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The interior of the old Wesleyan chapel after the back wall was removed |
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Archaeology below the floor of the chapel's crypt |
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The main excavation ended 16th March 2007 |
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Dave Wychbold excavating a medieval cess-pit |
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It had vivid colouration in its deposits. We have taken the material from within it for analysis. Judging by the smell, the material should be well-preserved. When we have the results we will know some of the things that medieval people in the area were eating and whether they had parasitic worms. |
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A deep cut into the feature known as the King's Ditch. |
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Working in the shored-up cut |
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Within the silted-up King's ditch medieval walls had been built |
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A well |
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The Crystal Rooms excavation with Hereford Cathedral in the background |
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Exposing this stone structure was one of the most exciting parts of the project. This was also in the partly silted-up King's Ditch |
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It was in the feature known as the King's Ditch. An old watercourse now filled in but still waterlogged. |
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In order to excavate this feature we needed to pump the water out. |
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The crew busy on the excavation |
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A well.... |
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.....cut through this stone oven |
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And inside the chapel |
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Excavation in progress, late February 2007 |
Excavation of medieval pits has recovered domestic waste and slag. Bridge street was one of the most important streets in the later medieval city, leading to the Norman bridge. Oddly, we have found no evidence for the earlier medieval period. We know that, just to the north of Bridge Street, in the area of Berrington Street, there were streets and houses in the 8th century (about the time of King Offa, who may have founded the town). If there was no Mercian occupation of the Bridge Street area, then the southern edge of the town at the time must have been around the line of St Nicholas Street/King Street. |
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Demolition of the Crystal Rooms, January 2007 |
Excavation on the site began on 19th January 2007. Firstly all the rubble from the demolition of the old buildings and their modern concrete floors were removed by machine. This revealed the top of the older features - walls and floors of the buildings which had been demolished in the first half of the 20th century. |
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All that's left of the old building |
The front part of the old Franklin Barnes building with Bridge Street behind |
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Feature with a stone base and brick walls |
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The southern edge of the site, looking east along Gwynne Street to the stable block of the Bishop's Palace |
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A cobbled surface - probably part of an external yard. The cobbles are rounded and were probably river-carried. |
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Yard or outhouse surface made of small pieces of sandstone with some brick. The sandstone was probably derived from quarries near Hereford and left over from buildings which used the larger pieces. |
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A floor made of brick. Brick was manufactured locally. Brick and tileworks were working in Hereford well within living memery |
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Clearing down to the 19th century floors and walls |
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One of the wells. |
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