17th century pottery sherds at former Chelmsford Road garage (EHER 81670)

Trial trenching in 2004 aimed to locate and investigate a suggested southern arm of the moat (EHER 19296), but no such evidence was encountered. This suggests that either the moated site was open-ended, or the south part of the moat lay to the immediate north of the development area. The only pre-modern finds from the site were some sherds of 17th century pottery.

November 2004. Trial trenching. The main aim of the evaluation was to locate and investigate a posited southern arm of the moat of the moated site that lies to the immediate north. Seven features were found in the trial-trench. Two modern structures were represented by robbed-out walls and a concrete floor. The other features consisted of an undatable cut-feature, a modern pit, and a large modern, shallow depression. Finds included infrequent pieces of post-medieval and modern brick and tile, 17 sherds of 17th century pottery and 3 sherds of modern pottery, and a fragment of post-medieval brick. The excavation found no evidence for a moat ditch along the south side of the moated site to the north. Either the moated site was open-ended, or the south part of the moat lay to the immediate north of the development area. <1>