The Roman settlement in Worcester seems to have been primarily industrial in character, with a highly developed iron smelting industry which was possibly already active at the time of the Roman occupation and appears to have continued until the eventual Roman withdrawal.  The site lies approximately 350m from the apparent core of the early Roman settlement, which was first discovered when the castle motte was removed in 1833(Allies, 1840, p5).  

A Roman cemetery was identified on the north side of Mill Street in the 19^th century with cremation burials found within buried urns. The  site  may  have  been  associated  with a  ditch up to  three  metres  wide (WCHER 100379 & WCHER 100380). Human burials have also been discovered at the St. Albans School site. Both these sites lie within 100 metres of the current development site.  A ditch of apparent early medieval origin was also found here, along with 23 sherds of medieval pottery and features including three ovens, a pit and   occupation deposits. 

Approximately 300 metres south of the site a kiln was discovered in 1860. Initially  this  was believed to  have been  a Roman  pottery kiln but has  subsequently been  re-interpreted as  being a  medieval tile  kiln.   Recent archaeological evaluation work carried out  on  the  site of the  Albion Mill  (Oxford Archaeology 2003) has yielded evidence of early medieval occupation consisting of   ditches and pits, some of  which  contained eleventh  century  pottery.  The medieval hermitage of St. Ursula is believed to have existed in the Diglis area, but has never been definitively located (WCHER 96091).

Diglis first occurs in the records as the place name "Dudleg" in 1232.  The Frog Brook is known to have occupied a course that took it south of the east side of the city towards its confluence with River Severn some way below the Diglis Basin.  The low lying nature of the land in this area, and the presence of underlying beds of marl make it likely that the Diglis area was a marsh in the early medieval period.  Tracing the exact course of the Frog Brook has been made more difficult by the probable existence of multiple braided channels.  Place name evidence suggests that the area was in use as pastureland in the fifteenth century.  Diglis is referred to as "meadow called Dudley" in 1490 (Mawer and Stenton 1927, p.163).  The meadows at Diglis formed part of the Bishop of Worcester's demesne in the medieval period, and the Prior of Worcester took a rent of £6 from the pastureland in 1535.

Evidence relating to the presence of a mill (Frog mill) in Severn Street in the fifteenth century also shows that the Frog Brook was dammed and diverted to provide water for a leat.  The Mill is known to have been in use in the Seventeenth Century, and was still occupied in 1678, but by circa 1660 the mill pond had silted up.

Civil war  siege  works or  defensive features may be present in this  area although  the  evidence  shown on relevant  cartographic  sources and  recorded in  contemporary  documentary  commentaries   indicates  the  main  area of   activity was  further  north,  around  St. Albans  School WCHER 96155).

In 1815 the Birmingham and Worcester Canal was completed, with the Frog Brook being canalised.  The Severn Navigation Weir and Lock, to the south west of Diglis Dock was constructed in 1844.  The arrival of the canal meant that the area experienced rapid development, with industrial activity such as porcelain production and associated trades becoming established in the area. The site is adjacent to the recorded site of the Ceramic Art Colour Works and is close to the Albion Mill site (founded 1843), formerly part of the Royal Worcester Porcelain Company.

Reporting

Unpublished Report - 13-15 Mill Street, Worcester: a report on an archaeological evaluation - Huw Sherlock, 2004