ULAS
University of Leicester Archaeological Services

Examining Leicester’s Southern Suburb:
Excavations beneath De Montfort University’s PACE and Hugh Aston Buildings (2006-2008)

Between 2006 and 2008, archaeologists from University of Leicester Archaeological Services carried out a series of excavations on behalf of De Montfort University ahead of construction of the new PACE and Hugh Aston Buildings.

De Montfort University is located in an area of considerable archaeological signif-icance. It is situated within the southern suburb of the Roman and medieval town and the new development incorporates the western frontage of both the Tripontium Road, the principal Roman route into the town from the south, and Oxford Street, its medieval successor. Other excavations carried out nearby for De Montfort University have uncovered an extensive Roman cemetery to the east beneath the Elfed Thomas building in 1993 and an Anglo-Saxon building to the south beneath the Innovation Centre on Bonners Lane in 1993-1994. Further work to the south and east on Grange Lane and York Road has also revealed significant Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval remains.

By the late medieval period, the site was partially incorporated into the Newarke or ‘New Work’, a walled religious precinct containing the College of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1645, temporary defences were erected to the south and east of the Newarke during the Royalist and Parliamentary sieges of Leicester. Post-Civil War, the Newarke became one of the most affluent suburbs in Leicester until the mid- 19th century. Since then the site has variously been used as the local militia headquarters and a bus station, before becoming part of De Montfort University in the late 1960s.

In view of the impact of this development on buried archaeological remains, the planning authority required a full phased programme of archaeological investigation. Excavation began with a series of machine-dug trial trenches to find out where archaeology had survived, and to determine how deep it was beneath present ground level. Because of continuous occupation in Leicester for the past 2000 years, archaeology can often be up to 2 or 3m below modern ground level. Once identified, areas of significant survival were enlarged and a team of archaeologists began to excavate the archaeological levels. This was carried out in three seasons of work. In all c.2482 square metres of the c.6484 square metre development area contained significant archaeological survival worth investigating.

2006 excavations beneath the PACE building

In 2006 an archaeological evaluation was undertaken by ULAS on the site of the former James Went building in advance of construction of the new ‘Performance Arts Centre for Excellence’ (PACE) building. A watching brief within the footprint of the former building revealed Roman boundary ditches - subsequently identified in 2008 as roadside ditches flanking a street projecting west from the Tripontium Road; medieval and post-medieval pits and the foundations of the Newarke wall - a substantial sandstone wall built c.1400 to enclose the precinct of the mid-14th century College of the Annunciation of St Mary. Where exposed this still stood to a height of c.1.5m.

Outside the footprint of the old James Went building preservation was better and salvage excavation uncovered further Roman boundary ditches, surfaces and possible structural features, including a small tile-lined glass-blowing furnace, all relating to extra-mural properties adjacent to the Tripontium Road. These all appeared to date from the early 2nd century through to the 3rd century, with a brief hiatus in occupation during the mid-2nd century. The early 2nd century activity appeared to be more indicative of small rectilinear enclosures, probably fields, pasture or stock-pens, whilst the later resumption of occupation had a more industrial output, possibly representing expanding ribbon development along the southern approach to the Roman town. Structures and pits of medieval and post-medieval date relating to suburban properties along Oxford Street were also recorded. These included the clay and masonry footings of a timber building of mid-13th to 14th century date and a stone-lined culvert and soakaway of mid-17th to mid-18th century date. Large quantities of iron slag recovered from deposits beneath the timber building suggest metal-working activity was once carried out in the vicinity. Subsequently, the section of surviving Newarke wall had been built through the location of this building, which appeared to have been deliberately demolished to make way for the wall’s construction. The Newarke wall was investigated further during 2007 in advance of the courtyard heating system instalment. Photographs of this area in 1967, prior to the construction of the James Went building, indicate that it still survived to a height in excess of 3m right across the site at this time.

2007 evaluation and excavation beneath the courtyard of the Hugh Aston building

In 2007 further archaeological evaluation was undertaken to the north, east and west of the PACE building. In total seven trenches were examined. To the west and north-west of the PACE building archaeological survival proved to be essentially non-existent, with demolition deposits associated with the demolition of the former James Went building intruding deep into the natural substratum. Fragments of heavily truncated pits and a possible Roman surface were identified at the base of just one of the four trenches placed in this area.

Preservation proved better to the north-east and the trenches here were expanded into a more inclusive investigation. Although very little Roman activity survived, excavation here uncovered extensive early medieval occupation (AD c.1100-1250). Linear alignments of post-holes bisecting the site from north-east to south-west indicated property boundaries extending off Oxford Street and although no physical evidence of actual buildings could be identified extensive gravelled yard surfaces showed that intensive habitation was present within the vicinity. Small quantities of iron slag recovered from these yard surfaces may suggest some kind of metal working activity was being carried out in the area, whilst to the north of the boundary line a sequence of hearths surrounded by scattered post-holes hinted at some form of structural activity. On the southern side of the site the survival of a splendid stone-lined malting-oven, used to dry grain in preparation for brewing, provided further evidence of the industrial nature of the occupation in the southern suburb.

By the 14th century occupation appears to have declined in this area and the presence of thick layers of ‘cultivation’ soil overlying the earlier occupation, and a possible plough-furrow present on the southern edge of the area, suggest the area had returned to agrarian pursuits and was under cultivation. By the 15th century the area had been incorporated into the Newarke precinct, evident by the 20m section of the Newarke Wall, believed to have been constructed AD c.1400, observed running north-west to south-east across the eastern side of the site. This would have originally joined the ‘Magazine Gateway’ to the north and continued south into the area uncovered during the 2006 excavation, where it was identified turning south-west. In view of its poor condition, with the loss of most of its facing stones, and despite it still surviving to a height of c.1.5m in places, the planning authority agreed that it would not need to be preserved provided it was suitably recorded.

Evidence of property division inside the precinct was apparent through the survival of a narrow stone wall-footing extending south-west away from the Newarke wall, and a scored groove on the facing of the precinct wall itself indicated that the boundary wall had once been keyed onto it. Medieval, and post-medieval, occupation post-dating the Newarke wall was predominately restricted to rubbish pits and cess pits dug down against the exterior face of the wall. These have provided invaluable data for the status and occupations of the people living outside the Newarke enclosure in the town’s suburbs. These included one cess-pit containing fragments of linen and over fifteen copper dress-making pins.

2008 excavation south-west of the Hugh Aston building

In 2008 further trenches were opened up south-west of the development area, adjacent to the Hawthorn building. These exposed a series of ditches, post-holes and small pits associated with late 1st to early 2nd century Late Iron Age and Early Roman occupation. Significantly, this is the first physical evidence for Iron Age occupation this far south of the settlement core, believed to be in the vicinity of St Nicholas Circle. Continued occupation into the mid-Roman period was also indentified with the exposure of a small area of yard surface and a stone-lined well of mid-2nd to 3rd century date. A robbed medieval wall footing and a series of parallel ditches and gullies were also present. These most likely were part of a late medieval property fronting onto a street which once crossed the centre of the Newarke precinct, along the front of the present Hawthorn building.

A series of watching briefs undertaken to the east, during pilling and drainage works, also identified fragments of two substantial sandstone walls probably associated with mid-14th to 15th century structures within the Newarke enclosure.

2008 excavation beneath the east wing of the Hugh Aston building

The final phase of work was carried out beneath the east wing of the Hugh Aston building in 2008. This adjoined the eastern edge of the archaeological investigation carried out in 2006 allowing continuity to be established between the features exposed on both sites. Two large areas, A and B, were machined down to the top of archaeology, typically 1m below ground level, exposing a well preserved sequence of Roman, medieval and post-medieval occupation.

The Tripontium road, the principal southern approach to Roman Leicester, proved to be clearly visible as a linear series of gravel surfaces composed of small rounded pebbles compacted into brown clay. Their distribution suggested a roadway between 9m and 11m wide. This had first been laid out, unsurfaced, during the early 2nd century AD with roadside drainage ditches marking its route.

Maintenance of these appears to negligible, but evidence suggests some of them had been sporadically re-cut into the 3rd century and 4th century pottery recovered from the final gravel surfaces demonstrates that the road remained in use through the Roman period. Further surfaces and ditches extending perpendicularly away from the Tripontium road to the west were identified as a secondary street and during the final stages of the excavation further proof to the east revealed this to be a cross-road.

A large number of post-holes, post-pads and shallow gullies associated with ‘yard’ surfaces were uncovered north-west of this road junction. These all post-dated the infill of the roadside ditches on this side and appeared to represent timber Roman structures dating from the early to mid-2nd century. However, the absence of any definable, associated habitation – i.e. hearths, refuse pits, cess pits etc. – makes it more likely these represent small fenced enclosures, possibly stock-pens, rather than timber buildings.

A possible Saxon presence in this area was also identified. At the northern end of Area A a substantial sunken building was partially exposed. This was of atypical design compared to most known sunken-featured buildings, being of much larger, more substantial construction, but bore much in common with a similar mid-7th century structure identified c.150m to the south on Bonners Lane in 1993-4. There it was postulated it may represent a localised, urban building-form incorporating elements from both sunken buildings and the larger Saxon hall-houses.

Evidence of medieval occupation along Oxford Street was primarily marked by extensive pitting and two cess-pits, one stone-lined and one wicker-lined, were excavated. The latter, of mid-13th to 14th century date, contained two well-preserved leather shoes and some important environmental deposits, including preserved cherry stones. On Area A these pits appeared to be contained within distinct property divisions demarked by linear groupings of post-holes, beam-slots and shallow wall fragments. They also respected three possible timber buildings, defined by localised rectilinear clusters of post-holes. One appeared to date to the 12th to mid-13th century and the others to the 15th century. Occupation appears to have declined between these two phases and this pattern was similarly seen during the 2007 excavation to the north where a period of cultivation appears to have reasserted itself.

Little could be said for activity associated with the 12th century building but the 15th century buildings appear to have been associated with extensive industry. On the southern edge of the excavation a stone-lined tank, possibly a tanning-pit, was partially exposed whilst further north the base of a collapsed stone oven and a heavily damaged key-hole shaped feature, possibly another malting-oven, were excavated.

A marked decline in activity was noted across the site from the 17th century with excavated features being predominantly a light scattering of pits and spreads of disturbed soil and clay. This absence of occupation is indicative of the demolition of the southern suburb during construction of new earthwork defences during the Civil War. These were identified crossing the eastern half of the site, where a substantial 17th century ditch was exposed truncating the eastern edge of the Roman road. This was over 1.9m deep and 3.8m wide and aligned with the Civil War ditch previously identified in 1993-4 south of Bonners Lane. Evidence suggests this was backfilled within a relative short period of time and a substantial sandstone wall, running parallel with Oxford Street, was exposed overlying its alignment. This can be associated with a property division still visible on the 1888 OS map. Further 19th century activity, primarily brick-lined cellars, could all be associated with properties fronting onto Oxford Street and the militia headquarters built within the Newarke enclosure in 1863.

Two smaller areas, C and D, were also excavated beneath the north-east corner of the Hugh Aston building, just south of the Magazine Gateway. In Area C a small pocket of preservation at the northern end produced further evidence of Roman property boundaries, whilst to the south a very impressive medieval cess pit, some 2.1m deep, 3.4m in length and 1.5m wide was uncovered. 12th to mid-13th century pottery recovered from within the pit indicates it pre-dates the Newarke enclosure and it is believed this represents a communal cess pit possibly serving a number of properties along the western side of Oxford Street. Further north-east, in Area D, the Tripontium Road surface was again uncovered.

Overview

The archaeology exposed beneath the new PACE and Hugh Aston Buildings provides important insights into how the land south of Leicester has developed over the last 2000 years from simple agrarian use to affluent suburban habitation. The most common Roman features identified across the site were ditches, dug for drainage and to mark field boundaries and road edges. Pottery recovered from them suggests they date to the late 1st and early 2nd century AD when Leicester was just beginning to establish itself. The roadside ditches showed evidence of repeated re-cutting continuing into the 4th century AD. Adjacent to the Tripontium Road, a series of yard surfaces and post alignments suggest more established occupation, including stock-enclosures and industrial processes such as metal working being carried out but little evidence of habitation. Importantly, the similarity in alignments between the late Iron Age and early Roman activity hints at continuity of occupation from Iron Age tribal centre to Roman civitas.

The discovery of a Saxon building is significant. To date only two other mid-Saxon buildings have been found south of the town defences, whilst only five possible early to mid-Saxon buildings have been found within the town itself. This third discovery, within proximity to two other buildings provides further evidence for the presence of a small extra-mural settlement along the edge of the main, southern, Roman and medieval street into Leicester.

During the early medieval period, the excavated evidence suggests that much of the land beneath the Newarke would have been open farmland prior to its inclusion within the religious precinct. This is indicated by the survival of plough furrows across much of the western half of the development area. Adjacent to Oxford Street, extensive evidence of occupation from the 12th century onwards was uncovered. The footings for at least four timber buildings were identified, two pre-dating the Newarke wall, as well as numerous refuse and cess pits, yard surfaces, and post alignments indicative of property boundaries. The presence of a malting-oven, areas of metal slag and a tanning pit suggests brewing, metal-working and hide-processing were all being carried out in the vicinity.

Finally, medieval occupation outside the Newarke was sealed beneath the up-cast soil from the Civil War ditch indicating the area had been cleared of buildings in preparation for the siege of Leicester in 1645. Archaeological deposits were also identified relating to the 17th and 18th century rebuilding of the south suburb and features were present across the development area which could trace the site’s history to the present day.

Mathew Morris ULAS