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Archenfield Archaeology LtdCatherine Court, Hereford
In 1319 the Dominican or Black Friars began to build on the site in Widemarsh Street where the ruins of the monastery still stand, cutting off this area from the open fields around the town. history From that time the area was developed as gardens. Catherine Court by Johnson, Blight and Dees for the South Shropshire Housing Association. New social housing development in the centre of Hereford bringing people back into a previously run-down area.
The buildings that Catherine Court replaced. In the centre of this group is a much altered late 18th century brick barn which ultimately became part of Davies Brooks soft drink factory.
This area was one of the first parts of the town, other than the main roads leading in, to become developed. By the mid-19th century this was by far the most densely populated area outside the city walls. Among the tradesmen living here at that time were nailers, joiners, carpenters, sawyers, plasterers, bricklayers, skinners, and cabinet makers. Other occupations recorded in mid-century directories include castrator and town crier. Publication This site will be published in a volume of Archenfield Archaeology’s Hereford City excavations to be published by Logaston Press A note on the primary evaluation phase of this project appears in the 1999 volume of the transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club Unpublished Report Former Davies Brooks soft drinks factory, Catherine Street/Coningsby Street, Hereford: building survey and archaeological monitoring - PJ Pikes, Huw Sherlock and Robert Williams, 2002 This report is available at the Archaeological Data Service site To view or download the report click here A copy of this report is held in the reference section of Hereford City Library.
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The
eastern end of Catherine Street appears to have originated as a
back lane behind 11th century burgage plots which originally extended
along the north-west side of what are now High Town, Commercial
Street and Commercial Road. The areas to the north of this lane
would probably then have been open fields. 
