Hertfordshire Archaeol 14

An assessment excavation behind 38 High Street, Redbourn, prior to development uncovered large numbers of Mesolithic struck flints, the majority little abraded and indicating the presence of river valley occupation in the close vicinity. A variety of tool types and debitage was present. Late Neolithic to Bronze Age flintwork demonstrated later use of the site, which is suggested to have exploited the resources of the River Ver. The prehistoric deposits had been disturbed by medieval and recent activity.

Report of an archaeological evaluation, excavation and standing building survey carried out in 2001 at the site of 40 Queen Street, Hitchin, prior to demolition of the existing buildings and redevelopment. The results of the standing building survey are not included in this report. The earliest features recorded on the site were cut into natural deposits and comprised six east--west aligned burials. Radiocarbon dating techniques indicated that the remains span broadly the Late Roman and Early Saxon periods, and the burials have been interpreted as the truncated remains of a small post-Roman family burial plot or cemetery. Later phases of activity at the site were represented by a number of medieval plough score marks that sealed the burials at the west end of the site and a truncated east--west aligned boundary ditch on the eastern part of the site. The post-medieval activity was represented by a number of nineteenth-century garden features that included pathways and a foundation wall. A dispersed range of pits and postholes were also recorded across the site. The post-medieval remains comprised activity associated with the Jeeves family of builders and brickmakers who occupied the site in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Includes separately authored contributions on

A re-examination of the records of the Priory of New Biggin at Hitchin, in the Public Record Office and elsewhere, has uncovered previously unpublished source documents which allow a glimpse of the day-to-day activities of a minor priory. The paper attempts to provide a more comprehensive history, combining new and previously published material. Includes

A watching brief during redevelopment in 1982 at Lower Dagnall Street, St Albans, recorded four pits containing pottery from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, a flint-lined cesspit of medieval type, and a well.

Report on excavations in advance of renovation and expansion works at the Ware Museum, which revealed a number of features including a Victorian water feature and a brick lined well dating to the fifteenth century. Excavation of the well indicated a sequence of demolition debris associated with the Dissolution of the Priory, followed by a sequence of cleaning up operations and later fills, along with repairs to the brickwork.

Report on excavations behind properties on the northeast side of Watford High Street, which revealed a lower than expected level of activity in the medieval and post-medieval periods. A number of pits of twelfth- to fourteenth-century and seventeenth- to eighteenth-century date were examined, but little contemporary structural evidence was preserved. Small-scale excavations in the grounds of St Mary's Vicarage, southwest of the High Street, revealed a similar level of activity, but did not locate the original southern extent of the graveyard of St Mary's Church. Includes contributions on

The paper describes and analyses two early-eighteenth-century houses in St Albans which have unusual characteristics differentiating them from the general run of town houses of their period and demanding some explanation. Because both have been largely stripped of ornament and have undergone alteration, the original form of their plans has to be conjectured. In the final section they are compared, and some general observations offered on what may be a hitherto unrecognised category of town house. Includes

Note on a large fragmented post-medieval red ware pottery vessel discovered at Cross Farm near Harpenden, and identified as a probable brining trough for the preservation or pickling of meat, dating to 1725--1800 or a little later.

Article looking at the role and organisation of amateur local history projects, identifying and describing two examples of projects suitable for development, the first on poverty in nineteenth-century Hertfordshire and the second on probate documents as a source for Hertfordshire history.