manholes were identified across the site, allocated as F331F (C1655F), F265F (C1497F, C1507F), F269F (C1503F), F336F (C1660F) and all interventions were disturbed by drains and water pipes crossing the trenches, identified as F2F (C1006F), F3F (C1007F), F217F (C1408F), F268F (C1502F), F325F=F330F (C1649F=C1654F), F326F (C1650F), F327F (C1651F), F329F (C1653F). Sewage pipes were also noted (F4F C1008F, F337F C1661F), and trenches for the electricity supply identified (F5F C1009F).
Parts of the Fishergate House site were surfaced for modern vehicles. A brick and rubble hardcore sealed the earlier turf (C1437F), and similar deposits were found to infill scoops and hollows across the site (C1508F, C1509F). A large pit at the southeastern end of Intervention 4 was also interpreted as modern in date; its proximity to newly built structures, however, meant that it was not fully excavated (F337F C1510F). These rubble layers, and clayey silt layers with rubble and gravel inclusions (C1002F) preceded the laying down of gravelly sand preparation (C1001F=C1436F) and tarmac (C1000F=C1435F).
The picture house
Interventions 20, 22 and 24 were situated adjacent to the upstanding remains of the Rialto picture house, and encountered evidence relating to the construction of this building. An east-west aligned wall in Intervention 10 may have been the northern boundary wall dividing the Rialto property from that to the north (F30B C1094B). Foundation trenches were identified in Intervention 21 (F147B C1304B), and Intervention 20 (F156B C1320B, C1321B, C1322B), backfilled with brick and concrete. Further evidence for foundations were encountered in Intervention 24 (F156B C2154B and F536B C2155B), with a concrete plinth (F567 C2232B). These features presumably relate to the construction, or rebuilding, of this building during the first half of the 20th century; although built by 1909/10, the cinema is known to have burnt down on a number of occasions. The layer of charcoal and wood within brick levelling deposits in Intervention 9 (C1113B, C1114B) and Intervention 10 (C1005B) can tentatively be linked to such episodes of damage and rebuilding.
During the later part of the 20th century (post-1962), the rear of this building was developed, with the construction of a car park and nightclub above. A brick floor (F26B C1086B) identified in Intervention 10 is likely to represent one of the earlier phases of development in this area, subsequently sealed by trample (C1104B and levelling deposits (C1103B). The more modern structure was raised on steel pillars on concrete and breeze block bases, one of which was clipped in Intervention 9 (F27B, C1017B, C1018B, C1079B, C1081B, C1111B, C1115B), and the construction of which was found in Intervention 10 (F33B C1101B C1102B). Modern levelling layers and hardcore (Intervention 6 C1067B, Intervention 7 C1071B, C1073B, C1074B, C1075B, Intervention 8 C1120B to C1125B, Intervention 9 C1112B, Intervention 10 C1084B, C1085B, Intervention 11 C1093B, Intervention 12 C1133, Intervention 13 C1160B, Intervention 17 C1243B), and tarmac or concrete surfaces (Intervention 6 C1066B, Intervention 7 C1070B, Intervention 8 C1119B, Intervention 9 C1176B, Intervention 10 C1083B, Intervention 11 C1092B, Intervention 12 C1132, C1241B=C1247B, Intervention 21 C1299B) were encountered in the Interventions within this area (Interventions 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11); these layers included slag and waste material deriving from the glassworks site immediately to the north (C1069B, Intervention 4 C1034B).
Demolition and construction on the Blue Bridge Lane site
Dense layers of brick and mortar identified in Intervention 16 (C1823B, C1824B) and Intervention 19 (C1236B, C1238B), possibly equivalent to those making up 0.60m of ground in Intervention 2 (C1012B, C1013B, C1014B, C1015B,) represent the demolition of brick-built structures; this material may have derived from the destruction of Freshfield Cottage, situated just to the west. In Intervention 10 in particular, a layer of rubble (C1107B) was found to contain brick and tile of 17th to 19th century date which is likely to derive from such demolition, while a thick layer of brick in Intervention 17 (C1244B) may also have been equivalent. These deposits had been levelled by further layers of brick and rubble (C1822B), before the insertion of a modern sewer (F378B C1828B), and then sealed by more modern deposits (C1827B). Similar layers were identified across much of Intervention 15. C1162B was allocated to a layer of this material across most of the western part of the intervention, which was removed by machine, following removal of the overlying concrete surface (C1161B); further similar deposits of clay silt containing modern rubble and debris were found levelling specific areas of the site and infilling earlier century features (C2075B, Intervention 5 C1043B, C1044B, C1047B,), or filling small scoops (F510B C2076B, C2077B, C2078B, F511B C2079B, C2080B, C2081B). C1162B was found to comprise a loose silty clay, containing a high proportion of tile, brick, pottery and metal.
Cartographic evidence suggests that Freshfield Cottage was incorporated into later buildings in the 1930s (OS 1937), but by 1962 had been replaced by a more modern building. A small section of brick wall identified in Intervention 2 (F7B C1011B), sealed by the later concrete surface, may have belonged to this, or an earlier phase of activity. A number of pits or postholes, filled with modern material (F11B, F67B, F68B, F72B, F75B, F171B, F176B, F132B) were identified in what had been the courtyard of the cottage, and further afield in Intervention 25 (F541B C2168B) and 28 (F564B C2229B). The function of these features is uncertain; they appear to represent the deposition of waste, or the infilling of existing cut features, prior to the construction of the larger building in the 1960s.
Labelled as 'works' on the Ordnance Survey maps of 1962, this building extended from the rear of properties on the Fishergate frontage, to the river path to the east. Regularly dispersed across the Blue Bridge Lane, a number of concrete stanchion bases were identified, which presumably relate to this building. These features were not recorded fully, but were allocated numbers (F3B, F99B, F101B, F105B, F107B, F114B, F115B, F117B, F118B, F131B, F166B, F167B, F168B, F169B). Similar features were also identified in Intervention 24 (F533B C2152 and F534B C2153B), and a number of concrete plinths and structures were identified across the site (F91B, F170B; Intervention 2 F6B C1010B) and the concrete surface that existed on the site prior to excavation (C1002B, C1008B, C1009B, Intervention 4 C1033B, Intervention 5 C1042B, C1161B, C1181B, C1821B, Intervention 13 C1151B, Intervention 17 C1240B, Intervention 19 C1234B), would have formed the internal surface of these buildings.
Modern brick and breeze block walling, on concrete foundations (F48B C1161B, F1B C1000B, F2 C1001BF71B), was identified across the frontage of the site. The foundation cut for F1B, which abutted the earlier wall F64B, was identified in Intervention 1 (F5B C1007B). Brick walling was also identified abutting F66 (F65B C1199B); these walls seem to represent the incorporation of earlier remains into the 1960s buildings. A length of walling running east-west across Intervention 28 (F567B C2232B) can also be tentatively associated with this building, although this cannot be securely dated.
Below ground services were identified beneath these works, and adjacent to the picture house, which from 1962 was utilised as a bingo hall. Services directly within the Bingo Hall were identified in Intervention 14 (F35B C1127B). These features included sewers (Intervention 15 F10B C1019B, F59B, F63B, F73B, F99B, F100B, F120B; Intervention 18 F378B C1828B, Intervention 23 F463B C1981B, Intervention 25 F539B C2166B), manholes (F49B, F80B, F102B, F106B, F113B), gas and water pipes (Intervention 12, F36B C1137B, Intervention 13 F40B C1152B, Intervention 23, F461B C1979B C1990B, Intervention 24 F464 C1982B; Intervention 25 F540B C2167B, Intervention 28 F566B C2231B), manholes (F611B C2344B, F612B C2345B) and drains (Intervention 15 F69B, F70B; Intervention 17 F93B C1242B; Intervention 21 F145B C1301B, 146B C1303B, Intervention 28 F565B C2230). Several modern trenches were identified, which may relate to construction or insertion of services (F26B C1968B).
apc > monographs > blue bridge lane & fishergate house > archive > field report > results > period 9