Title: |
St Lukes Theatre Project, St Peters Road, Bedford: Building Recording and Archaeological Investigation |
Series: |
Albion Archaeology unpublished report series
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Downloads: |
albionar1-145869_1.pdf (3 MB)
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Download
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Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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DOI |
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Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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Abstract: |
Planning and listed building consent (12/02075/FUL and 12/02105/LBC) has been granted for the renovation, conversion, part demolition and extension to convert the listed Moravian church into a theatre for public and school use together with vehicular access from St Peter's Street. As the Development Area lies in an area of archaeological interest within the Late Saxon and medieval northern burgh of Bedford a programme of building recording to English Heritage Level 2/3 and archaeological monitoring was undertaken prior to and during the construction and conversion works. The Moravian Chapel and development area lie on the northern side of St. Peter's Street to the north of modern Bedford town centre. The current chapel was built in 1864. The groundworks revealed evidence for a number of late Saxon rubbish pits and a large number of post-medieval quarry pits. The quantity of pottery and animal bone recovered from the pits suggest Saxon occupation nearby.The majority of the pits distributed throughout the site contained no finds and therefore are likely to represent quarry pits. It is possible that they were excavated to quarry material for the construction of the Moravian settlement, however, this is speculation. A short length of foundation for the northern external wall of the original chapel built in 1751 was exposed during the construction works. The excavation for a lift shaft base exposed a brick-built well that would have been located to the rear of the original chapel and was most likely contemporary with it. The building survey provided an architectural record of the Moravian chapel as a functioning place of worship, prior to its conversion into a secular theatre. |
Author: |
H Cooper-Reade
Christiane Meckseper
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Publisher: |
Albion Archaeology
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Other Person/Org: |
Historic England (OASIS Reviewer)
Bedford Borough HER (OASIS Reviewer)
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Year of Publication: |
2014
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Locations: |
Site: |
St Luke's Theatre, Bedford |
County: |
Bedfordshire |
District: |
Bedford |
Parish: |
BEDFORD |
Country: |
England |
Grid Reference: 505190, 250110 (Easting, Northing)
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Subjects / Periods: |
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Identifiers: |
OASIS Id: |
albionar1-145869 |
OBIB: |
2013/81 |
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Source: |
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Relations: |
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Created Date: |
01 Feb 2018 |