| Title: |
Elephant Yard, Kendal, Cumbria. Stage Two Archaeological Evaluation and Excavation |
| Number of Pages: |
57 |
| Biblio Note |
Please note that this is a bibliographic record only, as originally entered into the BIAB database.
The ADS have no files for download, and unfortunately cannot advise further on where to access hard copy or digital versions.
|
| Publication Type: |
Report
|
| Abstract: |
A staged programme of archaeological evaluation and excavation was carried out in advance of development, at a site which lay towards the northern edge of the main focus of medieval Kendal. Evaluation of the Stage 1 area was undertaken in October 1997 and identified significant medieval and post-medieval stratigraphy which was subsequently excavated. Evaluation and excavation of the Stage 2 area took place during February and March 1998. The stratigraphy within this area could be broadly phased, with Phase 1 relating to activity before the expansion of the medieval town into the study area, Phase 2 relating to medieval activity, and Phase 3 comprising post-medieval activity. Phase 1 was represented by a subsoil, which had probably been disturbed by agricultural activity prior to development of the town. This layer produced no dating evience, but had been sealed by a major layer of medieval build-up. A single sherd of Roman mortaria was recovered from the base of a medieval layer in the western part of the site. Despite the location of the site towards the northern edge of medieval Kendal, significant medieval activity belonging to Phase 2 was recorded, although stratigraphy within parts of the site had been heavily truncated by later development. Activity recorded in the best-preserved part of the site was typical of that expected within burgage tails. Several medieval features were identified in this area, mostly within an individual plot. These included clay floors, a hearth, insubstantial stone walls, a stone-lined well, and several large pits which appeared to have had a variety of uses. Some had probably been rubbish pits, whilst others included a possible latrine pit, a water storage pit and a quarry pit. Two unusual stone-lined structures were also identified in this part of the site, apparently cut into the medieval ground surface. Cartographic sources had illustrated the development of Elephant Yard throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but only three structural elements which could be associated with the former yard were identified during the excavation. These comprised two walls and a well. The lack of any further structural evidence relating to the yard was owing to the redevelopment of the plot between 1938 and 1968, leading to a lowering of the ground level by c. 1m over the area of the former yard. Most of the other Phase 3 structures identified on the site related to the foundations of the former Woolpack Inn. Three north-south aligned walls were recorded in the south-eastern part of the site, forming dividing walls within the line of buildings which had extended along the northern side of Woolpack Lane, and thus probably dating from the 18th or 19th century. A stone drain in the western part of the site was probably also associated with these buildings, as was a stone drain in the south-eastern quadrant which had drained water into an earlier medieval well. The latest features on the site were the concrete footings of an extension to the Woolpack which had been constructed in the 1970s. The fieldwork produced a large assemblage of well-stratified medieval pottery, much of which dated from the 13th/14th century, and many of the medieval pits had contained organic material with potential to provide environmental data relating to the medieval character of Kendal, as well as to the contents and function of individual pits. [Au(abr)] |
| Author: |
Nick J Hair
|
| Publisher: |
Lancaster University Archaeological Unit
|
| Year of Publication: |
1998
|
| Locations: |
| Location - Auto Detected: |
Woolpack Inn |
| Location - Auto Detected: |
Elephant Yard |
| Location - Auto Detected: |
Kendal |
| Location - Auto Detected: |
Woolpack Lane |
|
| Subjects / Periods: |
| Medieval (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| Roman (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| 1938 (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| 19th Centuries (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| 13th14th Century (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| 19th Century (Auto Detected Temporal) |
| 18th (Auto Detected Temporal) |
|
| Note: |
Date Of Issue From:
1998
Date Of Coverage From:
01
Date Of Coverage To:
01
Editorial Expansion:
Site name: ELEPHANT YARD, KENDAL - STAGE TWO
Study area:
Investigation type: Post-determination/Research
District: South Lakeland
Monument: [water storage pit]. Medieval (1066-1540), WELL. Post-medieval (1540-1901), DRAIN. Post-medieval (1540-1901), WALL. Post-medieval (1540-1901), HEARTH. Medieval (1066-1540), [finds]. Post-medieval (1540-1901), INN. Post-medieval (1540-1901), FLOOR. Medieva
Ngr: SD51409280
Parish: Kendal
Postcode: LA9 4NG
|
| Source: |
BIAB
(Archaeological Investigations Project (AIP))
|
| Created Date: |
19 Jan 2009 |
