Photo: D.A.Edwards

MEDIEVAL

The Archaeology of Norwich:
see EAA 13, 17, 26, 28, 37, 58, 68, 100, 112, 116, 120, 129, 132, 133
Further reports will appear in due course.

The Archaeology of Thetford:
see EAA 22, 62, 72, 87, 108, 134 listed on our Anglo-Saxon page
Further reports will appear in due course.

No.13, 1981: Eighteen Centuries of Pottery from Norwich, by Sarah Jennings
280pp, 160figs, 1pl. £29.50

Since the late Saxon period, Norwich has been a provincial town of great importance and this is reflected in the quantity and variety of pottery finds. This book presents a catalogue of all the different wares found in Norwich up to the end of 1976, and was intended to accompany the excavation reports of the Norwich Survey. It proved such a useful reference work for pottery specialists that it soon sold out and has been difficult to obtain for some years. Now reprinted by Heritage Marketing and Publications and available from www.heritagemp.com/cstock/i56066book.html

No.17, 1983: Waterfront excavation and Thetford ware production, Norwich, by Brian Ayers and others
104pp, 76figs, 4pl., microfiche. £5.25 £3.00

Norwich was the third most important port on the east coast in the 11th century, with wide trading contacts. The water-front, near White Friars Bridge, and the nearby market place in Tombland, were at the centre of commercial activity.
Excavation revealed a beach, consolidated by layers of brushwood matting, and moorings for river craft. The waterlogged deposits provided valuable evidence for agricultural produce, marine resources and the local environment. Finds included a wide variety of imported pottery, and many Late Saxon shoes.
Local Late Saxon and Saxo-Norman industries included Thetford-type ware production in the Pottergate and Bedford Street area. Four 10th/12th-century kilns are described here, along with other possible kiln sites, waster dumps and stray finds. The products are described and viewed in their economic context with pottery from other sources in the region.
 

No.18, 1983: The Archaeology of Witton, near North Walsham, by Andrew Lawson
114pp, 95figs, 16pl. £8.50 £4.65

This is a review of the archaeology and history of Witton parish from prehistory to the present day.
    Fieldwalking finds, discovered by John Owles on his farm, which covers a large part of the parish, form the basis of this report. Excavation provided further information on a Roman kiln, and also Early Saxon settlement with its sunken-featured buildings. An analysis of Saxon exploitation of the landscape showed shifting settlement patterns. The medieval and post-medieval settlement is viewed against the historical and documentary evidence.
The two medieval churches are described, and accompanied by a graveyard survey of St Margaret's Church.

No.19, 1983: Two post-medieval earthenware pottery groups from Fulmodeston, by Peter Wade-Martins
28pp, 32figs, 7pls. £3.50 £2.15

Limited excavation produced 16th-century pottery which is transitional between medieval reduced wares and post-medieval glazed red earthenwares.
    A wide range of nearly complete vessels was retrieved from a ditch: jugs, jars, pancheons and pipkins, warming pots or pomanders, sprinkler pots and a 'chicken feeder'. A large collection of kiln saggars, used for stacking tankards for firing, came from a pit, however the kiln site is not known.
The pottery provides a useful corpus for comparison with groups or stray finds discovered elsewhere.

No.26, 1985: Excavations in Norwich 1971–1978, Part II, by Malcolm Atkin, Alan Carter and D.H. Evans
260pp, 133figs, 38pls, microfiche. £23.00 £12.00

The introduction sets the excavation results in their historical context, and explains how they have provided a valuable insight into housing, industry and daily life in medieval and post-medieval Norwich.
    The results of population pressures can be seen, especially during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, with the influx of the 'Strangers' from the Low Countries. The large excavated areas revealed complete building plans; and showed a long history of building techniques, materials and the development of house plans in a restricted area, with a sequence starting in the 14th or 15th centuries and continuing until the present day.
    Much material evidence was deposited in cellars as a result of the catastrophic fire in Pottergate in 1507, which also engulfed other areas of the city. Pottery groups are reconstructed, kitchen assemblages drawn, analysed and supplemented by medieval illustrations. Domestic fittings, furnishings and personal items of dress were also found.
    Some of these sites also produced the remains of local industries, such as brewing, ironworking and textile manufacture, and the importance of these finds is discussed.

No.28, 1985: Excavations within the North-east Bailey of Norwich Castle, by Brian Ayers
71pp, 42figs, 27pls, microfiche. £8.95 £4.90

The motte was built sometime between 1066 and 1075, with a bailey to the south, and another to the north-east, probably of later date. Part of the north-east bailey ditch was excavated, and its function as a defended enclosure, 'for the flocks and herds of the garrison', was confirmed.
    The underlying Saxon deposits included a church, and a graveyard of the late 10th and 11th centuries which  contained at least 130 burials. Bone analysis has provided a lot of information about part of the Late Saxon population of Norwich.
    The importance of the church and graveyard is assessed in terms of the Late Saxon topography, and the ecclesiastical organisation of the Late Saxon period is examined, to place this church in its proper context.

No.32, 1987: Three Norman Churches in Norfolk by Andrew Rogerson, Steven J. Ashley, Philip Williams and Andrew Harris
94pp, 63 figs, 31pls.  £9.50 £5.15

Excavations, architectural survey and documentary research are combined to illuminate the histories of the churches at Barton Bendish, Guestwick and Framingham Earl.
    At Barton Bendish, extensive excavation of All Saints' showed seven constructional phases between 1100 and 1600. Finds include painted window glass, lead cames, floor and roof tiles, as well as objects from the graves and coffin furniture. Human bone analysis gives information on burials ranging from the early 11th to the 18th century. Architectural descriptions of the two standing churches at Barton Bendish are given, and the architectural development of all three churches is compared diagrammatically by period.
    Excavation revealed the plan of the 11th-century church of St Peter at Guestwick. Only the tower still stands, north of the later medieval church. At St Andrew's, Framingham Earl, limited excavations beyond the east end revealed the apsidal chancel of the first phase.
A fine collection of photographs, illustrations of architectural features and elevations of towers and walls, combined with the clarity of description and phasing, make this an excellent contribution to church studies.

No.37, 1987: Excavations at St Martin-at-Palace Plain, Norwich, 1981, by Brian Ayers
191pp, 102 figs, 51pls, microfiche. £21.00 £10.90

Excavation of this large waterfront site showed that it had been continuously occupied for nearly 1000 years, for commercial, industrial, and domestic purposes.
    The remains of riverside structures, buildings and tenement boundaries dating to the 11th and 12th centuries, characterised the waterfront at the height of its commercial importance. Imported pottery indicated trade mainly with the Low Countries and Germany and to a lesser extent with France and Scandinavia.
    About 1170 a stone warehouse was constructed, possibly by the Cathedral Priory. The undercroft survived to a height of about 2m, with windows, doorways, buttresses and a latrine turret. Very few stone buildings of this date remain in Norwich, and the importance of this example led to its preservation below the new Magistrates' Court.
    Particularly rich environmental material from waterlogged Saxo-Norman deposits allowed reconstruction of the local environment and the effect of human activity upon it.
    Much information for later medieval and post-medieval use of the site was gleaned from documentary sources and archaeological evidence, allowing full discussion of topography, tenement history, building analysis, economic and social development.

No.44, 1988: Six Deserted Villages in Norfolk, by Alan Davison
115pp, 32figs, 15pls. £11.25 £6.00

This companion volume to EAA 14 looks at a further six villages — Rougham and Beachamwell, with surviving earthworks; Letton and Kilverstone, which had earthworks in 1946 when aerial photographs were taken; and Holkham and Houghton, which disappeared under parkland in the 17th and 18th centuries.
    The introduction reviews village plans and the causes of desertion, and includes all the deserted sites from EAA 14. A summary of the documentary evidence is followed by a site description, and an architectural description of the church. The early landscape of each village is reconstructed from documentary evidence and early maps.
    The final chapter assesses progress in Rural Settlement Studies since Allison's Lost Villages of Norfolk published in 1955 (Norfolk Archaeology 31). Several recommendations are made for future rural settlement studies, and the necessity for a 'total' approach to the landscape is emphasised.

No.46, 1989: The Deserted Medieval Village of Thuxton, Norfolk, by Lawrence Butler and Peter Wade-Martins
69pp, 38figs, 28pls, microfiche. £12.00 £6.40

The survey and excavation of a good example of a large linear village site in central Norfolk, at least twenty-nine tofts being visible. Two house sites and the front of a single toft were excavated, and the results of fieldwalking within the parish are also presented. Thuxton is compared with Grenstein, a similar site excavated shortly afterwards.

No.49, 1990: The Evolution of Settlement in Three Parishes in South-East Norfolk, by Alan Davison
ISBN 0 905594 02 9; 93pp, 21figs, 8pls. £16.50£8.65

A sequence of settlement patterns from prehistoric to late medieval and early post-medieval times has been established through fieldwalking in three parishes: Loddon, Hales and Heckingham. The documentary evidence has also been reviewed. In all periods, settlement favoured the areas of lighter soils though much of the landscape of all three parishes appears to have been exploited. Fluctuations and changes in the density and distribution of settlement over the centuries are described and analysed.

No.64, 1994: The Late Saxon and Medieval Pottery Industry of Grimston, Norfolk: Excavations 1962–92, by Mark Leah
ISBN 0 905594 11 8; 240pp, 77figs, 7pls. £27.50 £20.00

This volume brings together all the excavated evidence for 11th- to 16th-century pottery production and associated settlement from the parish of Grimston, and in particular from the hamlet of Pott Row, in West Norfolk. Grimston was first identified as a pottery making centre in the early 1960s and its importance as a supplier to the Scandinavian market was soon recognised.
    Amateur discoveries in the 1960s and formal excavations carried out in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s are described, and the pottery is characterised. Grimston's documentary sources, which are surprisingly silent on ceramic production, are summarised, and the abundant evidence from museum collections and excavations in eastern England and the Continent is examined, in order to assess the distribution of Grimston products.

No.68, 1994: Excavations at Fishergate, Norwich, 1985, by Brian Ayers
ISBN 0 905594 13 4; 104pp, 37figs, 6pls, microfiche. £13.85 £10.00

The interior of the probable 10th-century defended enclosure revealed ditches, fencing and outbuildings under a thick layer of rubbish which accumulated during the 11th century. Post-holes, ditches and a barrel used as a cess-pit indicate further occupation during the 12th and 13th centuries. 14th-century stone walls were the latest features excavated on the site, and the development of the area thereafter is followed in documentation and a survey of the standing buildings.
    Finds include the largest single assemblage of Ipswich-type ware from the city, imported pottery of Middle Saxon and Saxo-Norman date and a range of 8th-century, later Saxon and Saxo-Norman material. Environmental data has improved knowledge of the river and its environs.

No.74, 1995: A Late Neolithic, Saxon and Medieval Site at Middle Harling, Norfolk, by Andrew Rogerson
ISBN 0 905594 17 7; 108pp, 81figs, 14pls, microfiche. £13.95 £10.00

A hoard of coins of the shadowy East Anglian King Beonna triggered off a project which revealed not only late Neolithic activity but also a Viking burial and a small part of a rural settlement of the 8th to 13th centuries AD. Saturation coverage by metal detector at all stages of the work produced a large assemblage of metal objects which suggests that the 'normal' quantity and range of finds collected from conventionally excavated sites may often fall short of the true population.

No.75, 1995: North Shoebury: Settlement and Economy in South-East Essex 1500BC–AD1500, by J. Wymer and N. Brown
ISBN 1 85281 130 7; 208pp, 104figs, 26pls, microfiche. £22.00 £15.00

Excavation at North Shoebury in the 1970s and 80s spread across about 18 hectares, an area only exceeded in southern Essex by the excavations at Mucking. Occupation was continuous, though shifting, from the Bronze Age through to the Saxon period. An Early Medieval manorial enclosure close to the church formed the focus of a dispersed settlement set originally in open fields. Foundations of a Tudor brick built house were also investigated. This volume provides the first major account of the archaeology of south-east Essex.

No.80, 1997: Barton Bendish and Caldecote, Fieldwork in South-west Norfolk, by Andrew Rogerson, Alan Davison, David Pritchard and Robert Silvester
ISBN 0 905594 21 5; 96pp, 50figs, 11pls. £11.50

The diverse range and quality of evidence gained from surface artefact collection and excavation has been combined with historical sources to provide a sound basis for the understanding of human settlement and land-use patterns in Barton Bendish parish from the Iron Age to the 17th century. Just over the parish boundary, a very detailed fieldwalking survey of one field, next to the deserted medieval settlement of Caldecote, provided evidence of multi-period activity on chalky and Breckland sandy soils. The two fieldwalking programmes — geographically close yet different in scale and intensity — are presented here together to make an interesting contrast in terms of both methodology and results.

review

No.81, 1997: Castle Rising Castle, Norfolk, by Beric Morley and David Gurney
ISBN 0 905594 23 1; 153pp, 103figs, 17pls, microfiche. £13.00

Excavations between 1970 and 1976 and in 1987 are described in this volume.
Traces of a substantial timber structure interpreted as a late Saxon bow-sided hall were revealed below the Norman keep. The church and the defences were found to be contemporary with the keep, although the keep itself seems to have remained unfinished until some time in the 13th century. Two residential ranges with a chapel and a timber kitchen date from the years of Queen Isabella's occupancy (1331–1358) but by the end of the 15th century most of the buildings, including the keep, were seriously dilapidated. One of the residential ranges was entirely rebuilt to accommodate hunting parties for a time but everything except the shell of the chapel was systematically demolished at the end of the 16th century. Antiquarian interest in the site led to repairs to the keep and widespread levelling operations around it which included clearance of the Norman church.

No.85, 1998: Towards a Landscape History of Walsham le Willows, Suffolk, by S.E.West and A.McLaughlin
ISBN 0 86055 247 0; 112pp, 70figs. £18.00

This study grew out of the archaeological field survey of the parish undertaken in the early 1980s. The discovery of a series of distinct medieval sites suggested that some correlation might be possible with the 1577 manorial survey already published.
    The wealth of documentary sources for Walsham include an important series of manor court rolls, rentals and wills which have enabled the names of a significant number of the fields and tenements to be traced to the early 14th century. It has been possible to link the archaeological fieldwork with a hypothetical medieval map of Walsham drawing on the manorial surveys. The standing buildings, the surviving hedgerows and the few remaining earthworks have provided valuable fragments of information which have been incorporated into an overall view of the landscape history of the parish.

No.96, 2001: Two Medieval Churches in Norfolk, by Olwen Beazley and Brian Ayers
ISBN 0 905594 33 9; 105pp, 59figs, 33pls, fiche. £13.00

St Martin-at-Palace
The earliest identified activity consisted of a burial, dated by radiocarbon to the Middle Saxon period. This was succeeded by the first of two timber structures dated to the 10th/11th and the 11th centuries, both of which are interpreted as churches. Subsequently, chalk and flint foundations for a bicellular structure were built, contemporary with the extant east wall of the church. The building erected on these footings has been dated, on stylistic grounds only, to the 11th century.

Intramural burial complicated the excavation, removing much evidence for medieval usage. Post-medieval coffin furniture provided the major part of the finds assemblage, adding to the growing national corpus of evidence for burial practice.

St Michael, Bowthorpe
Excavation revealed three main periods of use and disuse of the church of St Michael. A small building of chancel, nave and tower was erected above massive footings in the 11th or 12th century. The chancel was replaced in the 14th century and a north nave porch added about the same time. The church was ruinous by the 16th century. Repairs in the 1630s created a chapel in the chancel, the nave having collapsed or been demolished. The tower was used as a chimney for an oven or corn dryer prior to its demolition, probably before 1790. Intramural burial was slight with finds being largely confined to decorative stonework, plaster, glass and tile.

No.100, 2002: Excavations in Norwich 1971–1978 Part III, by Malcolm Atkin and D.H. Evans
ISBN 0 9520695 1 2; 260pp, 130figs, 33pls, fiche. £25.75

By the end of the Middle Ages Norwich had emerged as England's largest provincial town — a primacy which it was to continue to enjoy until almost 1800. This volume uses the evidence of a comprehensive campaign of excavations, building survey and documentary research, to look at the theme of land use through different sectors of the city, and how this changed during the medieval and early post-medieval periods. The main areas of the city are covered by extensively illustrated chapters which examine both the historical and archaeological evidence for their origins and growth.

Many of the sites produced evidence for crafts and industries, including bell-casting, quarrying, tanning or horn-working, and a medieval dyeworks; other excavations revealed charnel pits, a probable rectory, and more evidence for ‘The Strangers’ — the later 16th-century Low Countries immigrants who played such a key role in the revival of the city's fortunes. These excavations have also significantly increased the number of clay-walled buildings known from the city.

Set up in 1971, the Norwich Survey adopted a multi-disciplinary approach towards examination and recording of the city's archaeology. This is the last of five major volumes to emerge from the fifteen years of its investigations and research programmes.

No.101, 2002: Medieval Armorial Horse Furniture in Norfolk, by Steven Ashley
ISBN 0 905594 34 7; 80pp, 26figs, 6pls. £15.00

All known examples of armorial horse furniture held on the Norfolk Sites and Monuments Record, with the provenance of the vast majority accurately recorded, have been brought together in this book and 246 examples are illustrated. Arms are attributed with local, national and European connections, and changes in form and decoration are analysed, resulting in a revision of some conventional dating.

One of the most interesting outcomes of the study is the indication that the heraldic decoration of horse furniture got underway during the second and third quarters of the twelfth century, somewhat earlier than was previously accepted. The late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries saw the maximum popularity of enamelled pieces and thereafter a slow decline set in.

  review

No.102, 2002: Baconsthorpe Castle, Excavations and Finds, 1951–1972, by Carolyn Dallas and David Sherlock
ISBN 0 905594 36 3; 125pp, 50figs, 28pls. £17.50

Baconsthorpe Castle was a fortified manor house near Holt in north-east Norfolk. It was first purchased by the Heydon family in the early fifteenth century and remained in their hands until about 1680. The property comprised, at various stages, an inner moated enclosure, an outer court and gatehouse, a barn, a mere, formal gardens and park. The fortunes of the Heydon family prospered until the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century and much imported pottery and glass has been found on the site. The report records the small amount of archaeological excavation which has taken place at Baconsthorpe, contains an analysis of the buildings, a survey of the earthworks, and draws together all finds and documentary evidence extant for the site and its owners.

No.104, 2003: Earthworks of Norfolk, by Brian Cushion and Alan Davison
ISBN 0 905594 38 X; 242pp, 56pls, 149figs. £25.75

This is a corpus of the best-preserved earthworks in Norfolk grassland. Each site plan is accompanied by descriptive text and a summary of the documentary evidence.
The settlement earthworks are almost entirely medieval and include deserted villages and the more numerous shrunken settlements as well as manorial sites where more than a single moated platform survives.
Monastic sites and castles where, in some instances, additional earthworks have been found, form two important sections. Water features include some fishponds together with plans of Norfolk's few water meadows. Ridge and furrow, another rarity in the county, also appears and the survey ends with a selection of parkland earthworks.

No.107, 2004: Excavations at Stansted Airport, 1986–91 (two vols),
by Richard Havis and Howard Brooks
Volume 1 Prehistoric and Romano-British, 354pp, 9pls, 223figs
Volume 2 Saxon, Medieval and Post-Medieval, 248pp, 3pls, 134figs
ISBN 1 85281 242 7; £50.00

This is an account of the archaeological work begun in 1985 in response to the development of Stansted as London’s third airport. Originally it was conceived as a medieval landscape project, focusing on the three known sites in the area — two of which were thought to be Domesday Manors — supplemented by fieldwalking of the entire development area. By 1991 the fieldwalking programme, coupled with large-scale excavations and watching briefs, had transformed our understanding of the settlement landscape of north-west Essex, with the discovery of extensive archaeological deposits dating back to the Neolithic.
The earliest occupation was characterized by Neolithic flint work, and the earliest identified structures were Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, with one of the largest pottery collections of this date from Essex recovered from a single rubbish pit complex. Both enclosed and open settlements of Middle Iron Age date were excavated. One of these had an impressive entrance-way and substantial corner structures.
A complete defended settlement of the Late Iron Age (75-25 BC) was recorded. It contained a sequence of roundhouses placed around a central square structure, interpreted as a shrine. There is evidence for internal planning of the enclosed space and for the economy of the settlement, including luxury imports.
Roman settlement was represented by a series of sites with cobbled surfaces and enclosures, dating from the 1st to 4th centuries. A 1st to 2nd-century cremation cemetery comprised ‘family’ groups of burials. Two of the burials contained spectacular grave goods including bronze, glass and pottery vessels as well as many other items.
Environmental evidence demonstrated that agricultural activity continued in the Saxon period although no settlement sites were identified.
Occupation flourished in the medieval period, with several sites containing buildings of 12th and 13th century date. The most important of these was a complete farmstead, including barn, dwelling-house, kitchen and byre. All of the medieval sites were abandoned in the late 13th to 14th century.
Detailed analysis was undertaken on the upstanding post-medieval buildings, largely 17th century in origin, prior to their removal, and excavation of the below ground remains followed. The report ends by describing the construction of the Second World War airfield and its subsequent transformation as a major international airport.

No.110, 2005: The Saxon and Medieval Settlement at West Fen Road, Ely: the Ashwell Site, by Richard Mortimer, Roderick Regan and Sam Lucy
ISBN 0 9544824 1 7; 200pp, 12pls, 90figs; £20.00

Excavations by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit near Ely city centre produced abundant evidence for Mid and Late Saxon and medieval settlement. From the early 8th century the site saw continuous occupation, often within the same ditched property boundaries, for almost 800 years until its eventual desertion in the 15th century. A detailed reconstruction of the settlement history of the site indicates a very stable, but gradually evolving settlement which probably provided food and other services, originally to the monastic settlement, then to the abbey, and subsequently to the bishops. The finds assemblage suggests that the occupants of the settlement did not enjoy a high-status lifestyle; a lack of imported pottery and of high-value metalwork, and an almost total absence of coinage, all indicate that this site was somewhat removed from the ecclesiastical power centre to the east.

No.112, 2005: Dragon Hall, King Street, Norwich: Excavation and Survey of a Late Medieval Merchant's Trading Complex, by Andy Shelley
ISBN 0 9517878 1 0; 218pp, 25pls, 95figs; £24.00

When a wealthy merchant built Dragon Hall in 1427 there had already been stone buildings on the site for 140 years, while the origins of settlement here lay in the period c. 975–1025. Some of the buildings used by these first settlers were uncovered during the recent work at Dragon Hall, along with evidence for a small riverside community within an extra-mural Late Saxon suburb.

Until the mid 13th century the site comprised three properties engaged in small-scale craft and industry, alongside horticulture and keeping livestock. At this time there appears to have been little interest in the commercial possibilities of the nearby river. By the early 1300s, however, the site had passed into the hands of the professional and ecclesiastical elite. The earliest known document relating to the site is a deed from 1289 which records a land transfer between the Abbey of Woburn and a Norwich clerk, John Page. Both used the site to build substantial stone houses. One reason for the abbey’s interest in the property was probably its situation between a river flowing through the great medieval herring town of Yarmouth and a cardinal road through Norwich — providing an ideal base from which to process fish and dispatch them inland. The early 14th-century remnants of Page’s hall house survive today within Dragon Hall. The two holdings were conjoined during the second half of the 14th century, when the site was unified by the Midday or Clere families.

In the late 1420s an ambitious construction programme commenced, probably by local merchant Robert Toppe, which resulted in Dragon Hall itself. The hall house was substantially rebuilt, and its service end embedded within the new trading hall. The first floor of the new hall provided the huge open space within which to store and display goods, and an office above the former service rooms from which to conduct business. The circulation of visitors was carefully regulated: divisions between public and private space are signalled by the quality of workmanship on show. A road which had linked the Midday/Clere complex to the street and river was now blocked by the warehouse and terminated beneath the first-floor showroom.

After Toppe’s death the complex passed into the hands of local gentry until, in 1619, the great holding began to be sub-divided. Some of the buildings, including the abbey of Woburn's stone house, were demolished, and others rose in their place. A metalworking shop was eventually built on the site of one of the Woburn buildings and by the mid-18th century parts of the hall house were being used as an inn (‘The Three Merry Wherrymen’, later the ‘Old Barge Inn’). By 1935 the site housed at least 34 individuals.

As the population of the site rose so the quantity and variety of their discarded pottery increased. The collection of early modern ceramics from the site is currently without national parallel. Much of this came from the inns, as did four commemorative clay tobacco pipes stamped ‘God Bless King George’.

Post-war King Street was briefly prosperous but the dwindling commercial use of the river initiated a decline in fortunes until by the early 1990s almost all commerce and industry had gone. Ongoing regeneration of the street reflects renewed interest in inner cities. At the point when Dragon Hall is once again looking forward to a sustainable future it is perhaps auspicious to be offering the definitive account of the site’s first thousand years.

No.113, 2006: Excavations at Kilverstone, Norfolk, 2000–02, by Duncan Garrow, Sam Lucy and David Gibson
ISBN-10: 0 9544824 2 5 / ISBN-13: 978 0 9544824 2 8; 250pp, 26pls, 136figs; £20.00

Excavations by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit near Kilverstone revealed an occupation sequence spanning the Neolithic to post-medieval periods. Major activity occurs in the Early Neolithic (236 clustered pits and their contents); the late Iron Age/Roman period (settlement, including a large aisled building and metallurgical workshop with associated double-acting force pump and a ‘blacksmith’s hoard’); and the Anglo-Saxon period (a 6th-century settlement of at least ten sunken featured buildings and four post-built halls, associated with a small number of burials).

. No subsequent activity was recorded, except for medieval and later field ditches, until the site is used to build a ‘Suffolk-type’ brick kiln probably associated with the nearby village of Kilverstone.

No.114, 2006: Between Broad Street and the Great Ouse: Waterfront Archaeology in Ely, by Craig Cessford, Mary Alexander and Alison Dickens
ISBN-10: 0 9544824 3 3 / ISBN-13: 978 0 9544824 3 5; 118pp, 70figs; £12.00

Recent excavations between Broad Street and the river make an important contribution to study of the medieval urban development of Ely. A deeply stratified continuous building sequence was revealed along Broad Street, dating from the 12th century onwards. Beyond this was evidence for industrial activities, particularly 16th- and 17th-century pottery production and 17th-century tanning. Several channels led inland from the river for loading and unloading boats at this time.

Significant artefact assemblages were recovered, particularly pottery and ceramic building material, and individually notable pieces such as a sword cross and two decorated leather sheaths. Of particular importance is the identification and characterisation of the early post-medieval pottery industry which produced a range of earthenware, bichrome, fineware and Babylon ware products.

This report utilises the structural, artefactual and environmental evidence from several sites plus documentary and cartographic sources to consider the topography and development of this part of Ely.

No.115, 2006: A Medieval Moated Manor by the Thames Estuary: Excavations at Southchurch Hall, Southend, Essex, by Nigel Brown
ISBN-10: 1 85281 238 9 / ISBN-13: 978 1 85281 238 6; 160pp, 8pls, 108figs; £18.00

Throughout the medieval period the manor of Southchurch Hall belonged to Christ Church Canterbury, and many of its tenants were prominent in local and national politics. In 1922 Southchurch Hall was still operating as a farm but under serious threat of destruction from the rapid expansion of Southend. Fortunately, a group of prominent individuals linked by membership of the local antiquarian society and the Society of Antiquaries, actively sought to preserve the threatened building and its earthworks. The group attracted C.R. Peers to examine the standing structure and Mortimer Wheeler the surrounding earthworks. Southend Borough Council acquired the hall, which was extensively restored in the late 1920s and opened as a branch library in 1931, with the earthworks preserved as a public park.

By the early 1970s the hall was about to become a branch of Southend Museums. Excavations were begun to locate remains of the numerous manorial buildings known from documentary sources. In part the work was threat led but most of the areas examined were chosen specifically to address questions, some originally posed by Wheeler in the 1920s, regarding the development of the moat, mound and other structures and their relationship to the documentary resources.

The excavations revealed the remains of an early 13th-century manorial centre enclosed by a ditch and then a moat. Major 14th-century refurbishments included an imposing gatehouse and the rather more modest timber-framed hall which survives today. Large assemblages of artefacts were recovered, notably pottery, metal objects, leather work and glass. The material reflects widespread contacts facilitated both by the site’s geographical location on the Thames estuary, and by the social prominence of its occupants. A full survey of the timber-framed hall was carried out, and selective analysis of the extensive documentary sources relating to the site. These are used together with the excavated evidence to provide an integrated account of the site and its setting.

  review

No.116, 2006: Excavations at the site of Norwich Cathedral Refectory, 2001–3, by Heather Wallis
ISBN-10: 0 905594 44 4 / ISBN-13: 978 0 905594 44 6; 102pp, 17pls, 43figs; £12.00

A campaign to improve visitor and education facilities at Norwich cathedral involved the construction of new buildings within the west and south ranges of the cloister, and led to excavation of the area where the medieval refectory once stood. This revealed archaeological evidence of the Late Saxon, medieval and post-medieval periods and forms the subject of this report.

Excavation has confirmed the long-held supposition that this area of Norwich was populated during the Late Saxon period. Timber buildings of both post-hole and beam slot construction were present, along with rubbish pits, many very substantial in size. A rutted trackway developed into a metalled road, its discovery adding to the ever-evolving street plan of Late Saxon Norwich. It was also apparent that this area was subject to changes in the local water table, and liable to flooding.

Late Saxon occupation here was brought to a sudden halt by the acquisition of the land for the building of the Norman cathedral in the latter years of the 11th century. The refectory, which has been described as one of the most magnificent in Europe, was built during the 1120s but was largely demolished during the years following the Dissolution. An extensive programme of groundworks was carried out in the 12th century, prior to construction of the refectory, with the area being levelled. Unfortunately, later use of the area has destroyed most of the evidence relating to the refectory itself. Despite this the level of the floor was established and footings for opposing engaged pillars were recorded. These would have supported an arcade, separating the high end from the main hall.

Following the Dissolution, not only the refectory but many of the conventual buildings were demolished. In the period from 1538 to 1620 large pits were dug across the site of the former refectory and used for the dumping of demolition debris on a massive scale. Surprisingly, of the identifiable rubble very little originated from the refectory building itself. Architectural fragments, including some with painted designs from the infirmary and chapter house, were found along with painted window glass which probably originated from the Lady Chapel.

In 1620 the western third of the site was the location for part of a prebendary's house, the remainder being established as a garden. In 1873, works undertaken specifically to reduce the risk from fire included the demolition of the prebendary's house. 'Restoration' work was carried out to the remaining medieval structure and the area which had once served as the monk's refectory was left open as a garden plot. It remained so until archaeological work began in 2001.

No.120, 2007: Norwich Greyfriars: Pre-Conquest Town and Medieval Friary, by Phillip A. Emery
ISBN 978 0 905594 46 0; 300pp, 43pls, 153figs; £25.00

Large scale excavations and associated research during 1990–5 have provided new insights into the development of a substantial area within medieval Norwich, to the east of the Castle, at the former Mann Egerton premises on Prince of Wales Road. Archaeological evidence survived for the geography and use of plots dating from the Late Saxon period until the acquisition of this area by the Franciscan Friary in the late 13th century. The remains of at least three small Late Saxon buildings were found. Two of these sunken features, located at the western and eastern extremities of the site, appeared to have been workshops: that to the west contained a penny of Alfred (AD 887–9), although the building itself was evidently in use during the 11th century. Mapping of waste materials allowed a range of manufacturing activities to be located. Mutually exclusive distributions of antler-working and metallurgical debris provided striking evidence of specialisation within identifiable plots. Metalworking evidence included residues from the melting of copper alloys and silver, silver refining and iron smithing. A Viking lead weight bearing the name of Alfred was recovered, probably struck at Norwich in the earlier 880s, and its presence alongside evidence for silver-working suggests possible minting activity.

Archaeological remains from the 12th to 13th centuries include the earliest indications of buildings along the east side of King Street, also a road crossing the area, and traces of adjacent plots. The findings include evidence for the cemetery of St John the Evangelist, which had disappeared by the late 13th century, and possible links to the nearby church of St Vedast. When combined, the new evidence makes important contributions to current understanding of Norwich's developing urban topography and a wide range of socio-economic issues relating to the pre-Friary periods.

In 1226, only two years after their arrival in Britain, the Franciscans (Greyfriars or Friars Minor) settled in Norwich between the churches of St Vedast and St Cuthbert, their precinct only later being extended to encompass the excavated area. Archaeological remains of the Friary took the form of earthworks associated with preparation of the site for construction and landscaping, extant flintwork, earthen foundations, floors, drains and wall robber trenches. Although fragmentary, the recorded remains were sufficient to allow some reconstruction of the conventual complex to be attempted. They are interpreted as elements of the west and south ranges of the cloister and include a part of the Suffragan's lodging and guesthouse, buildings on the King Street frontage, a section of the south boundary wall of the precinct and a dovecote. Reconstruction of the layout of the Friary complex was based on a combination of archaeological and documentary evidence, the latter comprising the survey of William Worcestre (1479) and 16th-century leases. The church and claustral buildings were redeveloped on a much larger scale at the end of the 13th century. Archaeologically, this process was demonstrated by the clearance of buildings, infilling of hollows, cellars and pits and, most dramatically, the closure of at least one lane. A bell-casting pit, in use between 1490 and 1525, was recorded adjacent to the King Street frontage.

Following the Dissolution in 1538, much of the site functioned as gardens until the early 20th century. Archaeological evidence included eleven 16th- to 18th-century cloth seals, the first such group found in the important worsted-production centre of Norwich during the course of formal excavation.

  review

No.122, 2008: Ely Wares, by Paul Spoerry
ISBN 978 1 9044523 0 0; 106pp, 29pls, 37figs; £15.00

This report provides the first typology for a group of newly recognised medieval pottery — Ely wares — in a research project conducted by CAM ARC (formerly Cambridgeshire County Council Archaeological Field Unit) and funded by English Heritage. Study of material currently held in excavated assemblages and museum collections has resulted in this fully illustrated vessel type series which spans the mid 12th to the 15th centuries. Much of the material was produced in Ely, 24km to the north of Cambridge, although other probable production centres can now be identified. Related scientific analysis has sought to demonstrate the characteristics and provenance of the material, enhancing understanding of related distribution and trade networks. When combined, the results effectively close a substantial gap in knowledge for the pottery of the Cambridgeshire sub-region, where little substantial publication or synthesis was previously available for the medieval period. This is, however, by no means the definitive work on the subject and future research objectives can now be identified.

No.124, 2009: 'Wheare most Inclosures be' East Anglian Fields: History, Morphology and Management
by Edward Martin and Max Satchell
ISBN 978 0 86055 160 7; 270pp; 116 illustrations; £30

The Historic Field Systems of East Anglia Project was carried out with support from English Heritage’s Monuments Protection Programme. The project formulated a way of analysing the historic landscape in terms of eight basic ‘land types’ that could be further broken down into eighteen sub-types. Of especial significance were common fields and their antithesis, ancient ‘block holdings’ or holdings in severalty (farmsteads surrounded by their own group of fields). This form of analysis was applied to twelve detailed case studies of historic land use that were carried out across the region: three in Norfolk, four in Suffolk, three in Essex and one each in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. In each place the landscape was categorised, mapped and quantified according to the land types. The varying percentages of all the land types was calculated and common fields were shown to be most prevalent in the north and west of the region, while block holdings dominated in the south, with some areas showing no evidence of ever having had common fields.

By using trend lines derived from the computer-based Historic Landscape Characterisation mapping (recently carried out in the region under another English Heritage sponsored project) in conjunction with a variety of other data sets, it was possible to suggest a wider context for the case-study based conclusions. Of particular, and unexpected, importance was a division running diagonally across the claylands of central Suffolk, approximately on the line of the River Gipping. To the south of this there is gently undulating land which had a high potential for arable farming in pre-modern times, while to the north there is mainly flat land, with an historic tendency towards dairy farming. It was also possible to demonstrate a high incidence of block holdings in the southern area and, conversely, a link with a form of common fields to the north.

But beyond these topographically explicable differences, it was also apparent that the ‘Gipping divide’ was a significant cultural boundary. This can be seen in vernacular architecture, both in constructional methods and in plan forms; in the terminology used to describe greens and woods; and in inheritance customs. The patterns seen in south Suffolk extend into Essex and those in north Suffolk extend into Norfolk, indicating that this was a boundary of regional importance that has a greater cultural significance than the existing county boundaries.

In examining the origins of the region’s field systems, consideration was given to claims that some areas had extensive co-axial field systems of pre-Roman date. A careful examination of the evidence suggests that although co-axial systems do exist, they are not vast terrain-oblivious entities and that they have varying dates and purposes. Some co-axial systems may incorporate prehistoric elements, but others are likely to be late Saxon or early medieval in date. Importantly, they are not automatic indicators of early land allotment. The case studies suggest that ‘locational’ analysis involving soil type, drainage potential and access to water is a more certain way of identifying the areas most likely to have been used for early agriculture. In the northern part of the region these ‘core’ arable areas tended to develop into common fields, but in the southern zone they tended to become block demesnes, that is large fields that were the exclusive property of manorial lords. This divergent development probably had its genesis in the late Saxon period and has an obvious significance for the understanding of the origins of common fields on a wider, national, level.

The late Saxon period witnessed very significant advances and changes in agriculture that were to have far-reaching consequences. The factors driving and influencing these changes are complex but included a climatic amelioration, an increase in population, the development or re-introduction of the mouldboard plough and the Viking invasions. The project produced evidence pointing towards a linkage between areas of Viking settlement/influence and the appearance of common fields — but not in a simple sense of an imported idea, as current evidence suggests that the English common fields are earlier than those of Scandinavia. However, the adoption of common fields may have arisen out the social upheaval caused by the Viking interventions or in the reorganisation following the English re-conquest. If so, this could suggest an origin for common fields in the late ninth or early tenth centuries. Conversely, areas that showed minimal Viking influence seem to have developed block demesnes, possibly as a continuation of farming practices that could have their roots in the Roman period or even earlier.

These findings confirm that East Anglia has an important legacy of ‘ancient’ enclosed fields, corroborating the sixteenth-century observation by Sir Thomas Smith that it was one of the areas ‘wheare most inclosures be’. Ancient cultivation traces within the fields are, however, rare. This is not because ridge-and-furrow, as found in the Midlands, has been eroded away, but because over most of East Anglia ‘stetch’ ploughing was the norm and this produced low ridges that seldom survive as earthworks. The conservation priority therefore is the preservation and the historically appropriate management of the boundaries of these fields, for changing the appearance of boundaries can change the local character as much as changes to the pattern. The report has therefore pulled together a key collection of historical descriptions of the nature and management of field boundaries across the region, as an aid towards the informed conservation of the East Anglian landscape in the twenty-first century.

This report presents the results of archaeological investigations undertaken in 2003–5 along the 6km route of the A505 Baldock bypass, Hertfordshire. The evidence spans the late Neolithic to the medieval period, although no evidence for activity from the later 5th century to the beginning of the 11th century was found. The late Neolithic evidence was dispersed across the route corridor and comprised bowl-shaped pits, shaft-like pits and a small funerary enclosure. Early Bronze Age activity was restricted to the northern portion of the route and included a small roundhouse and a cluster of seven barrows. These barrows subsequently became the focus of burial activity in the late Iron Age and earlier Roman period.

Evidence for early to middle Iron Age activity was concentrated on the Clay-with-flints soils of the Weston Hills. It comprised clusters of pits and occasional post-holes which were grouped into a series of activity areas. The pottery recovered hints at a chronological shift from north to south. These activity areas are thought to represent evidence for more permanent settlement, although the actual dwellings are assumed to lie outside the route corridor.

Roman boundary ditches and enclosures were found across most of the route corridor. Although evidence is somewhat piecemeal, there does appear to have been a reorganisation of the land boundaries, evidenced by infilling of later Iron Age boundaries and the excavation of new boundaries along a different alignment. Dominating the evidence for the Roman period were two roadways, each displaying a sequence of maintenance and repair. Both roadways lead into the Roman town of Baldock and both were on a similar alignment. A study of the repair sequences and associated finds suggests that a continuing problem of drainage and silting on one road led to the construction of a slightly realigned replacement.

Evidence for medieval settlement was confined to the northern portion of the route corridor, and included a rectangular enclosure containing a cemetery, pits and post-holes, with evidence of a hollow way running along the western side of the enclosure. Analysis of documentary evidence strongly suggests that this enclosure can be identified as the 13th-century Hospital of St Mary Magdalene in the parish of Clothall.

Woodland clearance along the route appears to have been complete by the early Bronze Age, with the earlier landscape probably a patchwork of woodland, pasture and cultivated fields. This clearance appears to be associated with a reduction in the numbers of pigs kept by the Bronze Age farmers, and the development of a pastoral economy based upon cattle and sheep. Much of the route from later prehistory onwards has been open calcareous grasslands, probably well grazed by sheep, which became increasingly important in the local economy; much of the wealth of medieval Baldock derived from wool.

Excavation in 1987 at the site of this church revealed much of the graveyard, which had been in use from the 12th to the 15th century. Remains of over 1000 individuals were removed archaeologically from the cemetery. Of these, 436 were articulated individuals, the rest being represented as charnel. Remains of 413 individuals were complete enough to merit detailed examination and analysis, and this report is concerned with the palaeopathology of these burials.
The analysis of the human remains produced dramatic and unprecedented results in the field of epidemiology, including an important early group of six cases of treponemal disease. A classic example of Paget’s disease and possibly a rare form of chondrodysplasia (dwarfism) have also been identified, as well as a wide range of other pathology.
The earliest documentary reference to the church occurs in 1254, and includes the comment ubi sepeliuntur suspensi (‘where those who were hanged are buried’). Burial ceased when the church became redundant in 1468, and the parish was amalgamated with All Saints to the south.

During the construction of Ormesby bypass in east Norfolk, human bones were found by the contractors. Excavation revealed that these were not isolated burials but part of a cemetery. Sixty articulated burials were excavated which, along with unstratified bones, represented a minimum of forty-five adults and seventeen children. A date range of 11th–14th centuries has been suggested by radiocarbon determinations which were calibrated with consideration of the marine protein component of the diet of the individuals. Demographic, metrical, morphological, dental and pathological aspects of the population have also been studied, and compared with other contemporary Norfolk groups. Demographic analysis suggests a trend towards death in old age amongst the men and in young adult life for the women. Metrical analysis showed a similarity with medieval groups in Norfolk, and non-metric traits suggested a close affinity with people from a nearby Saxon cemetery and a medieval group from Norwich.

Ormesby had four churches during the medieval period: the locations of three (St Margaret, St Michael and St Peter) were known, and the location of the fourth (St Andrew) suggested, prior to this excavation. None of these were adjacent to the burials. Consideration of the archaeological evidence along with aerial photographs, cartographic and secondary documentary evidence allows an alternative location to be suggested for the church of St Andrew, adjacent to the burials.

In the 1980s work began on construction of the vast underground Castle Mall shopping centre in Norwich. The associated archaeological excavation was one of the largest of its kind in northern Europe, designed to investigate not only the castle bailey but also pre-Conquest settlement and, for the post-Conquest period, areas of the surrounding medieval city.
The report describes evidence for late Saxon streets, houses and graveyards; the developing fortifications of an urban castle established before 1100; gradual encroachment by the townspeople into the castle precinct after the 13th century; documentation relating to the ownership and development of properties within the Castle Fee; crafts and industries associated with these plots — notably bell-founding; a late medieval assemblage of great significance from the barbican well including ironwork, leather waste, bird and animal bone; and sizeable finds assemblages resulting from the steady infilling of castle ditches with domestic and commercial refuse.

EAA Occasional Paper 22 Norwich Castle: Excavations and Historical Survey 1987–98
Part III A Zooarchaeological Study
by Umberto Albarella, Mark Beech, Julie Curl, Alison Locker, Marta Moreno García and Jacqui Mulville
ISBN 978 0 905594 50 7; 188pp, 145 illustrations; £20

EAA Occasional Paper 23 Norwich Castle: Excavations and Historical Survey 1987–98
Part IV People and Property in the Documentary Record
by Margot Tillyard, Elizabeth Shepherd Popescu and Nancy Ives
ISBN 978 0 905594 51 4; 62pp, 3 illustrations; £9

Excavations and a watching brief by Northamptonshire Archaeology at St Faith’s Lane uncovered part of a 10th- to 12th-century street frontage comprising incomplete remains of timber structures, pits and ditches. Finds relate to domestic occupation and a metalworking presence that may indicate a nearby forge. In the 13th century, after a period of decline and possible abandonment, the site was incorporated into the precinct of the Franciscan Friary. The Greyfriars soon began burying their dead in a cemetery laid out there, halting only to dig for minerals for a nearby building programme, probably in the 14th century. The burials have an unusual demographic profile which may relate, at least in part, to a Franciscan school of international renown. The site was fully enclosed by a precinct wall in the early 16th century, and after the Dissolution was predominantly garden until redevelopment in the 19th century. Fittingly, the site is now part of a school once more.

Occasional Paper Series

Occ Pap 7, 2000: St Mary’s Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, Archaeological Investigations 1994–5, by A.E.Jones
ISBN 0 7044 2145 3; 35pp, 12figs, 2pls. £5.50

A former builders merchant’s yard, adjoining St Mary’s Street and the Hen Brook at St Neots, was investigated by means of trial-trenching, a small area excavation and a watching brief, in advance of a housing development.
Episodes of alluviation and the formation of marshy deposits on the site accompanied medieval activity along the street frontage. In the 17th century the ground was made up, a terrace of houses was built in brick along the street frontage, and the backplot area was used for tanning. Lime pits and tanning waste (a large assemblage of animal bone) were recovered. In 1889 the site was acquired by the builders merchant.

Occ Pap 11, 2003: A medieval moated settlement and windmill, excavations at Boreham Airfield, Essex, 1996, by Rachel Clarke
ISBN 185281 223 0; 85pp, 33figs, 8pls; £10.00

An enclosed settlement of 12th- to 13th-century date was excavated in advance of gravel extraction at a former airfield near Chelmsford in Essex. Several timber buildings, interpreted as a house, outbuildings, a granary and an early form of windmill, were recorded within a large rectangular moat. The physical evidence for the windmill is of significance, especially as it was found within the context of a settlement, rather than as an isolated structure.
Analysis of the charred grain assemblage, in addition to aiding interpretation of the buildings, has contributed to the understanding of agricultural activities in and around the settlement. The medieval pottery from the site represents a typical household assemblage, although the presence of some non-local fine wares such as Developed Stamford ware, is rare in Essex.
The relatively short-lived settlement was abandoned in the mid-13th century or later, perhaps following the catastrophic fire indicated by the evidence of the charred grain assemblage. During the later medieval period the site appears to have been absorbed into a park, possibly associated with New Hall, and was covered by Dukes Wood until the construction of the airfield in the 1940s.

  review

Occ Pap 12, 2003: A moated rectory at Wimbotsham, Norfolk, by Andy Shelley
ISBN 0 905594 37 1; 46pp, 27figs, 3pls; £9.00

The moated sites of Norfolk remain enigmatic monuments within the landscape. Despite their frequency these sites, of which there are over 400, remain largely untroubled by modern archaeological technique, and their origins and use continue to be subjects for speculation. The material presented here draws on the recent excavation of a moated site at Wimbotsham, and provides new evidence for the establishment and layout of this monument type. The manorial framework of Wimbotsham at this time has been explored by Alan Davison and is presented in this report.
The moated site was constructed on the green-edge in Wimbotsham towards the end of the 12th century, probably by the de Warenne family. Documentary research demonstrated that the earthwork is the remains of a moated rectory. Excavation revealed evidence for two earth building platforms on the island within the moat, a series of drainage channels and the remains of a 13th- or 14th-century timber-framed building.
A large number of finds relating to the medieval and late medieval occupation of the moated rectory were also recovered. The site appears to have become progressively more dilapidated during the later 15th and 16th centuries, its ditches filling with refuse and a tiled roof apparently collapsing. The rectory was eventually abandoned in the early 1600s.

Occ Pap 15, 2003: A medieval moated site at Cedars Field, Stowmarket, Suffolk,
by Sue Anderson
ISBN 0 86055 279 9; 33pp, 2pls, 13figs; £7.00

Excavations in 1980 and 1999 at Cedars Field revealed evidence for Neolithic and Bronze Age occupation, a Roman field boundary, and a medieval moated site. The latter is the main focus of this report, although evidence for the earlier land use is also presented.
The moated site consisted of a square outer enclosure with a smaller square inner platform. The moat itself was unusually shallow. Finds evidence suggested that occupation had occurred on the inner platform, and there was some evidence for the presence of structures within this part of the site.
The site appears to have been occupied from the 12th century but was abandoned at some point in the 14th century. Documentary evidence was useful in suggesting the tenure and significance of the site during this period. Following abandonment, the site reverted to agricultural use and the moat was partly backfilled, but remained waterlogged and partially visible into the 20th century.

Occ Pap 21, 2006: Excavations at the Preceptory of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, Carbrooke, Norfolk, 1998, by A R J Hutcheson and Claire Noble
ISBN 0 905594 43 6; 55pp, 8pls, 34figs; £10.00

Carbrooke Preceptory was first established in 1173 through a grant from Matilda, Countess Clare, to the Order of St John of Jerusalem. Eighteen manors in Norfolk were eventually in their possession, all administered from Carbrooke, which remained the only preceptory in the county at the Dissolution. In addition, rents and tithes were due from a large number of locations throughout Norfolk and East Anglia, and voluntary contributions were also collected, in keeping with the role of the preceptory as a revenue-generating institution converting agricultural wealth to portable wealth. The preceptory along with the rest of the Order was suppressed by Parliament in 1540.

Excavation revealed a stratified sequence of structures and deposits on the western side of the preceptory. Insights into the architectural and social history of the establishment resulted from a combination of archaeological and documentary research, the activities of the inhabitants of Carbrooke seeming, both through the material and documentary records, to bear more resemblance to those of a large baronial house than a monastery.

Out of print

No.1 Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich and other sites in Suffolk
No.2 Norfolk; Harpley, Swaffham, Langhale, Yarmouth, Kings Lynn
No.3 Suffolk; Sproughton, Martlesham, Icklingham, Ipswich, Ubbeston
No.4 Thetford, Norfolk
No.5 Roman roads and sites, Norfolk
No.6 Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Spong Hill, North Elmham Norfolk Part I
No.7 Bergh Apton Anglo-Saxon Cemetery, Norfolk
No.8 Norfolk; Banham, Brisley Common, Bircham, Shouldham, Hempstead etc.
No.10 Launditch Hundred, Norfolk
No.11 Anglo-Saxon Cemetery at Spong Hill, North Elmham Norfolk Part II
No.12 The barrows of East Anglia
No.14 Trowse, Horning; and Eight Deserted Medieval Villages of Norfolk
No.15 Excavations in Norwich (Norwich Survey), Part I
No.16 Beaker Domestic Sites in the Fen-edge and East Anglia
No.21 Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Spong Hill, North Elmham Norfolk Part III
No.24 West Stow, the Anglo-Saxon Village
No.27 Archaeology and Environment, Lower Welland Valley (Fenland Project Number 1)
No.41 Great Dunmow, Essex: Romano-British Small Town
No.45 Norfolk Survey: Marshland and the Nar Valley (Fenland Project Number 3)
No.47 West Stow, Anglo-Saxon Animal Husbandry
No.51 Ruined and Disused Churches, Norfolk
No.54 Iron Age Forts of Norfolk
No.55 Lincs Survey: SW Fens (Fenland Project Number 5)
No.58 Norwich Households: Medieval and Post-medieval Finds
Occasional Paper No.6 Roman malt house at Stebbing Green, Essex