I Archaeological Investigation I of QUEEN SQUARE, …maps.bristol.gov.uk/knowyourplace/arch_reports/3369.pdf · I Archaeological Investigation of QUEEN SQUARE, ... {I999 Archaeological

I

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Archaeological Investigation

of

QUEEN SQUARE,

BRISTOL

Report No.466/1999

Bristol and Region Archaeological Services

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Queen's Road, Bristol BSB lRL. Tel: (0117) 922 3580 Fax: (0117) 922 2047

Archaeological Investigation

of

QUEEN SQUARE,

BRISTOL

.centred on

N.G.R. ST 58772 72561

Client: Bristol City Council

Department of Planning, Transport & Development Services

What can't Inventress Art and Labour do?This handsome Square from heaps of Rubbish grew;

And tho' past Years the marshy Bottom sawThick drizling Fogs from steaming Nature draw,

No vap'rish Humours left, but only thoseWhich Ladienickly Fancies discompose:

Where Level-walks delightful Lanes display,There wat'ry Mud in deep Confusion lay.So, when Appelles drew his master frame,

From jumbled Paint the pretty Venus came.So Holland's Province built on boggy LandsConsummate Neatness, and a Beauty stands:Thus (since the Objects Similies provoke)The whole Creation from a Chaos broke.

Extract from 'A Poetical Description of Bristol'by William Goldwin (Master of Bristol Grammar School)

London: Joseph Penn, 1712, 17-18.

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Summary

l. INTRODUCTION

2. THE SITE, LOCATION AND BACKGROUND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2

3. PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 5

4. THE INVESTIGATIONS 7

5. CONCLUSION " I I

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. IS

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 17

Appendix I: Policy Statement

Appendix 2: The Pottery and Other Finds

Appendix 3: The Clay Tobacco Pipes

Table I: Recovered material from sampled contexts, Trench 2

Table 2: Sample volume, weight and slag content, Trench 2

Table 3: Identification of material in slag samples, Trench 2

Abbreviations used in the text;

aODBROBUAD

NGR

April, 1999.

Above Ordnance Datum.Bristol Record Office, prefix to document reference code.Bristol Urban Archaeological Database, prefix to site or monumentreference code.National Grid Reference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE:-Bristol and Region Archaeological Services retain copyright of this report under the Copyrights, Designs andPatents Act, 1988, and have granted a licence to the Department of Planning, Transport and DevelopmentServices of Bristol City Council to use and reproduce the material contained within.

Plans reproduced from the Ordnance Survey mapping with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty'sStationary Office" Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead toprosecution or civil proceedings. Bristol City Council, Licence Number LA090554, 1998.

LIST OF ll,LUSTRATIONS

Figures

Fig.l

Fig.2

Fig.3

Fig A

Fig.5

Fig.6

Fig.7

Fig.8

Fig.9

Fig. 10

Fig.ll

Fig.12

Plates

Cover

Pl.1

P1.2

Pt.3

PIA

Pl.5

PI. 6

Site and Trench location.

Millerd's map of Bristol, 1673.

Millerd's map of Bristol, 1710.

Rocque's map of Bristol, 1750, with position of trenches overlaid.

Plumley's map of Bristol, 1817.

Archaeological investigations in the vicinity of Queen Square.

Trench 1, main features.

Section A, west facing.

Interpretive illustration for P1.5.

Plan of Trench 2.

Northwest facing section in Trench 2.

Selection of finds; (i) Early-mid 17th century Nether Stowey dish with slipand sgraffito decoration, context 51, (ii) late 17th century North Devondripping pan, context 27, (iii) barrel shaped bowl with initials IT anddecoration incuse on heel made by John Tucker, 1662-1690, context 40,(iv) small pipe made by Richard Berryman 1619-1652 with initials RBseparated by a dagger and heart incuse on heel, context 4, (v) and (vi)barrel shaped bowls with heels, context 50.

View of Trench from the north after initial clean-up.

Air raid shelters being excavated in Queen Square, October 1938.

View from the southwest of air raid shelter during archaeologicalinvestigation, December 1998.

West facing section in air raid shelter after removal of back-fill.

Southeast facing section after removal of modern tarmac path, showingtimber shuttering.

West facing section after removal of modern tarmac path.

Box Section in Trench 2, viewed from northwest.

PI. 7

PI. 8

PI. 9

P1.10

Nether Stowey dish, context 51, Trench I.

Westerwald pottery from a vessel similar to that in Plate 9, context 2,Trench I.

An example of a Westerwald mug, of late 17th century date, made inGermany with Roundel Medallion moulded with a portrait of King WilIiamIII (1689 - 1702) (Gaimster 1997, colour plate 22).

Seventeenth 'century clay-tobacco pipes, context 50, Trench I.

SUMMARY

Archaeological excavations at Queen Square were undertaken by Bristol and RegionArchaeological Services at the end of 1998 and early in 1999 as part of the program ofrestoration for the square by Bristol City Council, in partnership with the Heritage LotteryFund. The aim of the project was to identify and record any features of the original 18th­century layout of the square so that they could be incorporated into the designs for therestoration work. The archaeological trenches were positioned for optimum results based oncartographic evidence showing cross paths in the mid-18th century that have since beenremoved or superseded by the present diagonal path. This position was also chosen so thatthe possible location of a bowling green, shown on Millerd's maps of the 1670's, could beinvestigated. The evaluation revealed that one of the original paths had largely been removedby 20th-century work in the square, such as the construction of an air raid in 1938, while theother had largely been removed by the construction of the present tarmac path. Survivingelements of the 18th-century path were identified and investigated revealing that they werepossibly constructed of gravel obtained from the River Avon near Saltford. The investigationalso revealed that over 2.5m of black ash and cinder layers had been deposited on the areaat the end of the 17th century prior to the construction of Queen Square. Analysis of bulksamples taken during the fieldwork and documentary research has suggested that this materialis likely to have originated from a number of sources with the main bulk of the cindersderiving from the cleaning out of industrial furnaces, probably those of the glass houses. Asondage excavated at one end of the' trench revealed the alluvium at a depth of 7.l5m aboveOrdnance Datum, approximately 3m below the present ground surface. No evidence for the17th-century bowling green was identified.

I

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Queen Square in the centre of Bristol, (NGR ST 58772 72561) is one of the largestGeorgian urban squares in England. It forms the heart of the City and Queen Squareconservation area (designated in 1972) and is an historic public space listed within theBristol section of the "Gazetteer of Historic Parks and Gardens in the County ofAvon" (1991). Surrounding it are listed buildings such as the Custom House and theMansion House.

1.2 It is intended by Bristol City Council to restore the "formal landscaped layout andsetting" of Queen Square (Bristol City Council 1996, 6) and as part of the programmeof proposed works an archaeological investigation was requested to add detail to whatis known of the 18th century design of the square.

1.3 Conforming to a brief provided by the Bristol City Archaeologist, the project aimedto provide "evidence for the various elements of the square, pathways, edgingtreatments, drainage, borders etc. ,and their development through time" (Queen Square,Brief for Archaeological Investigation 1998). It was also the intention to examine themake-up deposits of the square and the buried alluvium of the marsh on which it wasbuilt. A further aim was to confirm the location and layout of a bowling greendepicted on plans of the city by lames Millerd in the late 17th century.

1.4 The archaeological investigation was undertaken by Bristol and Region ArchaeologicalServices (BaRAS) and was carried out, under the supervision of Peter Insole, betweenNovember 9th 1998 and March 17th 1999. The archive for the work will be depositedat Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery under the Accession NumberCMAG.1998.0068.

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B~RAS Report No.466{I999 Archaeological Investigation of Queen Square, Bristol.

2. THE SITE, LOCATION AND BACKGROUND

2.1 Queen Square lies on a spur of reclaimed land, immediately to the south of the citycentre. It is surrounded on its west, south and east sides by the Floating Harbour. Thesquare is underlain by alluvial clays which rest on Triassic sandstone and merciamudstone and lies at an elevation of approximately iOm aOD.

2.2 The full historical background to the square can be found in "The Detailed History andDevelopment of Queen Square" (Hughes, Root and Heath 1996), What follows is ashort summary of the main historical points of the square's development.

2.3 The form of the spur of land in which Queen Square is located derives from thediversion of the river Frome from its original course, somewhere to the south ofBaldwin Street and joining the river Avon in the area of Welsh Back, south to meetthe Avon by Canon's Marsh. The diversion of the Frome was completed in 1247(BaRAS Report BA/D209) , leaving the spur bounded on its west, south and east sidesby water. For the rest of the medieval period this area was marsh land which layoutside the city beyond the Marsh Wall, one of Bristol's defensive boundaries, whichran close to the present line of King Street.

2.4 In the later medieval period the marsh was used for a variety of purposes; the BristolCorporation were taking revenues for grazing on the marsh from the city's butchersin the 16th century (Brett forthcoming) and the Mayor's Audit of 1557 mentions tworope houses in the area (ibid.). When Queen Elizabeth visited the city in 1574 aplatform was erected on the marsh for the royal party to view a mock battle (Brettforthcoming) and in 1572, it is reported by Adam's Chronicle, that a building wasconstructed "for practice shooting with guns with bullets" (ibid.). The marsh alsoprovided a public open space for walkers, although the Corporation tolerated thedumping of refuse in the area to the extent that the condition of the marsh became a"scandal" (Hughes et al. 1996, 10). In 1610, provisions were made for reparation ofthe marsh and £4 per annum was to be paid to two labourers to keep the area clean(Hughes et al. 1996, 10). In 1622, a bowling green was created in one corner of themarsh. This was removed for a gun battery during the Civil War and reinstated in1656 with a small lodge for the b~wlers use (Hughes et al. 1996, 10) as shown onMillerd's maps of the late 17th century, from 1670 onwards (Fig.2).

2.5 In the view of Timothy Mowl in his book 'To Build the Second City' (1991, 10-15)the development of Queen Square was a plan by the city council to raise funds at atime of limited finances. Mowl states that the original idea was John Romsey's, theTown Clerk, who with the mayor, John Bachelor, put the suggestion to the councilof selling building plots on the marsh and charging ground rent. This suggestion wasput forward at the same time as a request for permission to build a house on themarsh by Dr. John Reade on October 23, 1699 (MowI1991, 11 and Ison 1978, 141).Only the request by Dr. Reade is minuted in the Proceedings of Common Council(BRO 04264) together with his belief that other citizens wished to do the same. Threedays later a lease of land was granted to Dr. Reade with no rent required until 1701to allow time for the construction of the house (Hughes et al. 1996, 15). The councilappointed a committee to "layout the ground for building sites, and to treat for their

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BaRAS Repon No. 466/1999 Archaeological Investigation of Queen Square, Bristol.

disposal" (Latimer 1900, 490), stipulating that houses built on the marsh should befronted in brick. Mowl (1991, 11) suggests that the choice of building material wasJohn Romsey's in an attempt to emulate the new developments in London such asBuckingham Street and Newport Square, themselves based on dutch housing in citiessuch as Utrecht , hence the reference to Holland in the poem by William Goldwin(see prelude to report). Early in 1700 leases for the south, west and east sides weregranted to prominent members of the city such as James Hollidge (BRO 04043),sheriff and future mayor of Bristol, who purchased the bowling green lodge for £100so that he could build several properties in the southwest area of the square (Latimer1900, 490). The south side of the square proved to be the most popular, almost allthe properties along this side being leased out at this early date while only about nineproperties along the west side and four on the east were leased (BRO 04043). ByFebruary 1700, the scheme was described as "the Square now there in building"(Hughes et al. 1996, 15), although the first house was not completed until 1701(Latimer 1893, 43). In 1709 further leases were granted with 18 plots being taken(BRO 04043). The positions of these plots are not recorded, but it is likely that thisaccounted for construction work on the remaining sites on the east and west sides andthe beginnings of the construction on the north side. Millerd's map of 1710 (Fig.3)shows the square close to completion with buildings, including the Custom House,almost encompassing the site, despite the fact that the Custom House was probablynot completed until 1711 (MowI1991, 15). The map also shows that there are tworows of trees and a fence line around a central area which is grassed with no formallayout. Despite the two early flourishes of leases it was not until 1727 that allbuilding work in the square was completed after the remaining plots on the north sidewere leased in 1725 (Ison 1978, 144).

2.6 The main source of information for the historical development of the formal layout ofQueen Square is cartographic. The first accurately surveyed map of the city to bepublished was by John Rocque in 1742. Rocque's maps of Bristol, dated 1742 and1750 (Fig.4), show three lines of trees around the perimeter, tree-lined cross walksdividing the square into four, and diagonal paths in each quarter. This formal layoutwas probably initiated in the 1730s when proposals for the setting of Rysbrack's statueof William III first emerged. The statue was erected in 1736 in the centre of thesquare and, although a considerable amount of work was carried out to provide "anappropriate setting" for the statue after its erection (Hughes et al. 1996,23) the crosspaths and diagonals were likely to have been in place prior to 1736.

2.7 Benjarnin Donne's 'Plan of the City of Bristol' of 1773 shows a similar layout to thesquare as that of Rocque's map. The only significant difference is that two rows oftrees line the perimeter of the square as opposed to the three lines shown on theearlier map.

2.8 Towards the end of the 18th century Queen Square was re-landscaped, the trees alongthe cross walks were removed in 1776 and the diagonal paths within each quadrantwere also taken up during this period. One of the first plans of the square after thislandscaping is John Plumley's 'Plan of the City of Bristol' , dated 1817, (Fig.S) whichshows the layout much as it is today with the cross paths, diagonal paths and tworows of trees around the perimeter.

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BaRAS Report No.466/I999 Arcllaeological Investigation of Queen Square, Bristol.

2.9 The Bristol Riots of October 1831 caused considerable damage to the square, 27houses were destroyed or partly destroyed including the Custom House and MansionHouse (Hughes et al. 1996,33-4). The riots started a decline in the social status of thesquare as the professional people, such as surgeons and solicitors who were theoccupiers of Queen Square properties in the 18th century, moved out and multipletenancies and business premises became the norm. The first edition OS map of 1882shows an organisation of the square similar to that of the earlier 19th century whichcould itself indicate a decline, with fewer landscape initiatives carried out during the19th century compared to the various design changes of the latter half of the 18thcentury.

2.10 The landscape of the square remained relatively unchanged until 1936 when theRedcliffe Way dual carriageway was constructed along the diagonal from the citycentre/Kings Street corner to the Grove/Welsh Back corner of the square.Accompanying this development were the placement of park benches and steps to thepaths in the central area and the reorientation of the William III statue.

2.11 A photograph in the Reece Winstone collection shows air raid shelters being dugclose to the centre of the square in 1938 in response to the perceived threat of aerialbombing that precipitated the Air Raid Precautions Act of 1937 (PI.1). Thisphotograph is the only known record of these shelters which were excavated on bothsides of Redcliffe Way and were probably demolished immediately after the war.

2.12 In 1992 Queen Square was closed to through traffic as a response to concerns aboutthe detrimental effects on the environment and historic landscape caused by the largenumber of vehicles using the dual carriageway. Buses still use the perimeter roadsalong which are parking bays serving those working and resident in the square.

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BaRAS Report No.466fl999 Archeological Investigation ofQuccn Square, Brislol.

3. PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK

3.1 No previous archaeological fieldwork has been carried in Queen Square. The onlyarchaeological finds from the square have been post-medieval pottery, usually NorthDevon Sgraffito wares, recovered after trees have been up-rooted by storms. Therehave, however, been a number of archaeological investigations in the vicinity of thesquare mostly around the periphery of the Floating Harbour (Fig.6) .

3.2 Along the harbourside to the west of Queen Square there has been an excavation andtwo watching briefs centred on Narrow Quay and Broad Quay. An excavation in 1978at Narrow Quay (BUAD 442), where Broad Quay House now stands, revealed a 16th- century mud-dock, St.Clement's Dock, and a 17th-century dry-dock, Aldworth'sDock. St.Clement's was in-filled about 1581 and excavation of the dock produced alarge assemblage of artifacts including a collection of 16th-century pottery (Good1987). A subsequent watching brief (BUAD 3275), carried out in 1997 at Broad Quayimmediately to the north of Broad Quay House, revealed 2.5 to 3m of made-groundduring excavation of a sewer pipe trench. This made-ground consisted of orange andblack ashy material that overlay alluvial clay (BaRAS Report No.404/1998). In oneof the inspection chambers for this sewer, excavated in the road close to the line ofthe Marsh Wall, a deposit of large stones was revealed that may have been theremnants of the town wall, although it had no cohesive structure (ibid.). A previouswatching brief carried out in 1956 on the site adjacent to the Narrow Quay excavationrevealed a number of ships timbers that were presumed to be in-filling a dock andwhich were associated with 17th-century pottery and clay pipes (BUAD 453).

3.3 Along Welsh Back, to the east of Queen Square, there have been two archaeologicalevaluations and a watching brief. In 1990 three trenches were excavated at No. 30Welsh Back, a post-war warehouse at the corner of King Street that stood on the siteof 17th-century tenements. The evaluation trenches revealed 19th-century cellarsbeneath which were layers of ash, cinders and gritty clays of post-medieval date.These overlay stony brown clays of possibly medieval date underlain by alluvium(BUAD 473).

3.4 An evaluation was carried out in 1994 at the southern end of Welsh Back in nos.42­43 (BUAD 3062), formerly a wine merchants. Two trenches were excavated in thecellars of the building revealing ash and cinders deposits of 17th century dateoverlying the alluvium (BaRAS Report BA/C078). Similar deposits were revealedduring the watching brief at C and D Sheds, Welsh Back in 1989. This workidentified three stages of post-medieval reclamation of the marsh (lIes and Kidd 1987,49).

3.5 In 1974 the Action Group for Bristol Archaeology carried out an excavation to therear of Nos.41-42 Queen Square and No.4 The Grove. This revealed the black ashand cinders deposit, a property boundary wall dated to 1700 and a stone lined drainof 17th century date. The earliest deposit was found to be c.1600 in date (BUAD420).

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BaRAS Report No.466'I999 Archaeological 1fM$\lgation of Queen Square, Bristol.

3.6 The majority of the archaeological fieldwork in the vicinity of Queen Square hasshown that similar black ash and cinders layers of 17th century date overlie thealluvial clays. These layers appear to have been deposited in an effort to reclaim themarsh for the early post-medieval development.

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BaRAS Report No.466/1999 ArchleologiClI Investigation of Queen Square. Bristol.

4. THE INVESTIGATIONS

Methodology

4.1 There were two phases to the archaeological investigations; the first undertaken latein 1998, a large mechanically excavated trench (Trench 1, Fig.l) and the secondcarried out in March 1999, a small hand-excavated trench (Trench 2, Fig.l).

4.2 Phase 1 - Trench 1 aligned north-south was excavated in the south eastern quadrantof Queen Square (Fig. 1) . Turf and topsoil were removed by a mechanical excavatorfrom an area measuring 30m in length and lOm in width. The mechanical excavatoralso removed the diagonal tarmac path and sub-base and part of the fill of an air raidshelter at the northern end of the trench. The excavation was then cleaned by handand recorded. Test sections were hand excavated through the black ashy make-uprevealed by the machine excavation (Fig.7). After these sections were recorded themachine returned to strip an area between the 'arms' of the air raid shelter in anattempt to locate one of the 18th-century diagonal paths. The machine also excavateda sondage at the southern end of the trench to establish the depth of the alluvium andinvestigate whether any evidence of the 17th-century bowling green survived. Withthe completion of this work the trench was backfilled and the tarmac path reinstated.

4.3 Phase 2 - The main intention of this part of the investigations was to excavate atrench across the line of an original path that the air raid shelter in Trench 1 hadremoved all evidence of. It was also intended to more thorougWy investigate the blackcinder deposits that had been found to underlie the square in the initial trench witha view to establishing a probable source for this material. For these purposes it wasonly necessary to excavate a small trench, measuring 5m by 2m, aligned southwest­northeast approximately 20m to the east of the south eastern corner of Trench 1.Turf, topsoil and a 19th/20th century subsoil were removed by hand before a sectionthrough the underlying cinders was excavated at the southwestern end of the trench.After consultation with Gill Juleff of Exeter University a sampling strategy wasagreed whereby 100% samples of each cinders deposit were taken from a one metresquare box section (Fig.l0). These bulk samples were then weighed and hand sortedon site to recover the bulk of the slag with one bag of each deposit being kept backto be finely sieved and sorted during post-excavation. The resulting elevation fromthe removal of samples was then recorded before the trench was backfilled and re­turfed.

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BaRAS Report No. 466/1999 Arclllleological Investigation or Queen Square, BriSIOI.

The Archaeological Evidence

Trench 1

4.2 The removal of turf, topsoil and the tarmac path revealed a black ash and cindersdeposit (context 4/16) that covered the trench and into which had been cut theconstruction trench for the tarmac path (6) and an air raid shelter (2). This air raidshelter, at the northern end of the trench, had an 'H' shaped plan aligned north-southwith a third north-south passage terminating at the central east-west passage (coverPI. & PI.2). This shelter measured approximately lOm x 10m, although the sheltercontinued north, west and east beyond the trench, and had been backfilled withrubble. Removal of this rubble from the central area to a depth of 1.5m revealed theprefabricated concrete shuttering and roof beams that had been used in the air raidshelter's construction. This also exposed a section through the black ash and cinders(Pl.3) revealing the deposit to be loosely stratified with lenses of rubble, slate andmortar.

4.3 In the central area of the trench, south of the air raid shelter, the black ash of context4 was overlain by three similar spreads of reddish brown clay containing small tomedium sized stones of yellow and red Dolomitic Conglomerate (contexts 8, 11 and12) and a layer of sand (9). These deposits were found to be approximatelycontemporary and contained finds of 20th century date. It is likely that these contextsare associated with the construction of the air raid shelter and possibly formed hardstanding for any machinery used in the construction work.

4.4 The stony clay spreads were very shallow, having a maximum depth of 100mm, andoverlay the thin spread (30-50mm) of light grey/brown, fine to medium grained sand(9). This sand was evidently a type of sub-base for the stony clay being depositedonly in the central area immediately prior to contexts 8, 11 and 12.

4.5 To the south of the central deposits was the diagonal cut for the modem tarmac path(6). The tarmac and scalpings of the sub-base were removed by machine to leave a3m wide, 0.3-0.5m deep vertical-sided construction trench aligned southwestnortheast. Beneath the tarmac path was an earlier compacted coarse gravel orscalpings path (7) and a sub-base of gravel, ash and lime (13) the timber shutteringfor which still survived along the northern edge of the cut (PI.4). Truncated by these20th-century paths was a thin layer of gravel and red sandy clay marl (14/21) that layat approximately 9.64m aOD, 0.5m below the present path surface. This gravel wasvisible in patches along the northern side of the path's construction trench andextended for 0.5m south along the eastern section left by the path's removal (Fig.9,PI.5) . Two sections were hand dug perpendicular to the tarmac path to find the extentof the red gravel and to recover dating evidence from this and the black ash deposits.These sections revealed that there were alternating deposits of black ash (16, 18,20),pinkish brown, sandy clay (17) and grey silty clay (19) overlying the red layer ofgravel (14/21) (Fig.S). Below the red gravel the deposits were more consistently ablack ash (22, 27, 35) with very little difference between them. Context 22 producedpottery dating from 1700-1750 and clay tobacco pipes dating from the late 17thcentury to the early 18th century (Appendix 2 and 3). Context 27 produced late 17th-

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BaRAS Repon No. 466/1999 Arclueologieal Investigation 0( Queen SqUIre., Bri!lol.

century pottery including part of a North Devon dripping pan (Fig.12.ii). The lowestdeposit encountered by the hand excavated sections was a layer of greyish white limeand ash mortar (28) at a depth of 8.32m aDD, 1.8m below the present groundsurface. This produced pottery and clay tobacco pipes of late 17th century date(Appendix 2 and 3). The red gravel did not continue all along the hand dug sectionbut gradually faded northwards and was not visible in the northern O. 7m of thesection, although an horizon was detectable between context 20, above the gravel, andcontext 22, below. Along the northern edge of context 14121 the gravel was loose andlacking the red marl to consolidate it.

4.6 The various black ash deposits were also revealed by the machine excavated sondageat the southern end of the trench. In this sondage brown alluvial clay (52) wasencountered at a depth of 7.15m aDD, 3m below the present ground surface. Thiswas a thin layer, 100mm thick, of oxidised alluvium overlying blue alluvial clay (53)that oxidised to brown within a short period after exposure to the air. No datingevidence was recovered from the alluvial clays (contexts 52 and 53). From the earliestblack ashy deposit (context 51), immediately above the alluvium, part of a NetherStowey dish was recovered (Fig.12.i and PI.7) at a depth of approximately 2.5mbelow the ground surface. This dish had slip and sgraffito decoration, under-glazedwith copper staining and dates from the first half of the 17th century.

4.7 An attempt to fmd the northern cross path for this quadrant of the square provedunsuccessful. Rocque's map of 1750 (Fig.4) shows that this path should have passedthrough the trench, however, removal of the black ash material by machine to a depthof 8.8lm aDD, 1.3m below the present ground surface, did not reveal evidence forthe path. This excavation did reveal several other deposits of black ash and cinders(contexts 40 and 50) beneath context 4 that probably correspond to the layers foundbeneath the red gravel in the hand-excavated sections. Context 40 produced potteryofpre 1750 date and clay tobacco pipes of late 17th to early 18th century (Fig.12.iii).Context 50 produced several near complete clay tobacco pipes of late 17th centurydate (Fig.12.v-vi and PI.I0).

4.8 Trench 2

The removal of the turf and topsoil from the area of Trench 2 revealed a similar blackash and cinders deposit (context 202) to that revealed in Trench 1. This layer was0.24m to O. 3m deep and contained mortar, bricks, and large stones. Pottery of 17­18th century date, such as WesterwaldStoneware from Germany (P1.8 and 9), andclay tobacco pipes of early 17th century date were recovered (Appendix 2 and 3),although the deposit is likely to be of a later date.

4.9 Beneath context 202 was a stone, concrete, mortar and tar feature (context 215) thatwas highly compact and measured 2.7m in width (Fig. 10). This was alignednorthwest-southeast through the centre of the trench and is likely to have been amake-shift track possibly associated with pre-war developments in the square (seebelow, para 5.9). This is even more probable considering that this feature cut a blackcinders deposit (context 203) that contained 19th-century pottery. Context 203consisted of fine black cinders with occasional lime mortar fragments and very

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BaRAS Rcpofl No.466/1999 Archaeological lnvcsliplion of Quun Square, Brislol.

occasional small stones and gravel pebbles. This layer was 0.26 - 0.3m in depth andwas initially sampled with the excavation of a section at the southwestern end of thetrench (Fig. 10) . It was later discovered that there must actually be two very similardeposits within context 203 as a small fragment of gravel path was found in thenorthern corner of the trench within this layer (Fig.lO). This was the only evidenceof the former path as it had almost been completely removed by context 215,however, the constituents of this small fragment of path were identical to that of thegravel path in Trench 1.

4.10 Underlying context 203 were patches of brown clay (context 204) that were O.lmdeep and contained occasional fragments of mortar, pennant sandstone, coal, a smallquantity of slag and pottery of mid 17th century date. These patches overlay a furtherlayer of black cinders with fragments of lime (context 205) that contained mid-late17th-century pottery. This context was 0.1 m deep and began the sequence of sampleddeposits from the box section in the southern corner of the trench (Fig.lO, 11 andPI.6).

4.11 Below context 205 were successive deposits of black cinders (contexts 206,208,210and 211) and thin spreads of mortar (contexts 207 an 209) (Fig.ll) that were likelyto have been demolition rubble similar to the spreads such as context 28 in Trench1. These deposits produced pottery of 17th century date, although the mortar spread(207) produced late 16th-century Yayal Blue pottery from Seville in Spain. Onehundred percent of the cinder deposits from this sequence were sampled and sortedas described above (para 4.3).

4.12 The box section was excavated to a maximum depth of 8.83m aOD, 1.45m below thecurrent ground surface.

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BaRAS Report No. 466/1999 Archatologic.al Investigation of Queen Squue, Bristol.

5. CONCLUSION

5.1 Based on the evidence of the fieldwork at Queen Square it is possible to establish aprovisional chronology of six broad periods of deposition and activity based on thearchaeological evidence and artefacts found during the Queen Square Investigations.Further work in and around the square may refine this phasing.

Period 1 - The Marsh, pre 1690

5.2 Within the area of the trench this period is represented by the alluvial clays (contexts52 and 53) deposited over many centuries during flooding. As shown by Millerd'smaps of the 1670's, towards the end of this period a bowling green stood on themarsh, although it appears that by this time industrial and domestic waste was alreadybeing dumped on the marsh (see below). It is clear from the documentary sources thatfrom the medieval period onwards the marsh was an important open space with avariety of uses, both industrial and recreational.

Period 2 - Transition from Marsh to Square, 1690 - 1700

5.3 The excavations at Queen Square have established that approximately 2.5m of blackcindery deposits have been dumped on the marsh prior to the development of thesquare. It would be unlikely that the casual dumping mentioned above (para. 5.2)could account for this quantity of material and these deposits are all 17th century indate. The nature of the deposits suggest that the material mostly derives from industrialwaste as it consists of between 25 % and 40% spent coal cinders with only smallquantities of domestic waste such as animal bone, oyster shell, glass and ceramics (seeTable 1). Documentary evidence suggests that this dumping occurred between the 23rdOctober 1699, when the suggestion for construction work on the marsh was first putforward, and the spring of 1700, when "...masons and bricklayers had invaded thequiet meadow... "(Latimer 1893,25). It would seem unlikely that in a period of a fewmonths anything other than mdustry could account for the quantity of material thatcovers the marsh. Similar waste has been found overlying the alluvium in evaluationsat both ends of Welsh Back (BUAD 473; BaRAS Report BA/C078) and west of thesquare during a watching brief at Broad Quay (BUAD 3275; BaRAS ReportNo.404/1998),meaning that approximately 100,000 square metres of marsh has beencovered by the black cindery deposit. Generalising from the weight of materialsampled from Trench 2, where 0.57m3 weighed 544kg, a cubic metre could weigh justunder 1 tonne, 954.4kg (see Table 2). Assuming that the depth of material isconsistently about 2.5m then this would amount to approximately 250, 000 tonnes ofwaste being dumped on the area in the winter of 1699-1700.

5.4 There is a relatively low percentage of metallurgical slag within the deposits sampledat Queen Square. Gill Juleff examined the samples visually and sorted the slag intothree main classes;a) 'true' slags - generally dense and relatively homogenous in texture and colour. Themajority from Queen Square are fractured to such an extent that form and orientationcannot be determined, but it is assumed that they originate from metallurgicalactivities.

11

BaRAS Report No.466I1999 Archaeological Investigalioll of Queen Square, Bristol.

b) Non-diagnostic vitrified debris - this class covers a wide range of lightweight,heterogeneous glassy ,dross' which cannot be readily assigned to a metallurgicalprocess. In general, they are high in silica and contain visible inclusions of calciumcarbonate, perhaps remnants of lime mortar. At best they can be described as derivingfrom clays and mortars subjected to high temperatures, intentionally or otherwise.c) Possible iron objects - these are identified by their distinctive orange, red and browncorrosion colours. Many are extensively, if not totally, mineralised and do not retainindications of the form of the original object.The quantity of each type by context is shown in Table 3. This table indicates thesmall amount of metallurgical slag from the samples with less than 50% of the totalweight of slag examined, and less than 1%of the total excavated sample weight, being'true' slag. The 'true' slag that is present appears to derive from small-scale smithingwith two possible hearth bottoms in the sample from context 6. No furtherinterpretation can be made with such a low level of occurrence of slag.

5.5 The results of the sampling and analysis of slags discounts iron foundries and leadsmelting as a source for the material at Queen Square. Clay-tobacco pipe makers andpottery kilns of the 17th century were mostly using timber as fuel and there is littleor no charcoal in the Queen Square deposits. The most likely single contributor for thematerial were the glasshouses of late 17th-century Bristol, nine of which were listedby John Houghton in 1696 in one of his letters on husbandry and trade (Witt, Weedenand Schwind 1984, 21). Two laws introduced in the 17th century also suggest thelikelihood of the glass industry as a source; in 1615 glass houses were forbidden to usewood in furnaces (Witt, Weeden and Schwind 1984,21) and the Scavengers Act of1699-1700 that forbade" glassmakers, copper-smelters, and others for throwingrefuse into the two rivers "that had been up to that point "... thereceptacles of mostof the ashes and filth of the city," (Latimer 1900,491-2). The concurrence of the latterActs date with the founding of Queen Square would seem more than fortuitous. Itwould be unusual to recover waste glass from this type of deposit as the cullet wouldnormally be collected and added to the next batch for firing (Kenyon 1967, 18)whereas flecks of lime, frequent throughout the Queen Square material, would furtherindicate glass making as a source. It is possible that the material derived from avariety of sources; there are lenses of possible demolition rubble within thestratigraphy (contexts 28, 207 and 209) and some of the waste may have beentransported considerable distances along the rivers as suggested by the presence of claytobacco pipes from Shropshire and Wiltshire that are unusual for Bristol assemblages(Appendix 3). However, glass production was taking place in the vicinity and wouldhave produced large quantities of spent fuel that would need to be hauled away anddumped.

5.6 The evidence recovered during excavation and post-excavation has established that thisphase represents the initial groundworks for the square that took place probably in thewinter of 1699-1700. As with modern developments there would have been a need toestablish an initial construction level before the bricklayers and masons moved in. Asthis development was reclaiming a marsh, albeit one which was relatively stable, theground surface needed to be raised else cellars would flood.

5.7 This phase represents the transition of public open space to private space, a processof urban renewal in the late 17th to early 18th century that has been identified by

12

BaRAS Ro:port No. 46611999 Archaeological Investigation of Queen SqUllro:, Bristol.

historians (see Borsay 1989). The building of Queen Square can be seen as part of thisprocess, the Corporation of Bristol looking to create revenue and at the same timeenhance civic pride. It is not clear how the loss of an open space that had been usedfor recreation and industry was received by Bristolians, but it is likely to have causedsome concern.

Period 3 - Park Layout, 1700 - 1750

5.8 The next phase in the development of the area was the layout of formal gardens thatfurther emphasised its polite use. Gravel walks were laid out and trees were planted.Cartographic evidence shows that Queen Square's original paths were in existence by1742 (Rocque's map of 1750 shows the same layout (Fig.4». Dating evidence fromexcavated material suggests that the last black ash layer before the formal layout ofthe square (22) was being deposited around the end of the 17th century and beginningof the 18th. The pottery from context 22 dates between 1700 and 1750, the clay pipesdate from 1669 to 1722. After the deposition of this layer the gravel paths were laidout. The red gravel (14/21) probably represents one of the diagonal paths from thisperiod, although no dating evidence was recovered. The gravel consists mostly of flintwith lesser quantities of Pennant Sandstone pebbles, pieces of Middle Jurassic shellyoolitic limestone, rounded pieces of buff-coloured sandstone (possibly CretaceousUpper Greensand) and well rounded white quartz. This material may have derivedfrom the gravels of the River Avon around Saltford, although outcrops of Pennant andwhite quartz lie downstream of Saltford and may suggest that the gravel wasspecifically imported.

Period 4 - Re-landscaping, late 18th - 19th century

5.9 The material overlying the original path appears to be 18th - 19th century in date,despite the early dates for the pipes recovered from the upper make-up deposits. Itwould seem likely that this material represents the re-landscaping of the squareundertaken in the latter years of the 18th century and early 19th century prior to thelayout shown in Plumley's map of 1817 (Fig.S). The ground surface was raised by afurther 0.5m, and new paths laid (possibly the intermediate path surface, context 7).This would suggest that the previous paths were turfed over or overlaid by new pathssuch as shown in (PI.5, Fig.9).

Period 5 - Road and Air-Raid Shelter Construction, 1936 - 39

5.10 The construction of the dual carriageway through the square in 1936 and, or the airraid shelters excavated in the square in 1938 may have produced the stony clay andunderlying sand of this period (contexts 8 - 12). It is possible that construction of theair raid shelter has removed evidence of the 18th-century northwest, southeast path thatwas predicted to pass through the trench (see Fig.4). The air-raid shelter was a coveredtrench shelter as suggested by the presence of the prefabricated concrete shuttering androof beams. The excavated spoil from the shelter's construction was likely moundedon top of the roof of the shelter for extra overhead protection and the shelter wasprobably entered by a flight of steps flanked by blast walls (Lowry (ed.) 1996, 67).Similar shelters were constructed at College Green in 1938 (Winstone 1987,76 (263)­(265) and later surface shelters were constructed through the tramway centre.

13

B&RAS Report No. 466/1999 ArclmeoIO&i~1 Investigalion of Queen Square, Bri51ol.

5.11 It is probable that the make-shift track (context 215) in Trench 2 was also associatedwith this phase possibly as a means of transporting materials to the air-raid shelter tothe northwest.

Period 6 - Post War landscaping

5.12 After the second World War the air raid shelter was back-filled, possibly with rubbleresulting from the blitzes, and the square returfed to appear much as it does today.

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BaRAS Rtpon No.466/I999 Archaeological Investigation of Queen Square, BriSIO!.

6. BmLIOGRAPHY

BaRAS Report BA/C078 1994 Archaeological EvaluaJion of 42-43 Welsh Back,Bristol, Avon. Unpublished client report.

BaRAS Report BAID209 1995 Historical and Archaeological Study of The Centre,Bristol. Unpublished client report.

BaRAS Report NoA04/1998

Borsay, P, 1989

Brett, J, forthcoming

Bristol City Council, 1996

Buchanan. R A & Cossons, N1969

Gaimster, D, 1997

Good, G L, 1987

Hughes, Root & Heath, 1996

Kenyon, G H, 1967

Latimer, J, 1893

Latimer, J, 1900

Lowry, B (ed) , 1996

Watching Brief at Broad Quay, Bristol. Unpublishedclient report.

The English urban renaissance: culture and societyin the provincial town, 1660-1770. Clarendon Press,Oxford.

The Bristol Urban Archaeological Assessment, Draftdocument.

The Restoration of Queen Square. Application to theHeritage Lottery Fund.. .Document 1. Bristol CityCouncil unpublished document.

The Industrial Archaeology of the Bristol Region.David and Charles, Newton Abbot.

German Stoneware 1200 - 1900. British MuseumPress, London.

The excavation of two docks at Narrow Quay,Bristol, 1978-9, Post- Medieval Archaeology vo121,25-126.

The History and Development of the Square.Appendix to the Application to the Heritage LotteryFund...Document2. Bristol City Council unpublisheddocument.

The Glass Industry of the Weald. LeicesterUniversity Press.

The Annals of Bristol in the Eighteenth Century.WilIiam George's Sons, Bristol.

The Annals of Bristol in the Seventeenth Century.WilIiam George's Sons, Bristol.

20th Century Defences in Britain, an introductoryguide CBA, York.

15

BaRAS Report No.466fl999 Archaeological Invesdgalion of Queen Square, Bristol.

lies, R & Kidd, A, 1987

Ison, W, 1978

Mowl, T, 1991

Avon Archaeology 1986-7, Bristol and AvonArchaeology vol 6,44-56.

The Georgian Buildings ofBristol. Kingsmead Press,Bath.

To Build the Second City, Architects and craftsmenof Georgian Bristol. Redcliffe Press Ltd. Bristol.

Price, R, and Jackson, R, & P, Bristol Clay Pipe Makers: A Revised and Enlarged1979 Edition. Privately published.

Winstone, R 1987

Witt, C, Weeden, C, 1984Schwind, A, P,

Bristol As It Was 1937 - 1939. Burleigh Press,Bristol.

Bristol Glass. South Western Printers Ltd.Caerphilly.

Sources in Bristol Record Office

Proceedings of Common Council BRO 04264City and Charity Rentals 1700 BRO 04043 (1)Bargain Books BRO 04335Lamp and Scavenger Rate Books (no number)

16

BnRAS Repon No. 466/1999 ArcllacologiCllI Invesligation of Queen Square. Bristol.

7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Bristol and Region Archaeological Services (BaRAS) would like to thank Chris Heath,Roger Clark (geological analyses), Rod Burchill (pottery), Reg Jackson (clay tobaccopipes), Gill Juleff (sample strategy advice and slag analyses), Farrntrac Plant Hire,Brandon Tool Hire, the staff of Bristol Record Office and Bristol Central Library.

17

BaRAS Repon NI;), 46611999 Archaeological In~tigatic

Appendix 1: Policy Statement

This report is the result of work carried Out in the light of national and local authoritypolicies.

NATIONAL POLICIES

Statutory protection for archaeology is enshrined in the Ancient Monuments andArchaeological Areas Act (1979), amended by the National Heritage Act, 1983. Nationallyimportant sites are listed in· the Schedule of Ancient Monuments (SAM). ScheduledMonument consent is required for any work which would affect a SAM.

DOE PLANNING POLICY GUIDANCE

The Planning Policy Guidance of Archaeology and Planning (PPG 16) consolidates adviceto planning authorities. The Guidance stresses the non-renewable nature of the archaeologicalresource, details the role of the County Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) , encouragesearly consultation with county and district archaeological officers and sets out therequirement for developers to provide sufficient information on the archaeological impact ofdevelopment to enable a reasonable planning decision to be made.

PPG 16 also indicates the circumstances where further work would be necessary and outlinesthe use of agreements and conditions to protect the archaeological resource.

DISTRICT POLICY

Bristol City Council Deposit Local Plan Written Statement (1993) states (policy B27):

There will be a presumption in favour of preserving any archaeological features or sites ofnational importance, whether scheduled or not.

Development which could adversely affect sites, structures, landscapes, buildings or areasof local archaeological interest and their settings will require an assessment of thearchaeological resource through a desktop study, and where appropriate a field evaluation.Where there is evidence of archaeological remains, development will not be permitted exceptwhere it can be demonstrated that:-

(i) the archaeological features of the site will be satisfactorily preserved insitu. or a suitable strategy has been put forward to mitigate the impact ofdevelopment proposals upon important archaeological remains and theirsettings, or, if this is not possible and the sites are not scheduled or ofnational importance;

(ii) provision for adequately recording the site prior to destruction is made,preferably by negotiating a planning agreement to ensure that access, time andfinancial resources are available to allow essential recording and publicationto take place.

APPENDIX 2 - The Pottery and Other Finds

by Rod Burchill

Pottery

The pottery assemblage from Queen Square consisted of 252 sherds weighing 9.445kg. Thematerial was identified by comparison to the Bristol Pottery Type Series (BPT) (Ponsford1988; Burchill forthcoming).

The pottery ranged in date from the mid 13th century to the mid 19th century. The potteryexhibited little evidence for use but was able to provide a chronology for the excavatedcontexts.

None of the pottery was particularly unusual; however, the assemblage included potteryimported from the Rhineland (Raeren and Westerwald); Netherlands; France (Saintonge andBeauvaise) and Spain. Context 209 contained 9 sherds of medieval rooftile (BRF1). Fulldetails of the pottery by context can be found in archive.

Chronology of contexts

Trench 1

Context 04: Post-1780

10: Post-1780

11: Post-1780

16: 19th century

18: 19th century

22: 1700-1750

23: Mid-late 17th century

26: 1700-1750

27: Late 17th century

28: Late 17th century

40: Pre 1750

50: Pre 1760

51: Early-mid 17th century.

Trench 2

Context 202 !8th century

203 mid 19th century

204 mid 17th century

205 mid-late 17th century

207 late 16th century

209 early-mid 17th century

210 17th century

211 early-mid 17th century

Pottery Types Present

BPT95BPT96BPT99BPTlOOBPTl08BPT112BPTl82BPTl86BPT201BPT202BPT203BPT223BPT264BPT268BPT277BPT278BPT280BPT285BPT287BPT310BPT315BPT318BPT325BPT333bBPT340

Westerwald StonewareWanstrow (East Somerset) waresEnglish tin-glazed earthenwareYellow slipwareNorth Devon slip and sgraffito wareNorth Devon kitchen waresTudor GreenWhite salt-glazed stonewareGarden furniture (flower pot)White chinaEnglish porcelainMoccha wareLocal red wareDonyatt (South Somerset) wareEnglish brown stonewareTransfer-print wareNether Stowey (West Somerset) wareMiscellaneous Somerset post-medRaeren StonewareSugar MouldSouthwest FrenchBeauvaise GreenWhieldon type wareYayal Blue (Seville)Miscellaneous Staffordshire wares

1680-18001550-18001650-17801650-17601625-17501600-18001420-16001720-1780

18/19th cent18/19th cent19th/20th cent18th/20th cent1550-180017th/early 19th (pre 1835)Post 17801550-17501550-18001475-15501650-18001550-16501500-155018th cent1525-160018th or later.

Other Finds

The excavations recovered small quantities of animal bone, shell, glass, slate and claytobacco-pipe and clay marbles. There were also a number of miscellaneous iron objectsmostly nails. Only tile clay tobacco-pipe was studied further.

APPENDIX 3 - The Clay Tobacco Pipes

by Reg Jackson

The archaeological investigations at Queen Square produced 115 clay tobacco pipe bowls orfragments of bowls from 18 contexts, 20 unstratified fragments were also recovered. The datesof these tobacco pipes range from the early 17th century to the early 18th century, although theearliest identifiable bowls that can be ascribed to a particular pipemaker - Richard Berryman(1619-1652) - are residual being recovered from stratigraphically the latest deposits (Trench 1:4, 16 and unstratified; Trench 2: 202). There were also many more undiagnostic stem fragmentsthat are not considered in this report. Approximately half of the total number of the stratified claytobacco pipe bowls came from three contexts - Trench 1: 4 and 22 and Trench 2: 202.

TRENCH 1

Context 48 spurred bowls.2 fragments of spurred bowls.1 barrel-shaped bowl with heel.3 heeled bowls.1 bowl with the initials PE incuse on heel (made by Philip Edwards I or H. Philip Edwards Ifree 1650, died 1683; Philip Edwards H free 1681, working until at least 1696).1 small bowl with the initials RB separated by a dagger and heart incuse on heel (made byRichard Berryman, working 1619 until at least 1652)(Fig.l0.iv).

Context 101 small bowl with Sun-like symbol incuse on heel.1 small bowl with heel missing.

Context 111 small forward projecting bowl with heel.

Context 161 small bowl with Tudor Rose incuse on heel.1 small bowl with Tudor Rose incuse on a small heel.1 small bowl with initials RB separated by a dagger and heart incuse on heel (made by RichardBerryman, see above).2 small heeled bowls.

Context 221 fragment of bowl with the initials PE incuse on heel (made by Philip Edwards I or H, seeabove).1 spurred bowl with initials incuse on back of bowl which probably read LE (made by LlewellinEvans, free 1661, died 1688).

1 spurred bowl with initials incuse on back of bowl which probably read RT (made by RobertTippet I or n. Robert Tippet I free 1660, dead by 1687. Robert Tippet n, free 1678, died 1722).8 spurred bowls.1 bowl with initials FR and decoration incuse on heel (made by Francis Russell I, free 1669, deadby 1714).1 heeled bowl with a symbol similar to an inverted V surrounded by stars incuse on heel andrepeated incuse on back of bowl. (The bowl shape is not a Bristol type and the mark is notknown. Possibly from the Broseley area of Shropshire).2 barrel-shaped bowls with heels.5 other forward projecting bowls with heels.

Context 23One small bowl with initials WC and decoration incuse on heel (made by either WilliamCherrington I or William Cissell. William Cherrington I free 1660, possibly still alive in 1704.William Cissell, free 1661, still working 1670).

Context 261 barrel-shaped bowl marked with the initials PE incuse on heel (made by either Philip EdwardsI or n, see above).1 barrel-shaped bowl unmarked.1 spurred bowl.1 fragment of spurred bowl.1 stem with rouletted diamond decoration with possible initials that are illegible.

Context 281 barrel-shaped bowl with initials PE incuse on heel (made by either Philip Edwards 1 or n, seeabove).1 fragment of bowl with initials lL and decoration incuse on heel (made by John Lewis I, free1669, dead by 1696).1 fragment of bowl with unmarked heel.

Context 291 bowl without spur or heel.

Context 405 spurred bowls.Fragments of 2 other spurred bowls.1 bowl with small heel and initials TO incuse on back of bowl (made by Thomas Owen I, free1698, dead by 1725).1 barrel-shaped bowl with initials IT and decoration incuse on heel (made by John Tucker, free1662, dead by 1690)(Fig.l0.ili).1 barrel-shaped bowl with the initials PE incuse on heel (made by Philip Edwards I or H, seeabove).2 forward projecting bowls with heels.

Context 505 barrel-shaped bowls with heels (Fig.l0.vand vi).2 forward projecting bowls with heels.

Unstratified2 small bowls with Tudor Rose incuse on heel.1 small bowl with initials RB separated by a dagger and heart incuse on heel (made by RichardBerryman, see above).1 bowl with the initials WC incuse on heel with swag decoration (made by either WilliamCherrington I or William Cissell, see above).1 barrel-shaped bowl with initials EL incuse on heel (made by Edward Lewis n, free 1678,working until at least 1722).1 small bowl with initials HP incuse on heel (made by Humphrey Partridge, free 1650, dead by1654).1 spurred bowl with rouletted stem decoration.3 heeled barrel-shaped bowls.3 forward projecting heeled bowls.1 small heeled bowl.4 spurred bowls.

TRENCH 2

Context 2021 barrel-shaped bowl with the initials EL between crude swags incuse on heel (made by EdwardLewis I, free 1631, probably dead by 1652).2 forward projecting bowls with initials RN in circle between swags incuse in heel (made byRichard Nunney, a founder of the Bristol Pipemakers Guild in 1652, free 1655, dead by 1713).3 bowls with initials RB separated by a dagger and heart incuse on heel (made by RichardBerryman, see above).1 small bowl with crude' Prince of Wales Feathers' motif incuse on heel.6 forward projecting bowls with a 'Gauntlet' incuse on heel (probably made by the Gauntletfamily of Devizes, Wiltshire in the early to mid 17th century).4 small bowls with Tudor Rose incuse on heel.1 bowl with a very large flattened heel. Incuse two line mark on heel. First line reads IOHN,second line is illegible. (Made in Broseley or Broseley area of Shropshire in the early to mid17th century).11 small heeled bowls.2 fragments of spurred bowls.1 fragment of large barrel-shaped bowl.

Context 2032 heeled bowls.1 spurred bowl.1 bowl with the initials RN in a circle and between swags incuse on heel (made by RichardNUl1ney, see above).

I

Context 2041 spurred bowl. The bowl is flattened at the front and appears to be a possible kiln waster. Itis unsmoked.

Context 2051 spurred bowl1 heeled bowl.1 bowl fragment.

Context 2061 heeled bowI.

Context 2103 small forward projecting 'West Country' style bowls with heels. Two have a Tudor Roseincuse on heel.

Context 2111 small heeled bowl.

Unstratified1 small heeled bowl1 small bowl with 'Gauntlet' mark incuse on heel (see above for identification).

DISCUSSION

With a few exceptions, all the clay pipes were made in Bristol and information about their makersis taken from Price, R. & Jackson, R. & P.,Bristol Clay Pipe Makers: A Revised and EnlargedEdition. In the 17th century all the Bristol pipemakers were working in the Lewins Mead areaof the city.

On clay pipe evidence nearly all the contexts are of 17th-century date, with perhaps one (Trench1, context 40) just tipping into the 18th century. Ten pipes are unusual:One pipe from Trench 2 context 202 which was certainly made in Broseley or the Broseley areaof Shropshire, and one from Trench 1 context 22 which may also have been made in Broseley.Seven pipes from Trench 2 contexts 202 and unstratified which bear the so called 'Gauntlet' markon the heel and were allegedly made by the Gauntlet family of Wiltshire.One pipe from context 29 which has neither heel nor spur.

Trench 1Context 4 and 26 cannot have been deposited before 1650 and the presence of spurred bowlssuggests a date in the last quarter of the 17th century.Contexts 10, 11 and 16 probably date to the first quarter of the 17th century.Context 22 cannot have been deposited before 1669 and the presence of spurred bowls suggestsa date in the last quarter of the 17th century.Context 28 cannot have been deposited before 1669 and probably dates to around 1670 to 1680.

Context 40 must be later than 1698 but cannot be later than the very early 18th century.Context 50 probably dates to around 1660 to 1680.

Trench 2Contexts 210 and 211 appear to date to the second quarter of the 17th century and are unlikelyto have been deposited after 1650.Contexts 203, 204 and 205 date to the third quarter of the 17th century but are unlikely to havebeen deposited after 1700.Context 202 is a mixed deposit - the majority of pipes date to the early to mid 17th century butthe presence of two pipes made by Richard Nunney and two fragments of spurred bowls indicatea late 17th century date.

Table 1: Recovered material from sampled contexts, Trench 2

CONTEXT 205 206 208 210 211

Total llkg/lll 20kg/221 19 kg 122 I 16 kg 120 I 18 kg 120 Iweight 1vol

g's % g's % g's % g's % g's %

SLAG 105 0.95 120 0.6 40 0.21 60 0.37 305 1.69

CINDERS 100 0.91 155 0.77 310 1.63 275 1.72 340 1.89

STONE 720 6.55 1025 5.12 490 2.58 430 2.69 700 3.89

MORTAR 100 0.91 90 0.45 70 0.37 120 0.75 140 0.78

METAL 30 0.27 - - - - trace trace

CERAMIC 125 1.14 120 0.6 20 0.11 20 0.12 40 0.22

OYSTERS 80 0.73 80 0.4 - - 70 0.44 - -

BONE 60 0.55 60 0.3 40 0.21 60 0.37 70 0.39

GLASS 20 0.18 10 0.05 10 0.11 trace 20 0.11

COAL - - 40 0.02 40 0.21 70 0.44 140 0.78

CHARC. - - - - - - - - 10 0.06

CLAY - - 80 0.4 - - - - - -

RESIDUAL 1500 13.6 3000 15 5000 26.3 5000 31.2 3000 16.7

Total 2840 25.8 4780 23.9 6020 31.9 6105 38.2 4765 26.5sample

Table 2: Sample volume, weight and slag content, Trench 2.

CONTEXT VOLUME WEIGHT SLAG QUANTITYI

(m3) (kg)

gm %

205 0.1 129 780 0.6

206 0.25 277 975 0.35

208 0.04 19 60 0.32

I

210 0.1 84 125 0.15

211* 0.04 37 385 1.04

~ i i i iTotals 0.57** 546** I* Only half of a metre square was sampled of context 11.** Totals achieved with a doubling of context II's volume and weight to produce equivilent

results for a cubic metre.

Table 3 Identification of material in the slag samples from Trench 2

CONTEXT Excavated Total weight 'True' slags Non- Possiblesample (g) of slag diagnostic iron objects

examined (g) vitrifieddebris

(g) no. (g) no. (g) no.

205 129,000 780 200 5 >400 50+ 120 20

206 277,000 975 670 25 250 20+ 50 6

208 19,000 60 20 1 20 1 20 2

210 84,000 125 60 3 65 20+

211 37,000 385 90 10+ 275 20+ 20 10

I

Totals 546,000 2325 1040 45+ >650 111+ 210 34

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tarmac path

scalpings

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Fig.9 Interpretive illustration for P1.5.

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10.20

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213

9.84

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~ position of section (Fig. 11) ~L.1.-.-L._ ......L._ . .....L._._1 ._. _ . ...l..... _. ----L._. i._.-L.

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Fig.10 Plan of Trench 2.

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possible 18th century horizon{approximate level of 18th century paths)

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Northwest facing section in Trench 2.

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Selection of finds; (i) Early-mid 17th - century Nether Stowey dish withslip and sgraffito decoration, context 51, (ii) late 17th - century NorthDevon dripping pan, context 27, (iii) barrel - shaped bowl with initials ITand decoration incuse on heel made by John Tucker, 1662-1690, context40, (iv) small pipe made by Richard Berryman 1619-1652 with initials REseparated by a dagger and heart incuse on heel, context 4, (v) and (vi)barrel - shaped bowls with heels, context 50. Shown 1:2.

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Fig.12

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Pl.1 Air raid shelters being excavated in Queen Square, October 1938.

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P1.2 View from the south-west of air raid shelter during archaeological inves-tigation.

December 1998.

P1.3 West facing section in air raid shelter after removal of back-f~ll.

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PIA Soutn-east facing section after removal of modem tarmac path, showing timbershuttering.

P1.5 West facing section after removal of modem tarmac path.

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PI.6 Box Section in Trench 2, viewed from northwest.

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PI.7 Nether Stowey dish, context 51, Trench I.

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PI.8 Westerwald pottery from a vessel similar to that in Plate 9, context 202, Trench 2.

PI. 9 An example of a Westerwald mug, of late 17th century date, made inGermany with Roundel Medallion moulded with a portrait of King WilliamIII (1689 - 1702) (Gaimster 1997, colour plate 22).

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PI10 Seventeenth century clay-tobacco pipes, context 50, Trench 1.