Site of late medieval and post medieval buildings, Mayflower House, Church Sreet (EHER 14988)

A trench around 14m long and 2m wide was excavated by machine on the site of the demolished Methodist Chapel adjacent to Mayflower House. The earliest feature was a slot for a small wooden building of late 12th or 13th century date sealed by 13th century floor levels. Also uncovered were features related to 15th-16th century sunken floored buildings.

Excavation, 1986 A trench around 14m long and 2m wide was excavated by machine on the site of the demolished Methodist Chapel adjacent to Mayflower House. The dark soil which covered the medieval features was cut by two large rectangular features which were interpreted as sunken-floored buildings. A large pit, probably a cess pit was also found. The cellar on the frontage was probably 17th to 18th century. Just to the north of the trench was a brick wall of probably similar date which had been capped off with a doomed vault. The methodist Chapel was built in 1829 replacing a chapel in Kings Head Street. <1> - <3> Information from NRHE Excavations took place in 1986 on the site of a demolished Methodist chapel, adjacent to Magflower House. The earliest feature was a slot for a small wooden building of late 12th or 13th century date sealed by 13th century floor levels. One building phase had been destroyed by fire. Post holes for a wooden building or fence line and a deep oval cess pit were found at the front of the site. During the 14th century a deposit of sand was spread over the site as a precaution against flooding. The layer was cut by a number of later Medieval and post-medieval features including two large, rectangular vertically sided pits, possibly the remains of 15th-16th century sunken floored buildings. <4>