WATERSIDE DEVELOPMENT SITE, AYLESBURY, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT
© Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS LTD
WATERSIDE DEVELOPMENT SITE, AYLESBURY, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT
Author: Kate Doyle BA NGR: SP 8220 1352 Report No. 2187 District: Aylesbury Vale Site Code: n/a Approved: Claire Halpin MIFA Project No. 2866 Signed: Date: April 2007
This report is confidential to the client. Archaeological Solutions Ltd accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known. Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission.
Archaeological Solutions Ltd, 98 - 100 Fore Street, Hertford SG14 1AB. Tel: 01992 558170 Fax: 01992 553359 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.archeologicalsolutions.co.uk Registered Number: 4702122
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 2 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
CONTENTS
OASIS SUMMARY SHEET
SUMMARY
1 INTRODUCTION
2 DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE
3 METHOD OF WORK
4 TOPOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY & SOILS
5 ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
6 PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
7 THE SITE
8 CARTOGRAPHIC SOURCES
9 PICTORIAL SOURCES
10 BUILDING DESCRIPTIONS
11 SITE VISIT
12 PREVIOUS GROUND DISTURBANCE
13 DISCUSSION
14 CONCLUSION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES 1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATABASE (SMR) 2 CARTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE 3 LIST OF PLATES
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 3 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
OASIS SUMMARY SHEET Project details Project name Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Project description (250 words)
In April 2007, Archaeological Solutions Ltd (AS) conducted an archaeological desk-based assessment at the Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (NGR SP 8220 1352). The site is located to the east of the historic core of the town. The archaeological desk-based assessment has revealed that much of the site comprised agricultural land and floodplains of the Bear Brook until the modern period, yet the western section contained a post-medieval inn and market structures as early as the 17th century. Despite truncation caused by modern development such as the three Civic Centre buildings and the Exchange Street Offices, the site has a varied archaeological potential dating from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards.
The Waterside development site may also contain medieval and post-medieval remains associated with the periphery of the urban core and marketplace, particularly given the presence of the Town Hall and Corn Exchange in the western section of Area A from 1865. The archaeological potential of Area B is also significant for the industrial period and relates to the presence of the electricity depot, timber yard and the canal wharf of the Grand Union Canal. Former frontage properties dating from the post- medieval and early modern periods may also be found at the north-western boundary of Area A and along the Walton Street frontage of Area B, which may also contain evidence for the 19th century Mission Hut. The presence of the Bear Brook across Area B indicates the possibility of waterlogged alluvial and peat deposits.
Project dates (fieldwork) April 2007 Previous work (Y/N/?) Y Future work (Y/N/?) Y P. number 2866 Site code n/a Type of project Archaeological desk-based assessment Site status None Current land use Civic Centre amenities, grass, car parks, mixed use extant buildings Planned development Wide range of commercial and residential buildings Main features (+dates) n/a Significant finds (+dates) n/a Project location County/ District/ Parish Buckinghamshire Aylesbury Vale Aylesbury HER/ SMR for area Buckinghamshire SMR Post code (if known) Area of site c. 4.5 hectares NGR SP 8220 1352 Height AOD (max/ min) c. 79m AOD Project creators Brief issued by n/a Project supervisor/s (PO) Archaeological Solutions Funded by Aylesbury Vale District Council
Full title Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire; an archaeological building desk-based assessment Authors Doyle, K. Report no. 2187 Date (of report) April 2007
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 4 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
WATERSIDE DEVELOPMENT SITE, AYLESBURY, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL DESK-BASED ASSESSMENT
SUMMARY
In April 2007, Archaeological Solutions Ltd (AS) conducted an archaeological desk- based assessment at the Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (NGR SP 8220 1352). The site is located to the east of the historic core of the town. The archaeological desk-based assessment has revealed that much of the site comprised agricultural land and floodplains of the Bear Brook until the modern period, yet the western section contained post-medieval inn and market structures as early as the 17th century. Despite truncation caused by modern development such as the three Civic Centre buildings and the Exchange Street Offices, the site has a varied archaeological potential dating from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards. The presence of any late Saxon or medieval remains would be particularly important, providing a link between the settlements at Aylesbury and Walton, and addressing questions of early urban planning and development, and the shifting geographical focus of early Anglo-Saxon, later Saxon and medieval settlement.
The Waterside development site may also contain medieval and post-medieval remains associated with the periphery of the urban core and marketplace, particularly given the presence of the Town Hall and Corn Exchange in the western section of Area A from 1865. The archaeological potential of Area B is also significant for the industrial period and relates to the presence of the electricity depot, timber yard and the canal wharf of the Grand Union Canal. Former frontage properties dating from the post-medieval and early modern periods may also be found at the north-western boundary of Area A and along the Walton Street frontage of Area B, which may also contain evidence for the 19th century Mission Hut. The presence of the Bear Brook across Area B indicates the possibility of waterlogged alluvial and peat deposits.
Most of the buildings known within Areas A and B of the site have been mapped in detail, although the site of the Boatmen’s Mission Hut is unknown. Industrial remains in Area B may provide an insight into the ‘integrated’ nature of 19th - 20th century transport, storage and fuel distribution at the canal basin and terminal, particularly regarding the narrow gauge railway. It will also be important for any archaeological intervention to record stratigraphy and deposit formation found within Area B and seek to establish a dated sequence, to investigate any changes in the course of the Bear Brook. An appropriate environmental sampling to permit palaeoenvironmental and historical landscape reconstruction would also be appropriate.
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 In April 2007, Archaeological Solutions Ltd (AS) conducted an archaeological desk-based assessment at the Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire (NGR SP 8220 1352; Figs. 1 & 2). The desk-based assessment was
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 5 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 commissioned by Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) in advance of the proposed demolition of existing structures and the construction of a wide range of commercial and residential buildings, including a supermarket, shopping mall, hotel and department store (Area A), and a new concert hall and theatre, residential flats and restaurants around the canal basin (Area B). The proposed scheme for the development has not yet been finalised, and the proposed development plan is forthcoming.
1.2 The archaeological desk-based assessment was conducted in accordance with a project brief issued by Buckinghamshire County Council Archaeological Service (BCC AS; dated 16th March 2006) and a specification compiled by AS (dated 9th February 2007). It enhances a previous archaeological desk-based assessment of the site carried out by AS in 2004 (O’Brien, L. 2004 Sites A & B (Aylesbury Town Centre Development/Aylesbury Waterside), Exchange Street, Aylesbury, Bucks; an archaeological desk-based assessment). The project also followed the procedures outlined in the Institute of Field Archaeologists’ Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Desk-Based Assessments (revised 2001).
1.3 The report was undertaken in conjunction with the relevant planning policies, which apply to the effect of development with regard to cultural heritage. Of particular relevance was Planning Policy Guidance Note 16 ‘Archaeology and Planning’ (PPG16), which is widely applied by local authorities. PPG16 (1994) applies to archaeology and states that there should always be a presumption in favour of preserving nationally important archaeological remains in situ. However, when there is no overriding case for preservation, developers are required to fund opportunities for the recording and, when necessary, the excavation of the site.
1.4 The principal aims of the desk-based assessment were to provide for the identification of areas of archaeological potential within the site. It has also considered the site within its wider archaeological context. The likely extent, nature, condition and importance of the archaeology have been described. The context of further development proposals for the site has been examined and areas of significant previous ground disturbance identified, with a view to recommending potential mitigation strategies. Specific objectives included the collation, verification and assessment of any relevant archaeological, documentary, cartographic and geotechnical information.
1.5 The objectives of the archaeological desk-based assessment were; • to collate, verify and assess all information relevant to presence, survival and character of archaeological remains/structures within the site, • to provide a predictive model of the sub-surface deposits likely to be present on the site, and assess their archaeological significance, and; • to assess the impact of development proposals for the site on any identified archaeological remains, and possible mitigation.
1.6 As set out in the brief, project objectives specific to the Waterside development site were; • to summarise the documented archaeology of the site, including previous archaeological research and details of the canal heritage,
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 6 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
• to analyse the historic landscape of the site, and assess/map the survival and significance of any district landscape type/phase; • to identify and describe any standing buildings/structures of potential interest to Level 1, especially canal related structures (as described in the document Recording Historic Buildings; a descriptive specification, 3rd Edition 1996 RCHM(E)/EH; and updated within Understanding Historic Buildings; a guide to good recording practice, 2006, EH), • to identify relevant designated legal/planning constraints such as scheduled ancient monuments, listed buildings, registered historic parks and historically ‘important’ hedgerows, • to summarise the topography, geology and current/past land use of the site, and to create interim predictive models to guide any necessary field evaluation, • to identify areas of recent ground disturbance within the site and to identify potential constraints on further field evaluation techniques, • to assess the likely state of preservation and depth of burial of archaeological remains across the site, • to analyse the landscape history of the site to provide an interim predictive model to guide further evaluation work that may be necessary, • to make an initial assessment of the relevant historical documentation, which may be available for the site, • to assess the reliability of the currently available information and the potential for new discoveries, • to assess the likely archaeological impact of the proposed development insofar as this is practical, and; • to illustrate all of the above as far as is practical.
2 DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE
2.1 The Waterside development site is situated within the town of Aylesbury and to the immediate east of the core of the historic Saxon settlement (Fig. 1). Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire and lies in the district of Aylesbury Vale. Aylesbury occupies a dominant position on a hill at the junction of Roman Akeman Street with the main road between Thame and Buckingham. The smaller settlement of Tring, which is located in the county of Hertfordshire, lies approximately 11km to the east of the site, Stoke Mandeville c. 3.5km to the south-east, the village of Stone 3km to the south-west and Bierton 2.50km to the north-east.
2.2 The Waterside development site is situated in the eastern section of Aylesbury town, towards the area of Walton, which originally comprised a separate settlement. It comprises two large plots of land, which lie to either side of the north-east to south- westward aligned Exchange Street (Fig. 2). The two areas of the site (A & B) are both irregular in shape, and together comprise an area of approximately 4.5 hectares. The larger of the two plots of land, that of Area B, is traversed by the meandering and north-east to south-west flowing Bear Brook.
2.3 Area A of the Waterside development site lies immediately eastwards of the medieval core of Aylesbury, adjoining the extant Market Square (Fig. 2). It comprises
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 7 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 an irregularly-shaped plot of land bounded to the south-west by the Crown Court buildings and the modern Odeon Cinema. To the north-west of Area A stands the south-eastern boundary of No. 36 Market Square, the rear property boundaries of Nos. 15a – 21 Hale Leys Centre and No. 24 High Street. It is bound to the north-east by the rear of properties Nos. 26 – 58 (evens) fronting the High Street, as well as St Joseph’s Church, and to the south-east by Exchange Street.
2.4 Area B of the Waterside development site is located east of Exchange Street, and only 24m south-eastwards of Area A’s south-eastern boundary (Fig. 2). It is bounded to the south-east by the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal, which lies on a north-east to south-westward alignment. The north-eastern boundary of Area B is demarcated by the rear property boundaries of Nos. 4 – 40 Highbridge Walk, and an electricity depot. To the south-west of Area B lies the north-north-west to south- south-east aligned Walton Street, and a modern roundabout joining Walton Street to Exchange Street and Friarage Road.
3 METHOD OF WORK
The archaeological desk-based assessment was conducted in accordance with the brief and specification. Information was sought from a variety of available sources, and reference was made to the Institute of Field Archaeologists’ Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Desk-Based Assessments (IFA, revised 2001). The following material was consulted as part of the assessment;
3.1 Archaeological databases
The standard collation of all known archaeological sites and spot-finds in the area is the Buckinghamshire Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). In order to provide a representative sample, the SMR database was searched for all known entries within a 250m radius of the site. Entries within this approximate 250m radius of the site are listed in Appendix 1, and plotted in Fig. 3. Their significance, where relevant, is discussed in Section 5.
3.2 Historical and cartographic sources
The principal sources for historical and cartographic documents were the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies (CBS), based at the County Hall in Aylesbury, and the Buckinghamshire Sites and Monuments Record (SMR). Relevant cartographic sources are listed in Appendix 2 and reproduced in Figs. 4 - 15.
3.3 Secondary sources
The principal source of secondary material was the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies (CBS), based at the County Hall in Aylesbury, as well as AS’s own library. Relevant material is listed in the bibliography, and also listed in Appendix 2.
3.4 Geological/geotechnical information
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 8 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
A description of the superficial and solid geology of the local and surrounding area was compiled in order to assess the likely presence and potential condition of any archaeological remains on the site. This information was drawn from appropriate maps published by the Geological Survey of Great Britain (BGS 1978) and the Soil Survey of England and Wales (SSEW 1983).
3.5 Aerial photographs
Examination of aerial photographs can represent an important element of the desk- based assessment, although for towns that have been heavily urbanised since the development of aerial photographs during the Second World War, applications are far more limited. Aerial photographs held by BCC SMR, however, record significant changes to the town in the 1960s and 1970s, offering a time-lapse view of the construction of the Civic Centre and indicating the scale and impact of this development.
3.6 Site inspection
In the course of the desk-based assessment, a physical walkover of the site was undertaken on Friday 23rd March 2007 (DPs 1 - 18). The inspection had the following purposes; • to examine the areas of archaeological potential identified during the desk- based assessment, in particular, with a view to gauging likely survival or condition of the archaeological remains, in particular identification of areas of the site that have been previously quarried; and, • to consider the significance of the above ground structures, historic buildings and historic landscape features, their settings and potential impacts for the proposed development.
4 TOPOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND SOILS
4.1 The Waterside development site is situated within the centre of Aylesbury, in a characteristically urban site. It lies at an average height of c. 79m AOD and generally has a flat relief. The land in Area B, however, slopes down slightly to the south-east into the shallow valley of the Bear Brook and rises slightly towards Exchange Street, whilst land in Area A rises to the west, away from Exchange Street. There is a height bench mark on the front of the Exchange Street Offices (78.91m AOD) and another on the Walton Street side of the Police Station on Exchange Street (79.45m AOD).
4.2 The historic core of Aylesbury is situated on an outcrop of soft Portland limestone. The solid geology of the area comprises Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay formations, whilst the small Bear Brook traverses Area B, giving rise to localised alluvium and river gravel deposits. The Bear Brook is a tributary of the River Thame to the north-east, which itself drains into the River Thames. It comprises a generally slow-flowing watercourse, subject to flooding and appears to have migrated westward beyond Aylesbury. River terrace deposits have been recorded along the Bear Brook in Aylesbury (Sumbler 1991, 15).
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 9 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
4.3 The course of the Bear Brook has undergone considerable diversion, channelling and infilling since at least the medieval period, when the brook was diverted along channels to feed the moats, mill ponds and fisheries in the area (Farley 1971 - 4). At the south-eastern boundary of the site’s Area B also lies the California Brook, which flows away south-eastwards. No evidence has been found for river terrace deposits in relation to the California Brook, particular since the enclosure map of Walton indicates that its current course was probably artificial and constructed prior to 1799 (Roseff 1996, 1).
4.4 Although the soils of urban areas such as central Aylesbury are not mapped, the local drift geology of the Waterside development site comprises soils of the Denchworth association, derived from the underlying clay, with Grove association chalky drift soils to the south, both suitable for growing winter cereals with some dairying (SSEW 1983). To the south-east of the site lies a band of clay upland followed by the clay-with-flint of the Chilterns (ibid.). Such soils have given rise to distinct environmental zones, land use and settlement patterns (Holgate 1995 passim), which would have had a bearing on the development of both Aylesbury and the site itself.
4.5 Area A of the Waterside development site currently exhibits considerable evidence of probable ground disturbance and landscaping associated with the construction of the Civic Centre, car parking and substantial modern town centre redevelopment (Fig. 2). In contrast, Area B at present comprises a series of car parks and wharf-side storage areas, which have only been affected by a limited degree of building construction, mainly on the street frontages, the channelling of the Bear Brook and the construction of the Grand Union Canal at the south-eastern boundary.
5 ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
5.1 Early prehistoric
5.1.1 There is little evidence to suggest that there was any significant activity around Aylesbury during the early prehistoric period. The Lower Icknield Way, reputedly a main line of communication in prehistoric times, lies c. 15km east Aylesbury and to the east of Tring. Evidence of prehistoric activity is present in the immediate area of the Waterside development site, but such remains are not extensive. Most early prehistoric finds were recovered from higher land in the area of the later Iron Age hillfort located to the east of the town. This pattern may be a fortuitous function of finds made in the process of modern development, or may reflect the earlier occupation of the hillfort site.
5.2 Bronze Age
5.2.1 A number of salvage excavations took place along Walton Road and Walton Street in the 1980s and 1990s as a result of programmes of extensive development. At the former Police Houses site on Walton Street, 200m south of the Waterside development site, excavations revealed residual Bronze Age and late Iron Age pottery
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 10 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
(SMR 5555/08) and residual Bronze Age flint artefacts comprised six scrapers, 64 flakes and nine pieces of burnt flint (SMR 5555/10). Further afield, a late Bronze Age to early Iron Age roundhouse settlement at the Orchard site was also identified along Walton Street (Ford & Howell 2004). Middle to late Bronze Age remains including a small cremation cemetery, pits, postholes, hearths and a boundary gully were found during excavations at Walton Lodge Lane (Bonner 1994).
5.3 Iron Age
5.3.1 The area around Aylesbury was occupied during the Iron Age by the Catuvellauni tribe (BCC 2001, 6; Holgate 1995). An Iron Age hillfort was located on the rounded outcrop of soft Portland limestone to the east of Aylesbury, with the surrounding landscape is most likely to have comprised marshes, bogs and streams (Hanley & Hunt 1993; Pearson 2001, 5). The substantial defensive ditch of the hillfort has been investigated at three locations within the town and was re-cut in the Saxon period forming what became the supposed burh of Aylesbury (Current Archaeology 1986, 189). The main focus of Iron Age settlement, however, lay outside the defended area to the south, east and west. Despite the potential for Iron Age remains, finds from the area immediately surrounding the Waterside development site comprise only three late Iron Age stater coins (SMRs 1806; 1806/01 & 1806/02).
5.4 Romano-British
5.4.1 The settlement of Aylesbury lies on the route of Akeman Street (currently the A41), the Roman road that branched from Watling Street south of Verulamium (St Albans) and ran north-west, joining London to Chester (Margary 1973). The Roman road may have run through the modern centre of Aylesbury, along the line of the present High Street to the north of the site (Hands 1993). As was the case with Iron Age remains, Romano-British finds are more frequent in Walton than in the centre of Aylesbury. Excavations at the former Police Houses on Walton Street, 200m south of the Waterside development site, revealed Roman, Saxon or medieval quern fragments that were recovered from medieval contexts (SMR 5555/06), and a quantity of Roman residual pottery sherds (SMR 5555/09).
5.4.2 Excavations within Walton have revealed a range of Romano-British period features including coaxial field systems, a small roadside inhumation cemetery and a Romano-British farm (see Section 6.1, below). Rescue excavations conducted in Aylesbury town centre during redevelopment in the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, have revealed only sparse Romano-British remains, although two Roman ditches and later features excavated at the supermarket site on Buckingham Street may have been part of a settlement fronting Akeman Street (Pevsner & Williamson 1994, 149). A number of Roman coins have been found in the area of the Waterside development site, although the location of many such finds are inaccurate (SMRs 0250; 0250/01; 0250/02; 0250/03; 0250/04; 0291/01 & 1812). Another Roman coin dating to the reign of Constantine (AD 330 - 335) was found in Highbridge Walk and only 60m north-east of the site’s Area B (SMR 1931).
5.5 Anglo-Saxon
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 11 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
5.5.1 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle implies that the Aylesbury area was under British control in AD 571, when Cuthwulf captured Aylesbury, Luton, Bensington (now Benson) and Eynsham (Page 1969, 5). Archaeological evidence, however, suggests Anglo-Saxon settlement in the upper Thames area at an earlier period, comprising numerous very early Sunken Featured Buildings (SFBs) found at Walton. The Walton Road excavations between the 1970s and 1990s also revealed extensive early Anglo- Saxon, middle Saxon and late Saxon remains, and early Anglo-Saxon Walton appears to have been an extensive, dispersed settlement, with large unoccupied spaces between buildings (Dalwood & Hawkins 1987). In the middle Saxon period, this settlement may have expanded towards Aylesbury or been subject to some form of the ‘Middle Saxon Shift’ (Hamerow 1991).
5.5.2 The settlement of Aylesbury was known variously as Aegelesbyrig or Aegelesburh during the 6th – 10th centuries and as Eilesberia in the 11th century (Page 1969, 1). Place-name evidence is disputed, suggesting that Aylesbury derived either from Ægel’s fortified place (burh) as a defended Saxon settlement (Field 1980, 27; Hanley & Hunt 1993) or Eccles-burh, a fortified church (Mawer & Stenton 1925). The church of St Mary, c. 800m north-west of the site, may have replaced a Saxon Minster church associated with St Osyth, which stood close to the highest part of Aylesbury (Kelly’s 1935, 31). The excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street, c. 200m south of Area B, revealed late Saxon tenement boundaries or gullies and small amount of early Saxon pottery (SMR 5555). Also revealed were four late Saxon boundary ditches containing finds of pottery, a bead, a stud, and a probable antler knife handle (SMR 5555/01).
5.5.3 The place-names of Kingsbury and Aylesbury suggest that the town was also the site of a burh, a substantial fortified stronghold, although the location of both the burh and mint are unknown (Haslam 1984). Aylesbury is referred to as Eilesberia in the Domesday Book, when it comprised a household manor of the King. The manor of Aylesbury consisted of 16 hides, with two mills, and a church, St Mary’s. It was held by the Bishop of Lincoln (Morris 1978). The hamlet of Walton, however, was not named separately in the Domesday Book. It has been suggested that the town of Aylesbury contained a small, possibly motte-and-bailey type, Norman Castle, which was probably built either in the years after the Conquest or during the civil unrest of the early 12th century, probably in the Castle Fee area to the west (Hanley & Hunt 1993, 2).
5.6 Medieval
5.6.1 The core of medieval Aylesbury was probably located to the south-east of St Mary’s Church, around Kingsbury and to the west of Market Square. Two medieval hospitals and a Franciscan Friary founded in the 1380s, which stood on Rickford’s Hill, existed in Aylesbury (Pevsner & Williamson 1994, 149). Aylesbury lay in a prominent and accessible location that lent itself to being an administrative centre. The County Assize Courts were first mentioned in 1218, and the town was made a parliamentary borough in 1553 - 54 by Queen Mary. A market was first mentioned in Aylesbury in the 13th century, but may have had a precursor dating back to the late Saxon period, the marketplace for which may have been located in the triangular area at Kingsbury to the west of the Waterside development site.
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 12 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
5.6.2 The Royal demesne of Aylesbury lay on sloping ground, extending south-east out of the town and along both sides of the western end of Walton Street, which was the principal thoroughfare. The formal layout of many medieval burgages or properties was established along both sides of Walton Street from at least the 11th century onwards. An excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street, 200m south of the site, for example, revealed a 12th – 13th century boundary ditch, which ran parallel to a Saxon gully (SMR 5555/02). Two later medieval rubbish pits, which lay outside the manorial enclosure and overlay an in-filled late Saxon boundary, were also recorded during the excavation (SMR 5555/03). The former Police Houses site also revealed a possible medieval trackway (SMR 5555/04) and a quantity of medieval pottery sherds that were found in mainly post-medieval features (SMR 5555/05).
5.6.3 The medieval market in Aylesbury was concentrated in the same location as the present Market Square, which lies immediately to the west of Area A of the Waterside development site. The Market Hall was erected c. 1530 and there was a cockpit on its upper floor, whilst the old arcaded Market House was demolished c. 1808, when an octagonal building was erected. The Market Square also contained a set of stocks, a pillory (SMR 0354/03) and the 12th century county jail. To the north- east of Area B and along the course of the Bear Brook stood Walton (Corn) Mill, which may have been one of the two mills, valued at 23s., recorded in the Domesday Book (Morris 1978). Medieval stray finds recovered in proximity to the site comprise two 15th – 16th century groats of Henry VII and Edward IV that were found in the garden of No. 32 Walton Street, 25m from Area B’s south-western boundary (SMR 2540).
5.6.4 Relatively few excavations were undertaken in the centre of Aylesbury in advance of dramatic modern development. Excavated medieval remains from the centre are even more incoherent than the Roman remains, comprising rapid keyhole rescue excavations conducted on an ad hoc basis. A quantity of medieval finds were recovered from stream-laid deposits during works for a new channel for the California Brook at the former Perry’s Garage on Walton Street, which lay c. 40m south of the site’s Area B (SMR 5629). Forming part of the Aylesbury Past project, the archaeological work at the former Perry’s Garage revealed medieval pottery sherds (SMR 5629/01), animal bone (SMR 5629/02) and a leather shoe sole (SMR 5629/03). Excavations at Buckingham Street have also recorded medieval pits containing a number of finds.
5.7 Post-medieval and early modern
5.7.1 Aylesbury was a Parliamentary garrison during the Civil War and the Battle of Aylesbury took place at Holman’s Bridge to the north of the town in 1642 (Griffin 1998; Zeepvat 1994). Traces of Aylesbury’s defensive ditches have been excavated near St Mary’s parish church to the west of the Waterside development site. Aylesbury’s post-medieval economy was based primarily on local agriculture, as attested by the Corn Exchange and both the general and cattle market. At this time, the town was clustered between St Mary’s Church and Market Square, with the pastures, duck ponds and hamlet of Walton to the south-east (Watkin 1981, 39).
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 13 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
Walton Bridge, which lies immediately to the south of Area B, was recorded as ‘Glasyers’ Bridge in a 16th century charter (SMR 1808), contemporary to the Causey road and causeway (SMR 0448).
5.7.2 The mid 18th century was a particularly prosperous time for Aylesbury, and several buildings, many now demolished, date to this period. Numerous buildings in the centre of Aylesbury were demolished during the redevelopment of the town centre in the 1960s and 1980s. These include the early 18th century County Hall in Market Square (SMR 0996) and the White Swan Inn at No. 3 Walton Street (SMR 12090), yet only a small area of 18th century houses survives in Aylesbury’s ‘Old Town’. From the 1790s onwards, a series of improvements were made to living conditions in Aylesbury town, including new stone pavements, the establishment of gas street lighting (1834), the printing of local newspapers and new public buildings in the Market Place. A jail was also attached to the back of County Hall until it was moved to Bierton Road in 1844 (Pevsner & Williamson 1994, 154; SMR 0350/01).
5.7.3 The area of Aylesbury immediately to the north and west of the Waterside development site is notable for its quantity of early modern structures dating to the 19th century. The local Baptist community were granted a licence to have a meeting house in Baker’s Lane in 1733 (Page 1969, 5), yet the Baptist Chapel on Walton Street was not built until 1828, 200m from Area B (SMR 4701). A burial ground attached to the 19th century Baptist Chapel was enclosed in 1855, but was partially destroyed in the course of widening Walton Street in c. 1936 (SMR 4701/01). A new parish church, Holy Trinity (SMR 6719), was established at Walton in 1843 - 45 in order to alleviate poverty and improve morality (Hanley & Hunt 1993). Three 19th – 20th century former Police Houses on Walton Street are known (SMR 5555/07), and 23a Walton Street is a Grade II listed early 19th century house (SMR 12091).
5.7.4 The Market Square in Aylesbury was considerably altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. The prosperity of agriculture in the 1850s and 1860s resulted in the expansion of the market and an open space for a new cattle market was provided at the rear of the market along Exchange Street. It was designed to ensure that cattle would no longer need to be driven through the centre of the town (Hanley & Hunt 1993). In 1862, the Aylesbury Market Company committee purchased the market tolls from the then Lord of the Manor, auctioned off shares and bought the White Hart Hotel for their new buildings (Parrott 1982, 96). The Town Hall and Corn Exchange were built in 1865, flanking County Hall, in the western section of the site’s Area A. The old Market House was demolished in 1866, and the Clock Tower was built in 1876.
5.8 Modern
5.8.1 In comparison to other Home Counties, Buckinghamshire developed relatively late in the 19th century and consequently the trade and population boom was delayed until the early to mid 20th century (Watkin 1981, 20). The principal industry became engineering and included companies such as the Bifurcated Tubular Rivet Company and International Alloys. During the early 20th century were many changes to the development and street pattern of Aylesbury, later undergoing considerable development between the 1960s and the 1980s. In the Exchange Street area, 1930s
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 14 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 buildings include the Neo-Georgian Old County offices on Walton Street, the former County Police Headquarters and the AVDC Exchange Street Offices, which lie within Area B (Pevsner & Williamson 1994, 156). The Odeon-Granada Cinema on the High Street, built in 1937, backed onto the site’s Area A.
5.8.2 The Market Company was bought out by the town council of Aylesbury in 1901. In 1927, the sale of livestock in the Market Square was halted and transferred eastwards to the Cattle Market area (Cook 1995, 109), beyond the archway under the Corn Exchange and immediately beside Area A of the Waterside development site. In the market’s heyday in the 1950s, pubs and inns along Walton Street profited from the passing trade. Fatstock was sold on Wednesdays, and dairy cattle on Saturdays. The Town Hall and Corn Exchange, which had been constructed in 1865, were burnt down in 1962 and replaced with the Civic Centre, of which Area A forms a part. By the late 1970s, it was suggested that the market might be moved to the edge of town, yet the cattle market closed in 1987, partly due to farmers shifting from livestock to arable production with the backing of the Common Agricultural Policy (Cook 1995, 106).
5.8.3 Major expansion was planned for the town in 1950, with a ring road, road widening and development of the south-west. During the mid to late 1960s, the Silver Street/Bourbon Street/Great Western Street area adjoining the Market Square was extensively redeveloped and the ring road created by widening streets. The County Offices tower, designed by county architect Fred Pooley, was built in 1966 (Pevsner & Williamson 1994, 155). The Friars Square new town centre was constructed in the 1960s and the Hale Leys shopping centre was built in 1969. In 1980 the High Street was developed, along with a redesign of the Hale Leys shopping centre. There has also been large-scale office development, primarily for insurance companies and customer services, at the western end of Walton Street and close to the Waterside development site.
6 PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
6.1 A large amount of archaeological work was conducted in the Walton Street/Walton Road area to the east of the Waterside development site during the course of the Aylesbury Past project of the 1970s and 1980s. Excavations at Walton Road Stores, for instance, revealed evidence of coaxial field systems, structures and a small roadside inhumation cemetery (SMR 6733; Ford & Howell 2004; see Section 5.4.2, above). A watching brief at Aylesbury High School also found part of a late Iron Age - early Romano-British farm (SMR 6377; Babtie 2001), whilst a possible fragment of the manorial earthwork was excavated at Walton Court Farm (SMR 0093). Numerous buildings in the centre of Aylesbury were demolished during the redevelopment of the town centre in the 1960s and 1980s. These included ranges of 15th - 18th century timber framed buildings on Bourbon Street, Silver Street and Market Square (SMR 0280).
6.2 Several small archaeological interventions have been carried out in the vicinity of Area B, and investigated the course of the California Brook and local hydraulics. A watching brief at Walton Street was conducted during the construction
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 15 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 of a new channel for the California Brook in 1987, and noted a sequence of possibly stream-laid deposits ,which contained medieval pottery sherds, animal bone and a leather shoe sole (SMR 5629). An evaluation on the corner of Old Brewery Close and Walton Street, however, found that the area had been heavily disturbed by 19th - 20th century activity. Little evidence for medieval activity and no evidence of the alluvial and peat layers were found adjacent to the California Brook in 1996 (Anthony 2003). An archaeological watching brief at Walton Brewery near California Brook, close to the canal basin beside Area B, indicated the potential for palaeo-environmental deposits to have survived in the vicinity of the brook (SMR 6246; Roseff 1996).
6.3 An archaeological evaluation of land at 82 - 84 Walton Street, which comprised the Long Stay Car Park and Servicemen’s Club c. 200m south of the Waterside development site was carried out by AS in 2005 (Doyle & Williams 2005). The evaluation revealed archaeology consistent with the very high potential for the discovery of late Saxon and medieval remains suggested by the earlier desk based assessment. The subsequent archaeological excavation at 82 - 84 Walton Street (Newton & Hallybone 2006) revealed three large intercutting pits, as well as sparse pits, dated to the 5th - 10th century AD. Late Saxon and medieval remains comprised a series of coaxial boundary features, and a cluster of intercutting pits, suggesting continuity in boundary alignments from medieval times to the modern day. A possible flood defence feature, dated to the early modern/modern period, was also detected.
7 THE SITE
7.1 The Waterside development site occupies a very prominent position in the town of Aylesbury, beside the historic Market Square and Saxon core of Aylesbury, and stretching towards the archaeologically significant area of Walton (see Section 5.4.1, above). Despite the wealth of cartographic and pictorial sources (see Sections 8 & 9, below) illustrating the site, there is a scarcity of documentary sources referring directly to the former buildings or previous uses of the two areas of the site. In addition to the extant structures present within both Area A and B of the Waterside development site (see Section 10, below), the Buckinghamshire SMR documents a small number of buildings known to have existed within the site, which have since been destroyed or demolished.
7.2 At the westernmost corner of Area A once stood the site of the ‘White Hart Inn’ public house, the earliest structure of which dated to the 17th - 19th century (SMR 1810). The ‘White Hart Inn’ was rebuilt at the same location in 1814, but was demolished in 1864 to make way for the Corn Exchange and associated buildings, which stood within the site’s Area A until they were burnt down in 1962. Miscellaneous papers and correspondence from the County of Buckinghamshire Quarter Sessions (Ref. Q/AG/10) reveal that in 1817, the ‘White Hart’ public house in Aylesbury was occupied, and presumably owned, by J. K. Fowler. The documents reveal that J. K. Fowler needed a tender for taking his water supply from the Gaol nearby, which cost up to £6 a year.
7.3 The former location of a 19th century Boatmen’s Mission Hut has been indicated within Area B of the site, although the exact location remains unknown and
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 16 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 the structure has been demolished (SMR 6722). The mission hut, which stood at the end of the Aylesbury canal basin, was set up by Rev. Pennefather, vicar of Walton Church from 1843 – 1853, to mission to the boatpeople. Towards the centre of the site’s Area B, lying adjacent to the canal basin, was the former location of a coal-fired power station/electricity depot, which was established in 1915 by Aylesbury Urban District Council to generate power for the town’s street lighting (SMR 6721). The coal-fired power station is significant in that it also provided an inexpensive and reliable source of power for local industry. Several of the power station/electricity depot buildings had been demolished prior to 1999, when the area had fallen into disuse and was revived as a temporary car park.
7.4 Two structures related to the coal-fired power station, which stood at the centre and in the eastern section of Area B, were still extant in 1999. The tall brick generating house of the former ‘Electricity Depot’ stood towards the centre of Area B, but has since been demolished (SMR 6721/01). It had four large arched windows along its south-west and north-east sides, and a small circular window high up in the north-western gable. The SMR entry noted that a number of later extensions obscured the original structure, although the lower, hipped-roofed extension on the north-west may have been original. It is possible that the generating house may still be represented on site by a number of structural brick walls (DPs 14 & 18). The second structure identified in 1999 is the brick wharf-side building, which is still extant (see Section 10.10, below).
7.5 The Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Junction Canal, later known as the Grand Union Canal, lies at the south-eastern boundary of Area B of the Waterside development site (Fig. 2). The canal was reputedly complete in May 1815 and wholly opened in 1815 (SMR 2952). Still in use, the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal is 6.5 miles (9.1km) in length with 16 locks (SMR 2952/01). The construction of the Grand Junction Canal began in 1790, and the London to King’s Langley section opened in 1797. It ran parallel to the courses of the Rivers Colne and Gade, linking London to the Midlands. It competed with the railways, carrying both freight and passengers. The Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Junction Canal was authorised in 1794, and plans for a canal, rather than a railway, between Aylesbury and Broughton Mill, first developed in 1806.
7.6 Despite the late 18th and early 19th century plans, the Aylesbury Arm of the canal was not completed until 1814 - 1815 due to various disputes. In 1810, for example, an agreement to connect an Aylesbury canal to the steadily growing national network, from Braunston to Brentford, was made. Work for the construction of the Aylesbury Arm of the canal finally started in August 1813, and necessary reservoirs were built at Tringford and Startopsend in 1814 – 15 (Faulkner 1972). The canal terminates in the south-eastern corner of Area B, and the canal basin, landing stages, wharf, canal basin and towpath lie within Area B of the site. Until recently, the modern Bucks Herald and Bucks Advertiser building stood within Area B, on the northern side of the Bear Brook, to the immediate west of the canal basin. Dating to the mid 1960s, it was built on the site of the former Cogger & Hawkins garage, later used as the police garages.
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 17 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
7.7 Also until recently, at the northern boundary of the site’s Area B stood No. 6 Exchange Street. The building comprised a large, modern two-storey structure in red brick, situated to the west of the Exchange Street Offices and towards the central frontage of the Canalside car park. It had small straight-headed windows with modern plastic (UPVC) casements and a grey slate double-pitched roof. Immediately to the south-west of the former Bucks Herald and Bucks Advertiser building were the offices of Wilkins Solicitors, which comprised No. 25 Walton Street on the original corner of Exchange Street and Walton Street. The structure was also built in the mid 1960s, and stood on the location of the former Cogger & Hawkins garage. Several late 19th - 20th century buildings were also present between the solicitor’s offices and the extant Ship Inn, yet a visit to the site revealed their recent demolition (see Section 11, below; DP 17).
7.8 During the early to mid 20th century, the mid western section of the site’s Area B, along with part of its Exchange Street frontage, was occupied by Richard’s Timber Yard, owned by R. P. Richards & Co, Ltd (Plate 4). It is known that the timber yard relied upon a narrow gauge railway, which ran along part of Exchange Street, and was visible in the car park of the former offices of The Bucks Herald until it was recently salvaged by volunteers (Truen 2006). Oral evidence (ibid.) reveals that the railway must have been built around the time of, or just before, the First World War, possibly by Travis and Arnold, from whom the business was purchased by Mr Richards. The mini railway consisted of a track running from near the Exchange Street entrance, over a bridge across the Bear Brook, and down to the canal wharf, as well as a branch down to the edge of the canal basin where a crane was used to unload the barges.
7.9 Kelly’s Directory for 1964 lists businesses and residents in Exchange Street and Walton Street prior to the major transformation and regeneration of the area in the later 1960s and 1970s. On the north-western side of Exchange Street, comprising Area A of the Waterside development site, the directory lists the Bucks County Constabulary Divisional HQ (No. 1), the Cattle Market (owned by W. Hull), the Recreation Ground (No. 3), and a series of private residents to the north, with the White Hart public house (Lambert Johnston) at No. 15. On Exchange Street’s south- eastern side, the directory lists Richards’ timber merchants (No. 8), the Eastern electricity board offices and service centre, and Lawrence, Rupert & Co. chartered surveyors, auctioneers and estate agents (No. 12), although the street numbers were changed during the 20th century development.
8 CARTOGRAPHIC SOURCES
8.1 The Aylesbury area from the map of Bucks, 1610
8.1.1 The earliest cartographic source, comprising the Aylesbury area from the map of Bucks, dates to 1610 (Fig. 4). The 1610 map depicts the settlement of Alesbury in only very limited detail and it is difficult to discern the exact location of the Waterside development site itself. The River Thame, however, is noted to the west of Aylesbury, and a tributary, possibly the Bear Brook, is noted to the south.
8.2 Jefferys’ map of Buckinghamshire, 1770
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 18 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
8.2.1 Jefferys’ map of Buckinghamshire, which dates to 1770 (Fig. 5), shows the area of eastern Buckinghamshire in more detail than the previous cartographic source. In particular, Walton Street, located to the south-west of the site, is clearly depicted on a north-west to south-eastward alignment between the centre of Aylesbury and Walton. The meandering course of the Bear Brook is also shown, and would have crossed the central section of the site’s Area B. The site in 1770 appeared to be undeveloped, possibly comprising agricultural or river meadow land, although a building is noted on the north-eastern side of Walton Street, close to the western extent of the site.
8.3 Plan of the hamlet of Walton, 1800 (Fig. 6)
8.3.1 The 1800 plan of the hamlet of Walton reveals the proximity of Area B of the Waterside development site to Walton, rather than the larger settlement of Aylesbury (Fig. 6). Area B in 1800 comprised a series of agricultural fields adjacent to the Bear Brook (#88, 92, 93, 94 & part of 96), as well as the property boundaries of a number of buildings fronting onto Walton Street (# 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 97, 98, 99 & 100). At the south-eastern boundary of the site in 1800 lay a foot path, which presumably formed a prompt for the route of the later Grand Union Canal. Further footpaths lead northwards across Area B of the site; one of which possibly crossed the brook on a bridge that lay in the same position as the extant cobbled bridge in Area B (see Section 11.2.2, below).
8.4 Sketch or eye-draught of Aylesbury, 1809
8.4.1 The sketch or eye-draught of Aylesbury was drawn by William Rutt, land surveyor, in 1809 to list the occupiers of properties in Aylesbury, rather than as an accurate depiction of standing buildings or land use (Fig. 7). The extent of the site in 1809 can therefore only be approximated. Area A appears to have been developed extensively, whilst development lay only on the western side and Walton Street frontage of Area B. In the western section of Area A stood Aylesbury’s Market Place and the hexagonal-shaped Market House, whilst a Meeting House stood towards its eastern boundary. Area A also comprised the east to west aligned route of Baker’m Lane and properties fronting onto the southern side of the road, whilst a second lane meandered across the site to the south of the Meeting House.
8.5 Bryant’s map of Buckinghamshire, 1824
8.5.1 Bryant’s Map of Buckinghamshire, dating to 1824, confirms that the Town Hall and open market place were situated in the western section of Area A (Fig. 8). Despite its small scale, the 1824 map is the first cartographic source to depict the course of the Aylesbury Arm of the Canal that formed the south-eastern boundary of the site’s Area B. The Bear Brook also crossed Area B and several buildings are noted on the northern side of Walton Street, between the canal terminus and the Bear Brook, which most likely stood within the site. By 1894, however, the redevelopment of the town meant that former lanes and frontage buildings located in the eastern section of Area A had been demolished, and replaced only by an undeveloped plot of land.
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 19 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
Exchange Street also appears not to have been in existence at the time of Bryant’s 1824 map.
8.6 Ordnance Survey map, 1879
8.6.1 The Ordnance Survey map of 1879 is the first cartographic map to depict both areas of the Waterside development site in significant detail (Fig. 9), and is drawn to a scale of 10” to the mile. In the western section of Area A stood the relatively new Corn Exchange and the Market House. No. 36 Market Square, which forms the western boundary of Area A, is recorded as the Six Grapes public house. To the north-east of the Corn Exchange was a building with a formal front garden, suggesting the survival of the aforementioned Baker’m Lane. The majority of the site’s Area A in 1879, however, comprised a Recreation Ground, with small areas of scrub. Several terraced houses are noted at the northern end of Exchange Street, at the junction with Highbridge Walk, and formed Area A’s north-eastern boundary.
8.6.2 In contrast, the north-eastern corner of Area B was a single field bounded by Highbridge Walk, Exchange Street, the Bear Brook and a linear water channel/runner of the brook leading to Exchange Street (Fig. 9). The north-western section of Area B was occupied by a number of buildings fronting Exchange Street and Walton Street, including the Bear Inn, with its yard to the rear. To the south-west were further buildings fronting Walton Street with gardens to the rear. The Grand Junction Canal is marked on the 1879 map, with its towing path to the south-east, the Wharf, a Crane by the canal basin, and two rectangular buildings by the landing stage. An ‘L’ shaped building is noted adjacent to the Bear Brook.
8.7 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, 1884
8.7.1 The 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, which dates to 1884 (Fig. 10), reveals a similar picture of the Waterside development site in comparison to the earlier 1879 map, although in much less detail. The 1884 map depicts the late Victorian industrial development of the town, with two railway lines, coal yard and gasworks, the canal, the Condensed Milk Works and several printers, yet nothing more is revealed with regard to the site itself.
8.8 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map, 1899
8.8.1 The 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map, dating from 1899 (Fig. 11), shows the structures within the two areas of the site in greater detail than the previous cartographic source. The only substantive change since 1884 is the construction of terraced houses along the north side of Highbridge Walk, to the north-east of Area B. New Road, which lay to the north-east of both parts of the site has been renamed High Street. The 1899 map also reveals that St Joseph’s Church, the grounds of which form part of Area A’s north-eastern boundary, had recently been constructed on the High Street. The northern corner of the site’s Area B in 1899 appeared to comprise a single field of boggy or marshy ground, probably within the floodplain of the Bear Brook.
8.9 3rd edition Ordnance Survey map, 1925
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 20 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
8.9.1 The 3rd edition Ordnance Survey map reveals that by 1925 the Electricity Works (Aylesbury Corporation) had been constructed within Area B and stood between the Bear Brook and the canal (Fig. 12). Beside the electricity works stood a large building, probably the generating house of 1915, accompanied by a number of small Tanks near the centre of Area B. The boggy or marshy field in the northern corner had been reduced in size, and partially replaced with a timber yard, as well as a small bridge with what appears to be railway tracks leading to the canal basin. Terraced houses had been built along the south side of Highbridge Walk to form Area B’s north-eastern boundary, with small outbuildings standing in the northernmost corner. Area A, in contrast, remained unchanged, other than for the development of a public Lav. Close to the western-most corner.
8.10 4th edition Ordnance Survey map, 1950
8.10.1 The 4th edition Ordnance Survey map, dating to 1950, is drawn to only a small scale, but nevertheless reveals that Exchange Street, which lay between the two areas of the Waterside development site, had been widened at its western end (Fig. 13). The extant, modern Council Offices on the corner of Exchange Street are first depicted on the 1950 map, whilst the Granada Cinema had been developed along, but just beyond, the north-eastern boundary of the site’s Area A. Area A itself remained predominantly unchanged, consisting of the Town Hall and Recreation Ground. In Area B, further buildings had been built within the extent of the Electricity Depot, particularly along the route of the Bear Brook. The old landing stage buildings at the south-western extent of Area B appear to have been extended eastwards, and more structures had been established around the Canal Basin. By 1950, the Exchange Street Offices had been built in the northern section of Area B, in the former area of boggy or marshy ground.
8.11 Ordnance Survey map, 1967
8.11.1 The Ordnance Survey map of 1967 reveals that Exchange Street had been widened and improved with a central reservation in the post World War II period, and shows some of the major changes having taken place in Aylesbury in the 1960s (Fig. 14). In Area A, the section between the old Town Hall, known as the Municipal Offices by 1967, and the Granada Cinema on the High Street had become a Car Park. A further smaller Car Park lay to the north-east of the Recreation Ground and within the easternmost corner of Area A. In Area B, the Exchange Street Car Park had been developed in the northernmost corner, and some of the buildings at the Electricity Depot had been re-arranged. The depot was accessed via three or four footbridges (F.B.s) across the Bear Brook that led from the rear of the Exchange Street Offices. In the south-western section of Area B by 1967, at No. 8 Exchange Street, was Richards’ Timber Yard.
8.12 Ordnance Survey map, 1976
8.12.1 The 1976 Ordnance Survey map records a number of significant town centre developments that occurred in Aylesbury in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Friar’s Square shopping centre, the County Council Offices tower, the ring road and the Civic Centre (Fig. 15). By 1976 Area A had also undergone significant change,
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 21 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 with the development of the Civic Centre theatre, swimming pool and multi-storey car park structures encroaching on the former recreation ground. The Cattle Market to the south-west, however, was still present, and little change had occurred in Area B since the time of the previous cartographic source.
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 22 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
9 PICTORIAL SOURCES
9.1 Plate 1
Plate 1 depicts a view of the cattle market in Aylesbury with the recreation ground and the eastern section of Area A beyond (Hanley & Hunt 1993). The plate reveals that in 1944 the south-eastern section of the site’s Area A was undeveloped, with a number of trees demarcating its boundaries. Exchange Street lay at its south-eastern extent with Area B of the Waterside development site beyond.
9.2 Plate 2
Plate 2 also comprises a view of the cattle market in Aylesbury, but shows the modern encroachment from the Civic Centre and associated buildings, which are located within Area A of the site (Cook 1995). In contrast to the previous pictorial source, Plate 2 dates to 1987 and confirms that the theatre, multi-storey car park and swimming pool lie within the western and central section of the site’s Area A. to the south, however, the cattle market remained, although the character of the immediate area was dominated by the modern architectural building of the Civic Centre theatre, multi-storey car park and swimming pool.
9.3 Plate 3
Plate 3 reveals a view of the southern corner of Area B, showing the wharf, former standing structures within the site and buildings fronting Walton Street (Hanley & Hunt 1993). In 1900, the wharf at the south-eastern extent of the site’s Area B was very much a hub of activity for industrial and commercial Aylesbury. Building materials, presumably transported by the barges, lay within the site. The extant Ship Inn public house is shown at the left side of Plate 3, and the large building at the centre appears to have been a residential house.
9.4 Plate 4
Plate 4 illustrates a number of staff working at the timber yard in Exchange Street, and depicts the former timber yard buildings in Area B of the site, to the rear (Truen 2006). The plate is thought to date to the 1920s at the time when the central western section of Area B was occupied by the timber yard and its associated buildings. Plate 4 reveals that a large two storey structure lay within Area 2, with a metal and timber constructed outhouse, within which the timber was stored, beside at right angles.
9.5 Plate 5
Plate 5 shows a view of the canal basin and associated crane and buildings, forming the south-eastern extent of Area B of the Waterside development site (BHA 2002). By the 1970s, the plate reveals that much of the Grand Union Canal and canal basin had been given over to pleasure craft, rather than for industrial/commercial purposes. A number of structures are also depicted by the plate, although they appeared to be relatively recent constructions with plate roofs.
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 23 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
9.6 Plate 6
Plate 6 is an oblique aerial view of Area B of the site depicting the Walton Street frontage, the Grand Union Canal, electricity depot, timber yard and car parks, all of which lay in 1965 within the Waterside development site (BHA 2002). The plate reveals that the Grand Union Canal lay at the south-eastern boundary of Area B, with The Ship Inn public house in the southernmost corner. A number of properties fronting onto Walton Street also lie within the site, and a large number of structures are included in the electricity depot and timber yard portions of Area B.
9.7 Plate 7
Plate 7 comprises a second oblique aerial view of the site depicting Area A to the north of Exchange Street, and Area B to the south. In 1973 the whole of Area A was being developed to accommodate the surviving Civic Centre theatre, multi-storey car park and swimming pool that formed part of Aylesbury’s town centre. The plate, however, reveals that the majority of Area B was occupied by standing structures in 1973, particularly the Exchange Street Offices, buildings fronting Walton Street and a mixture of industrial structures relating to the timber yard and canal basin.
9.8 Plate 8
Plate 8 also reveals an oblique aerial view of the Waterside development site showing the newly developed theatre, swimming pool and multi-storey car park in Area A (BHA 2002). By 1975 the whole of Area A had been developed and included the three modern standing structures of the theatre, multi-storey car park and swimming pool, as are visible to this day. Area B, in contrast, remained much as it had throughout the 20th century, with a large range of buildings within its extent. Much of its eastern section, however, had become car parks, whilst the course of the Bear Brook was still lined with trees and vegetation.
9.9 Plate 9
Plate 9 illustrates a vertical aerial view of the site, depicting Area A prior to the development of the Civic Centre and associated buildings. Taken in the 1960s, the plate reveals that the majority of Area A comprised only a recreation ground, although council offices stood in the western section and car parks lay in the north. Area B, however, was bound between Exchange Street and the Grand Union Canal and was occupied by the course of the Bear Brook, the electricity depot to the east, a timber yard to the west, and the canal basin, wharf and associated structures to the south.
9.10 Plate 10
Plate 10 is a vertical aerial view of the site from the 1960s showing a near empty canal, the electricity depot and timber yard within Area B. This plate is of a similar date to the previous pictorial source. The plate confirms that the majority of Area A was undeveloped until the construction of the three amenity buildings in the early 1970s. In the 1960s, much of Area B remained in industrial and commercial usage,
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 24 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 particularly with respect to the canal, timber yard and electricity depot, as well as the business properties fronting onto Walton Street.
10 BUILDING DESCRIPTIONS
A number of extant buildings are present within areas A and B of the Waterside development site. What follows is a description of the surviving structures;
10.1 Civic Centre
10.1.1 The western section of Area A is occupied by a single modern structure comprising Aylesbury’s Civic Centre theatre (DP 2). The Civic Centre was built in 1974 - 75 to replace and extend the former Town Hall and Corn Exchange (see Section 5.7.1, above), much of which burnt down in 1962. It is currently used for theatrical and concert entertainment, weddings, business conferences and seminars, fairs and exhibitions. The Civic Centre building also forms part of a new entertainment complex, known as The Exchange, which includes the new six-screen Odeon cinema to the south of Area A, as well as a variety of bars and cafes.
10.1.2 The red brick Civic Centre building within Area A was designed by Clarence Harding and Raymond Stone (Pevsner & Williamson 1994, 155). It was constructed from a range of extensive red brick and glass buildings between one and three storeys high, with grey leaded double pitched and hipped roofs at various angles accented by the polygonal plan of the south-eastern ‘tower’, which is designed to reflect the shape of the octagonal auction houses of the Cattle Market (see Section 5.7.4, above). Polygons with brick fins break the solid outline of the building, marking out the Civic Centre and neighbouring swimming pool (ibid.).
10.2 Reg Maxwell Swimming Pool
10.2.1 The modern Reg Maxwell swimming pool lies at the mid eastern section of the site’s area A, to the east of the Civic Centre and adjoining the multi-storey car park (DP 1). In front of the swimming pool is a grassed bank and small green, leading down to Exchange Street and the south-eastern boundary of Area A. To the east of the swimming pool is a low concrete structure, behind which the bulk of the red brick and glass swimming pool building rises, in the same polygonal angular and massive style as the Civic Centre. The swimming pool comprises two storeys, with a flat-topped leaded roof with half-hipped portions at the sides, and concrete vents in the roof. As found during the site visit (see Section 11.1.2, below) the pool is now longer in use and has been redundant since 2002 – 03.
10.3 Multi-storey car park
10.3.1 At the centre and in the northern section of Area A of the Waterside development site stands the large multi-storey car park building (DP 5). It was constructed in 1972 - 75 at the same time as the Civic Centre theatre and adjoining swimming pool. The multi-storey car park is accessed via a two-way road off and onto Exchange Street, with the access road lying in the easternmost corner of Area A.
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 25 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
The building was built from red brick in the same style as the Civic Centre. The multi-storey car park contains sufficient parking bays for 421 cars, as well as a Shopmobility facility on its ground floor (DP 4).
10.4 Exchange Street Offices
10.4.1 The only remaining building within Area B of the Waterside development site to front Exchange Street is the Exchange Street Offices at No. 8 (DP 7). The Exchange Street Offices are occupied by part of the local Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) and consist of a two storey red brick building built in the 1930s, with a hipped and flat-topped slate roof. Its north-western elevation onto Exchange Street has large glass windows on the ground floor. On the upper floor are a range of four by six pane windows with red brick arched heads, and a central triangular pediment with flagpoles on either side.
10.4.2 To the rear of the Exchange Street Offices, its eastern elevation reveals a series of double-hung sash windows surviving on both storeys. The main structure of the offices comprises a long rectangular block with a rear projection at each end, and to the rear. The structure was extended to the rear with the addition of a long, low, modern single-storey plate glass and red-painted steel structure with a series of double-pitched glass roofs. The northern side elevation has a flat-roofed single-storey red-brick built extension, in the same style as the main building, extending down the south-western side of the Exchange Street car park.
10.5 Nos. 55 and 57 Walton Street
10.5.1 Nos. 55 and 57 Walton Street are two, conjoined standing structures present at the south-western corner of area B of the Waterside development site (Fig. 16). No documentary evidence could be found regarding the buildings, and little is known of their former usage. Modern cartographic sources (see Section 8.12, above), however, indicate that at least one of the structures was in use as a bakery, with a large yard or bakehouse to the rear. The presence of a bakery within Area B is also confirmed by the site visit, which found that the ground floor of No. 57 Walton Street comprised a glass shop frontage, beyond which lay shop counters and shelves similar to those found in modern bakers (DP 9).
10.6 The Ship Inn
10.6.1 The Ship Inn at No. 59 Walton Street was known as the ‘Jolly Bargeman’ in the 18th century and consists of an extant two storey rendered building. The upper floor is slightly projecting, reminiscent of medieval jettying, although the exact date of the structure remains unknown. It has square-headed double-hung sash windows with black-painted sills on both floors, and a slate hipped roof with a shallow slope. The main entrance door into the public house is diagonally-set and recessed into the southern corner of the building. The south-eastern elevation contains a blocked-in window at first floor level, and a lantern is suspended from the southern wall, overlooking the beer garden, which is located in the paved and tarmaced area at the southernmost corner of Area B.
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 26 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
10.7 Timber Yard buildings
10.7.1 There are a number of wood, concrete and corrugated-iron roofed buildings present within Area B of the site, between the car park fronting Exchange Street and Walton Street, and the canal basin. It was not possible to gain access to these buildings, and the presence of demolition equipment during the site visit attested to the current and ongoing demolition of a number of such structures. Thought to relate to the former Richards’ timber yard at No. 8 Exchange Street, they appeared to be 20th century warehouse buildings similar to those known to have existed at the site in the 1920s (Plate 4; Truen 2006).
10.8 Aylesbury Canal Society clubhouse
10.8.1 A single extant structure is located to the south-west of the canal basin and to the south-east of the Bear Brook. The Aylesbury Canal Society clubhouse/clubroom comprises a light single-storey structure facing the metalled, tarmaced and cobbled yard to the rear of the Ship Inn, which is used as a car park. It is possible that the building dates only to the establishment of Aylesbury Canal Society in 1971, although cartographic evidence (Fig. 14) suggests its presence beside the canal basin from at least 1967.
10.9 Electricity Depot buildings
10.9.1 The majority of the electricity depot buildings in the Canalside car park area have been demolished since 1999, when the generating hall and ancillary buildings were still standing (see Section 7.3 & 7.4, above). Remaining buildings observed during the course of the site visit include disused corrugated iron sheds and structural brick wall remnants to the south-east of the car park, towards the centre of Area B, and the range of boarded-up modern equipment compounds and walled yards, which stood in the easternmost corner of Area B and had been relatively recently fenced off (DP 14).
10.10 Landing stage buildings
10.10.1 The surviving canal basin is contemporary with the construction of the Grand Junction, later Grand Union, Canal, and was undated and altered in the 19th and 20th centuries (SMR 2952). Two adjacent buildings are located on the canal basin landing stage, at the south-eastern boundary of Area B, and back onto the canal basin (DP19). Given their location, both buildings were associated with the canal and the electricity depot to the north, attesting to their industrial purpose. The western building is a single-storey red brick structure with concrete ribs, rectangular in plan, with a shallow-sloping double pitched roof, and is thought to date to the 1960s.
10.10.2 The easternmost structure comprises a two-storey red brick wharf-side building, with a slated hipped roof. (SMR 6721/02), (DP 16). The structure has retained its landing stage and has large doors to the front and rear. Variations in the brickwork of the northern elevation show it to have undergone some modification. The canalside elevation contains a large, three leaf loading door on the upper storey, which probably contained a hoist or small crane and it is thought the building was
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 27 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 used to unload coal from barges in the canal basin. The SMR presumes a 1915 date for the building but the Ordnance Survey map of 1879 (Fig. 9) clearly shows the building to have been present by this time.
11 SITE VISIT
A physical walkover of the site was undertaken on Friday 23rd March 2007. What follows is a summary of observations;
11.1 Area A
11.1.1 The western corner of Area A extended onto the Market Square, and included the small cul-de-sac road known as Long Lional, onto which the Civic Centre theatre and its small car park backed (DP 1; see Section 10.1, above). The Civic Centre structure was evidently modern in design, and appeared to contain basementing or below ground levels necessitated by the theatre (DP 2). Long Lional continued north- east and northwards as a paved public pathway eventually leading past a McDonalds restaurant and onto the High Street (DP 3). In the northern corner of Area A, between Long Lional and the multi-storey car park, lay a roughly triangular area of paving and raised bedding for plants and shrubs. The main pathway through the raised beds led to a pedestrianised slope down into the multi-storey car park (see Section 10.3, above).
11.1.2 The multi-storey car park in the northern and central sections of Area A comprised a large, three and four storey structure, supported by series of structural pillars on each floor (DP 4). At its easternmost corner, an access road led from the ground floor of the multi-storey car park to a two-way road off and onto Exchange Street. Adjoining the multi-storey car park was the contemporary Reg Maxwell swimming pool, which appeared to be boarded up and no longer in use (DP 5; see Section 10.2, above). The remainder of Area A’s eastern section comprised a green- like grassed area, which was the only surviving remnant of the former recreation area. A number of established trees lined the Exchange Street frontage (DP 6), and areas of raised grass lay beside the swimming pool exterior.
11.2 Area B
11.2.1 The Exchange Street frontage of Area B was occupied by a single extant structure, that of the two storey Exchange Street Offices at No. 8 Exchange Street (DP 7). Whilst mainly dating to the 1930s, the Exchange Street Offices also included a modern glass fronted extension to the rear and were currently occupied by the local Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) (DP 8). At the south-western boundary of area B also stood the extant structures of Nos. 55 & 57 Walton Street, with a large area of recently demolished former buildings or yards to the immediate rear. Although no longer in use, No. 55 Walton Street appeared to have retained its original late 18th – 19th century frontage, whilst No. 57 Walton Street consisted of a glass shop front, possibly that of a former bakery (DP 9).
11.2.2 Standing beside Nos. 55 & 57 Walton Street, and occupying the southernmost corner of area B, stood the extant The Ship Inn public house and its associated car
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 28 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 park (DP 10). The historic public house has fronted onto Walton Street from at least the 18th century, when it was known as the ‘Jolly Bargeman’; a date consistent with the architectural style of the present structure and its range of outbuildings to the rear. Also to the rear of the Walton Street frontages lay the natural course of the Bear Brook, which flows on a north-east to south-western alignment through the centre of area B (DP 11). The Bear Brook was evident across the whole length of area B, and was dominated by its overgrown banks and silted channel. At the centre of area B lay a cobble stone surfaced bridge crossing the brook, which provided access to the car park in the former location of the electricity depot (DP 12).
11.2.3 The former location of the electricity depot in the eastern section of area B, located between the Bear Brook and the Grand Union Canal, currently comprises a council run car park (DP 13). In the easternmost corner, however, stood the brick built remains of the electricity depot, part of which extended beyond the easternmost extent of the site (DP 14). The majority of the remaining sections of area B were in use as public car parking, particularly along the Exchange Street frontage and in the northernmost corner. In the southernmost corner of area B, however, lay the access road to the Grand Union Canal, the canal basin and the Aylesbury Canal Society clubhouse, the latter of which lies within area B (DP 15).
11.2.4 Area B of the site contains a quantity of structural remains and evidence, which attests to a number of previous uses of the site. The brick built standing structure located at the south-eastern boundary of area B and along the Grand Union Canal was still extant and appeared to have been an industrial building, with large double access doors (see Section 10.10, above; DP 16). To the rear of Nos. 55 & 57 Walton Street was the tiled footprint of a recently demolished structure, which may have been the bakery that is known to have existed at No. 57 Walton Street (DP 17). A modern fence and range of brick wall boundaries at the centre of area B separated the car park from the former timber yard (DP 18). Although access could not be gained to the former timber yard, a number of standing structures, including a barn, remained.
12 PREVIOUS GROUND DISTURBANCE
12.1 Aerial photographs depicting area A (Plates 7 – 10) indicate the large scale of demolition, piling and building work associated with the construction of the Civic Centre in 1974 - 75. No archaeological monitoring was carried out at this time, and it is not known whether archaeological remains were encountered during the associated groundworks. Any deposits situated within the footprints of the three Civic Centre buildings are likely to have been severely truncated during construction (Fig. 17). Archaeological remains and relatively intact deposits, however, may survive in the grassed area in the eastern section of Area A. Nevertheless, portions of the grass area seem to have been landscaped, with land rising away from Exchange Street towards the Civic Centre, yet the ground appears to have been raised rather than lowered.
12.2 The currently incomplete proposed development for Area A will probably have little impact on archaeological deposits, as these have probably already been removed during large-scale construction work in the 1970s. Any groundworks
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 29 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 undertaken in the eastern section of Area A, however, may truncate any deposits that survive beneath the grassed area, which was formerly the recreation ground. Although it is unlikely that the site will contain any human remains, the nearest known burial site is the executed prisoners’ burial ground on the western edge of Area A to the rear of the former jail site at the Old County Hall. Any burials may date to the early 19th century and earlier, although relevant plans are recorded and the depth of such burials remains known.
12.3 In Area B, the footprints of 20th century buildings on the Exchange Street frontages may have truncated any remains, as will the construction of Exchange Street in the 19th century, its widening in the 1930s and 1960s and the subsequent construction of the Walton Street/Exchange Street roundabout in the 1960s (Fig. 17). The electricity generating hall in the present Canalside car park area was a substantial building and may also have truncated remains. The light industrial buildings of the timber yard, electricity depot and canal warehousing, however, may not have adversely affected archaeological deposits. The construction of the car parks may mask archaeological and more recent industrial remains, such as the narrow-gauge railway tracks salvaged recently and cobbled areas noted on the bridge over the Bear Brook (DP 12).
12.4 In Area B, any proposed residential or retail development to the west of the Bear Brook may truncate deep, stratified peat deposits sealed beneath alluvium, containing well-preserved waterlogged finds and palaeoenvironmental material. To the east of the Bear Brook, the proposed development may encounter similar deposits, as well as the foundations of earlier 19th century canalside buildings, wharves, crane bases and loading bays as well as evidence for the 20th century power station buildings. It is also possible that any future groundworks undertaken in the section of Area B overlooking the canal basin may affect medieval and post-medieval backyard deposits associated with Walton Street houses, the Bear Inn and the Ship Inn, industrial remains associated with the canal terminus, and possibly, the site of the Boatmen’s Mission Chapel.
13 DISCUSSION
13.1 The archaeological desk-based assessment for land at the Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire was undertaken prior to the proposed demolition of existing structures and the construction of a wide range of commercial and residential buildings in both Areas A and B. Such development proposals will cause extensive disturbance to underlying stratigraphy, and thus it is necessary to consider the extent of archaeology that may be revealed by associated groundworks. It is noted that Area A lies on the periphery of the medieval core of Aylesbury, yet much of the area will have been heavily disturbed by the modern development of the Civic Centre theatre, multi-storey car park and swimming pool. Area B, however, lies in a low-lying area to either side of the Bear Brook and is of significant interest for industrial archaeology.
13.2 Despite the relative lack of previous archaeological investigations undertaken within Aylesbury, both areas of the Waterside development site have notable
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 30 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 potentials for archaeological remains. There is little evidence to suggest any significant early prehistoric activity in Aylesbury, yet a number of Bronze Age artefacts have been recovered from the former Police Houses, 200m southwards, and a late Bronze Age to early Iron Age roundhouse settlement has been identified along Walton Street. That Aylesbury lies on the route of Akeman Street and that Romano- British finds have been recovered from Walton suggest a potential for Romano- British remains to be found within the site. Such remains are likely to have been truncated by subsequent development within the two areas. Although this potential undoubtedly exists it may be considered low.
13.3 The settlement of Aylesbury was established in the Anglo-Saxon period, and may possibly have extended into the northern or western section of the site’s Area A. Extensive early Anglo-Saxon, middle Saxon and late Saxon remains have been found along Walton Road, and at that time Walton also comprised an extensive, dispersed settlement. Although the extent of ‘Middle Saxon Shift’ for the two settlements remains unknown, it is likely that the site occupied a relatively prominent position during the Anglo-Saxon period, albeit predominantly still rural in character. By the medieval period, the core of Aylesbury is likely to have extended well into Area A, and buildings fronting onto Walton Street would have formed the western and southern extent of Area B.
13.4 The highest potential for archaeological remains to be found within the Waterside development site relates to activity dating to the post-medieval, early modern and modern periods. The identification of such remains will also be greatly improved by supporting evidence from known documentary, cartographic and pictorial sources. Aylesbury’s post-medieval economy was based primarily on local agriculture, yet the focus would have been the Corn Exchange and markets which lay within or beside the western boundary of Area A. Much demolition and rebuilding took place within the town in the prosperous years of the late 18th century, followed by the extensive redevelopment of the town centre in the 1960s and 1980s. The Town Hall and Corn Exchange were built in 1865, flanking County Hall, in the western section of the site’s Area A, yet were burnt down in 1962.
13.5 The principal area of archaeological potential in Area A comprises the western section, which has a high potential to reveal evidence of the executed prisoners’ burial ground to the rear of the former jail site at the Old County Hall (Fig. 17). Structural remains associated with the Town Hall and Corn Exchange, which stood in the western section of Area A from 1865 until 1962, may also be revealed by the proposed development, along with evidence of the earlier White Hart Inn, Baker’m Lane and associated properties formerly located at the north-western boundary. There is moderate archaeological potential for the grassed area to the south of the Civic Centre, which may contain deposits associated with the Saxon and medieval town of Aylesbury and the hamlet of Walton.
13.6 Any archaeological remains found in the westernmost corner of Area A and thought to relate to the ‘White Hart Inn’ public house may prove to be of significance to Aylesbury’s history of inns and the brewery industry. The ‘White Hart Inn’ is the oldest building known to have existed within the site, dating to the 17th - 19th century (SMR 1810), yet was rebuilt at the same location in 1814, before being demolished to
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 31 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 make way for the Corn Exchange. As stated previously (see Section 12.1, above), any deposits situated within the footprints of the three Civic Centre buildings are likely to have been severely truncated in the course of their construction. The remainder of Area A, mainly surrounding the theatre, multi-storey car park and swimming pool, has only a low archaeological potential, particularly given the amount of groundworks and service provision required in 1974 - 75 by the construction of the three Civic Centre buildings (Plate 7).
13.7 In contrast to Area A, Area B was not generally developed until a later period, and, given its former uses and proximity to the Grand Union Canal and canal basin is of interest for industrial archaeology. Area B also contains a number of 19th and early 20th century structures or former structures of interest; namely the generating house built in 1915 (SMR 672/10/10), the extant canal landing stage buildings (SMR 6721/02) and a 19th century Mission Hut (SMR 6722). The principal area of archaeological potential in Area B comprises the central section to either side of the Bear Brook, and away from the modern truncation known along Exchange Street and that caused by the electricity depot, generating house and access provision to the canal basin (Fig. 17). Probable significant truncation will have occurred along Exchange Street due to its widening and the presence of the Exchange Street Offices, Richards’ Timber Yard and former offices of The Bucks Herald.
13.8 The area of high archaeological potential at the centre of Area B comprises the rear of the Exchange Street frontages and to the west of the canal and canal basin. Upper horizons may contain ephemeral evidence of later 19th - 20th century industrial uses and the canal basin area may contain evidence of the mission hut, the exact location of which is presently unknown. Archaeological evidence for former properties fronting into Walton Street may also be revealed, although the site visit (see Section 11.2.2, above) found recent demolition and levelling. Future groundworks undertaken within the western section of Area B may also reveal further sections of the narrow gauge railway associated with the former timber yard and wharf crane. The extant Ship Inn public house, in the southern corner of Area B, is the oldest building on the site; close to which post-medieval backyard deposits including wells, stables and midden deposits may be found.
13.9 Three archaeological interventions have been undertaken in the vicinity of the California Brook to the south and east (see Section 6.2, above). Based on their findings, land in the vicinity of the Bear Brook has the potential for deeply stratified undated, medieval and post-medieval waterlogged alluvial and peat deposits. Such deposits found within Area B, however, may be older and better preserved than those near the California Brook, as the Bear Brook appears to have undergone somewhat less alteration and re-channelling as it is not directly associated with canal hydraulics. The area to the north-west of the Bear Brook, in the area of the present Exchange Street car park, was formerly marshy ground until the modern period and may also contain waterlogged peat deposits associated with the floodplain of the Bear Brook.
14 CONCLUSION
14.1 The archaeological desk-based assessment has revealed that much of the site
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 32 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007 comprised agricultural land and floodplains of the Bear Brook until the modern period, yet the western section contained post-medieval inn and market structures as early as the 17th century. Despite truncation caused by modern development such as the three Civic Centre buildings and the Exchange Street Offices, the site has a varied archaeological potential dating from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards (see Fig. 17). The presence of any late Saxon or medieval remains would be particularly important, providing a link between the settlements at Aylesbury and Walton, and addressing questions of early urban planning and development, and the shifting geographical focus of early Anglo-Saxon, later Saxon and medieval settlement.
14.2 The Waterside development site may also contain medieval and post-medieval remains associated with the periphery of the urban core and marketplace, particularly given the presence of the Town Hall and Corn Exchange in the western section of area A from 1865. The archaeological potential of Area B is also significant for the industrial period and relates to the presence of the electricity depot, timber yard and the canal wharf of the Grand Union Canal. Former frontage properties dating from the post-medieval and early modern periods may also be found at the north-western boundary of area A and along the Walton Street frontage of Area B, which may also contain evidence for the 19th century Mission Hut. The presence of the Bear Brook across Area B indicates the possibility of waterlogged alluvial and peat deposits.
14.3 Most of the buildings known with Areas A and B of the site have been mapped in detail (Fig. 16), although the site of the Boatmen’s Mission Hut is unknown. Industrial remains in Area B may provide an insight into the ‘integrated’ nature of 19th - 20th century transport, storage and fuel distribution at the canal basin and terminal, particularly regarding the narrow gauge railway. It will also be important for any archaeological intervention to record stratigraphy and deposit formation found within Area B and seek to establish a dated sequence, to investigate any changes in the course of the Bear Brook. An appropriate environmental sampling to permit palaeoenvironmental and historical landscape reconstruction would also be appropriate.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Archaeological Solutions would like to thank the Aylesbury Vale District Council for commissioning and funding the project, in particular Ms. Simone Williams for all her advice and assistance. AS gratefully acknowledges the assistance and helpful advice of the staff at the Centre for Bucks Studies (CBS), and Ms. Julia Wise of the Buckinghamshire County Council Archaeological Service (BCC AS) and the Buckinghamshire SMR.
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 33 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Babtie 2001 Aylesbury High School: draft archaeological watching brief report for site 1: new music centre, 2: replacement tennis courts and 3: classroom extension. Babtie Group
Bonner, D. 1994 An Interim Report on Archaeological Investigations on Land Adjacent to Walton Lodge Lane. Bucks County Museum Archaeological Service (BCMAS), Aylesbury
Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) 2001 A Future for Our Past; Buckinghamshire Archaeological Management Plan. BCC Environmental Services, Aylesbury
Bucks Herald & Advertiser (BHA) 2002 Memory Lane Aylesbury; into the 70s. Photos from the archives of the Bucks Herald and Bucks Advertiser. Breedon Books, Derby
Cook, R. 1995 Around Aylesbury: Britain in old photographs. Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud
Current Archaeology 1986 ‘Aylesbury’, Current Archaeology. No. 101, August 1986
Dalwood, H. & Hawkins, A., 1987 Excavations in Walton, Aylesbury, 1987: late Iron Age, Roman, Saxon and medieval occupation in Croft Road and at Police Houses. Buckinghamshire Archaeology Office
Doyle, K. & Williams, J. 2005 82 - 84 Walton Street, Long Stay Car Park and the Servicemen’s Club, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire; an archaeological trial trench evaluation. Archaeological Solutions unpublished report No. 1918
Farley, M. 1971 - 4 ‘Moated sites in Buckinghamshire – a list’, in; Records of Bucks. Volume 19, 336 - 39
Faulkner, A. H. 1972 The Grand Junction Canal. David & Charles, Newton Abbot
Ford, S. & Howell, I. 2004 ‘Saxon and Bronze Age settlement at the Orchard site, Walton Road, Walton, Aylesbury, 1994’, in S. Ford, I. Howell & K. Taylor The Archaeology of the Aylesbury-Chalgrove Gas Pipeline, and the Orchard, Walton Road, Aylesbury. Thames Valley Archaeological Services Monograph 5, 60 - 88
Griffin, S 1998 Aylesbury in the Civil War. Stuart Press, London
Hamerow, H. F. 1991 ‘Settlement mobility and the ‘Middle Saxon shift’: rural settlement and settlement patterns in Anglo-Saxon England’. Anglo-Saxon England. Volume 20, 1 - 17
Hands, A. R. 1993 Excavation at the Romano-British Roadside Settlement of Wilcote, Oxfordshire: I, excavations 1990-92. BAR British Series 232, Oxford
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 34 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
Hanley, H. & Hunt, J. 1993 Aylesbury: a pictorial history Phillimore, Chichester
Haslam J. (ed) 1984 Anglo-Saxon Towns in Southern England. Phillimore, Chichester
Holgate, R. (ed) 1995 Chiltern Archaeology: Recent Work; a handbook for the next decade. The Book Castle, Dunstable
Institute of Field Archaeologists (IFA) 1994 Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Desk-Based Assessments. IFA, Reading (revised 2001)
Kelly’s Directory 1964 Kelly’s Directory of Aylesbury & Stoke Mandeville (9th edition). Chapel River Press, Andover, Hants
Margary, I. 1973 Roman Roads in Britain. John Baker, London
Mawer, A. & Stenton, F. M. 1925 English Place-Name Society Volume 11; the place- names of Buckinghamshire. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Morris, J. (ed) 1978 Domesday Book 13; Buckinghamshire. Philimore, Chichester
Newton, A. & Hallybone, C. 2006 82 - 84 Walton Street, Aylesbury, Bucks: an interim site narrative. Archaeological Solutions unpublished report No. 2085
O’Brien, L. 2004 Sites A & B (Aylesbury Town Centre Development/Aylesbury Waterside), Exchange Street, Aylesbury, Bucks; an archaeological desk-based assessment. Archaeological Solutions unpublished report No. 1673
Page, W. 1969 Victoria County History of Buckinghamshire. Volume III. University of London Institute of Historical Research/Dawsons of Pall Mall, London & Folkestone
Parrott, H. 1982 Aylesbury Town Yesterdays. The Kylin Press, Waddesdon
Pevsner, N. & Williamson, E. 1960 The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire. Penguin, Harmondsworth
Roseff, R. 1996 Walton Brewery, Aylesbury; a watching brief. Bucks County Museum Archaeological Service (BCMAS), Aylesbury
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England; RCHM(E)) 1996 Recording Historic Buildings; a descriptive specification. RCHME Interprint Ltd, London
Soil Survey of England and Wales (SSEW) 1983 Legend for the 1:250,000 Soil Map of England and Wales. SSEW, Harpenden
Sumbler, M. G. 1991 Technical Report WA/91/19; geological notes and local details for the 1:10 000 sheet SP81SW (Aylesbury). British Geological Survey (BGS), Keyworth
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 35 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
Truen, D. 2006 ‘Memories of the old timber yard’, in; The Bucks Herald. Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Watkin, B. 1981 Buckinghamshire: a Shell guide. Faber & Faber, London
Zeepvat, R. J. 1994 The Battle of Aylesbury: fact or fiction? Bound typescript in the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies (CBS)
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 36 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
APPENDIX 1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATABASE (SMR)
SMR NGR SP Description Bronze Age (2500 - 800 BC) 5555/08 8222 1329 Residual Bronze Age and late Iron Age pottery found during excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street, possibly related to the Iron Age settlement identified at Walton Lodge 5555/10 8221 1329 Residual Bronze Age flint artefacts found during excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street, comprised six scrapers, 64 flakes and nine pieces of burnt flint Iron Age (800 BC - AD 42) 1806 8180 1398 Late Iron Age silver stater coin of Durotriges found in Aylesbury during the 19th century 1806/01 8180 1398 Late Iron Age Gallo-Belgic stater coin found in Aylesbury during the early 20th century 1806/02 8180 1398 Late Iron Age Dubonnoc triple-tailed horse stater coin found in Aylesbury Romano-British (AD 43 - AD 410) 0250 8180 1398 Roman coin found in a garden in Aylesbury 0250/01 8180 1398 Roman coin possibly found in Aylesbury 0250/02 8180 1398 Roman coin possibly found in Aylesbury 0250/03 820 135 Roman coin possibly found in Aylesbury 0250/04 8180 1398 Roman coins possibly found in Aylesbury 0291/01 820 135 Roman silver and copper coin found somewhere in Aylesbury, possibly near finds of Roman pottery in Granville Street 1812 8180 1398 Bucket more than half full of Roman coins, dating to c. 387 AD, found on a farm near Aylesbury 1931 8229 1369 Roman coin comprising the Follis of House of Constantine (AD 330- 335) found in Highbridge Walk 5555/06 8221 1329 Roman, Saxon or medieval quern fragments found during the excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street, recovered from medieval contacts 5555/09 8221 1329 Quantity of Roman pottery sherds, all residual, found during the excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street Anglo-Saxon (AD 410 – 1150) 5555 8221 1329 Late Saxon tenement boundaries or gullies and small amount of early Saxon pottery found during the excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street 5555/01 8221 1329 Four late Saxon boundary ditches recorded in excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street, contained finds of pottery, a bead, a stud, and a probable antler knife handle Medieval (AD 1150 - AD 1500) 2540 82115 13465 15th – 16th century metalwork, comprising two groats of Henry VII and Edward IV found in garden at No. 32 Walton Street 5555/02 8222 1329 12th – 13th century boundary ditch recorded in excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street, ran parallel to a Saxon gully 5555/03 8222 1329 Two later medieval rubbish pits, which lay outside the manorial enclosure and overlay an in-filled late Saxon boundary, recorded in excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street 5555/04 8222 1329 Possible medieval trackway recorded in excavation at the former Police Houses on Walton Street
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 37 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
5555/05 8222 1329 Quantity of medieval pottery sherds found in mainly post-medieval features at the former Police Houses on Walton Street 5629 8215 1341 Quantity of medieval finds recovered from stream-laid deposits during works for a new channel for the California Brook at the former Perry’s Garage on Walton Street 5629/01 8215 1341 Medieval pottery sherds found in river channel works at the former Perry’s Garage on Walton Street 5629/02 8215 1341 Medieval animal bone found in river channel works at the former Perry’s Garage on Walton Street 5629/03 8215 1341 Medieval leather shoe sole found in river channel works at the former Perry’s Garage on Walton Street Post-medieval & early modern (AD 1500 – 1900) 0350/01 8198 1365 Late 13th/early 14th century jail is noted, although the new prison was built adjacent to County Hall and on Bierton Road in 1844 0448 81950 13645 16th century records of road and causeway, known as the Causey was raised at the cost of Sir John Baldwin, probably the present Wendover Road, although it is possible that the London Road was via Walton Street, Walton Road and the present A41 0996 8199 1367 Early 18th century County Hall in Market Square, completed in 1740 1808 82180 13410 Walton Bridge recorded as ‘Glasyers’ Bridge in a 16th century charter, and Glassweir Bridge divided the town from Walton hamlet, and was generally called ‘Glazier’s Bridge’ 1810 8200 1368 17th - 19th century White Hart Inn stands on site of the Corn Exchange, the modern White Hart was built 1814 and demolished 1864 to make way for Corn Exchange and buildings 2070 81998 13631 Two 19th century Victorian wells excavated during construction work at 5-7 Walton Street 2070/01 81998 13631 19th century pottery of a black jug found in a well during an excavation at 5-7 Walton Street 2952 9180 1435 to Aylesbury branch of Grand Junction (later Grand Union) Canal was 8220 1346 reported complete in May 1815 and wholly opened 1815 2952/01 8697 1394 19th century Grand Union Canal (Aylesbury Arm) 4701 82140 13430 Baptist Chapel on Walton Street was built 1828, altered 1895, demolished 1966, and the site is now occupied by a garage 4701/01 82140 13430 Burial ground of the 19th century Baptist Chapel, ground enclosed in 1855 and part of it was destroyed in widening Walton Street in c. 1936 5555/07 8222 1329 Three 19th – 20th century former Police Houses on Walton Street with associated wells and service trenches, recorded in excavation 6719 8229 1331 Holy Trinity Church built 1843 – 45 for the sum of £1,600 raised by subscription. The church, with its stone spire, was designed by David Brandon and is one of the few surviving examples of Victorian church buildings in Aylesbury 6722 822 135 Aylesbury canal basin. A 19th century mission hut at the end of the Aylesbury canal basin was set up by Rev. Pennefather (vicar of Walton Church from 1843 - 1853) to mission to the boatpeople 12090 8198 1363 White Swan Inn at No. 3 Walton Street comprises a late 17th century structure with 18th century refronting 12091 8205 1356 23a Walton Street is a Grade II listed early 19th century house Modern (AD 1900 - present)
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 38 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
6721 8228 1358 Coal Fired Power Station - Aylesbury Urban District Council set up its own generating works in 1915. Originally designed for the purpose of street lighting, it made available a cheap source of power for industry. Generating hall, wharf-side building and some other ancillary buildings still standing in April 1999, other buildings demolished. Buildings disused and boarded up, site in use as temporary car park 6721/01 8224 1357 Former Electricity Depot, off Exchange Street. Tall brick generating house with four large arched windows (bricked and boarded up) visible along south-west and north-east sides and a small circular window high up in the north-western gable. Much of the rest of the building obscured by later extension, although the lower, hipped-roofed extension on the northwest may be original? 6721/02 8226 1353 Former Electricity Depot, off Exchange Street. Two-storey brick wharf-side building with large double access doors at front and rear and landing stage, presumably built in 1915 to unload coal from barges in the canal basin, for use in the electricity depot. Presumably the wharf-side building house a hoist or small crane and possibly offices? Undated sites 6246 8226 1348 Charcoal found in layer overlain by peaty topsoil, underneath layers with charcoal were gravels of the original river bed of California Brook, indicating post-glacial deposits, at the Brewery site in Walton Street
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 39 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
APPENDIX 2 CARTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE
Date Description Fig. No. Scale Location 1610 The Aylesbury area from the map of 4 - CBS Bucks 1770 Jefferys’ map of Buckinghamshire 5 1” to the SMR mile 1800 Plan of the hamlet of Walton 6 - SMR 1809 Sketch or eye-draught of Aylesbury 7 1½” to the CBS mile 1824 Bryant’s map of Buckinghamshire 8 - SMR 1879 Bucks. sheet XXVIII.16 – 11; Ordnance 9 10” to the SMR Survey map mile 1884 Bucks. Sheet XXVIII; 1st edition 10 6” to the SMR Ordnance Survey map mile 1899 Bucks. Sheet XXVIII.16; 2nd edition 11 25” to the CBS Ordnance Survey map mile 1925 Bucks. Sheet XXVIII.16; 3rd edition 12 25” to the CBS Ordnance Survey map mile 1950 Bucks. Sheet XXVIII.SE; 4th edition 13 6” to the CBS Ordnance Survey map mile 1967 Plan SP 82 13 SW; Ordnance Survey 14 1:10,000 SMR map 1976 Plans SP 8213SW & SP 8112SE; 15 1:1,250 CBS Ordnance Survey map 1998 Ordnance Survey Explorer series 181; 1, 3 1:25,000 AS site location/SMR data 2007 Detailed site location plan 2 - Client 2007 Past and present buildings within the site 16 1:10,000 AS 2007 Areas of truncation and archaeological 17 1:10,000- AS potential
Documents consulted at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies (CBS);
County of Buckinghamshire Quarter Sessions miscellaneous papers and correspondence, 1810 – 22 Ref. Q/AG/10
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 40 © Archaeological Solutions Ltd 2007
APPENDIX 3 LIST OF PLATES
Date Description View Plate No. Source 1944 View of the cattle market with the North-west 1 (Hanley & Hunt recreation ground with the eastern 1993) section of area A beyond 1987 View of the cattle market showing North 2 (Cook 1995) encroachment from the Civic Centre buildings located within area A of the site 1900 View of the southern corner of area B, West 3 (Hanley & Hunt showing the wharf, structures within 1993) the site and buildings fronting Walton Street 1920s Staff at the timber yard in Exchange - 4 (Truen 2006) Street, depicting former buildings in area B of the site 1970s View of the canal basin and associated West 5 (BHA 2002) crane and buildings, forming the south- eastern extent of area B 1965 Oblique aerial view of area B of the site East 6 (BHA 2002) depicting the Walton Street frontage, canal, electricity depot, timber yard and car parks 1973 Oblique aerial view of the site North 7 BCC SMR depicting area A to the north of Exchange Street, and area B to the south 1975 Oblique aerial view of the site showing North-west 8 (BHA 2002) the newly developed theatre, swimming pool and multi-storey car park in area A 1960s Vertical aerial view of the site, - 9 BCC SMR depicting area A prior to the development of the Civic Centre buildings 1960s Vertical aerial view of the site showing - 10 BCC SMR a near empty canal, the electricity depot and timber yard within area B
Waterside development site, Aylesbury, Bucks 41 PHOTOGRAPHIC INDEX
DP 1 DP 2 North-western boundary of area A, North-western boundary of the Civic depicting the multi-storey car park Centre theatre building, which lies in and Civic Centre, with associated car the western section of area A, with park associated car park
DP 3 DP 4 Northernmost corner of area A Interior view of the multi-storey car comprising a paved public pathway, park, which stands within the central known as Long Lional, leading to the section of area A, containing the High Street Shopmobility facility
DP 5 DP 6 South-eastern frontage of the disused South-eastern boundary of area A swimming pool standing in the mid beside Exchange Street, comprising eastern section of area A, with the the grass green and a row of grass green in the foreground established trees
DP 7 DP 8 North-western frontage of the South-western frontage of the Exchange Street Offices at No. 8 Exchange Street Offices within area Exchange Street and standing in the B, revealing the later extension and northern section of area B access road to the car park
DP 9 DP 10 South-western boundary of area B South-eastern frontage of The Ship comprising the frontages of Nos. 55 Inn and associated cap park, which & 57 Walton Street, including a forms the southernmost corner of former bakery shop area B and fronts Walton Street
DP 11 DP 12 Natural course of the Bear Brook, Cobble stone surfaced bridge, which which flows on a north-east to south- crosses the Bear Brook and is west alignment through the centre of situated at the centre of area B, area B providing access to the car park
DP 13 DP 14 Area of the council run car park Part of brick built remains of the located in the eastern section of area electricity depot formerly situated B, between the Bear Brook and the within area B, in the location of the Grand Union Canal present car park
DP 15 DP 16 Access road to the Grand Union Brick built standing structure located Canal, canal basin and Aylesbury at the south-eastern boundary of Canal Society clubhouse, forming the area B and along the Grand Union southern corner of area B Canal
DP 17 DP 18 Tiled footprint of a recently Modern fence and brick wall demolished structure, presumably boundary at the centre of area B once the bakery, located in the separating the park car from the southern corner of area B former timber yard section
A41 Aylesbury N Site
A413 Princes Risborough 0 10km
SITE
B
A
Reproduced from the 1999 Ordnance Survey 1:25000 map with the permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Archaeological Solutions Ltd Office.Ó Crown copyright Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 1 Site location plan Licence number 100036680 Scale 1:25,000 N SP 820/138 SP 822/138
A
SITE
SP 820/136 SP 822/136 B
Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 2 Detailed site location plan Scale 1:2500
N
SITE
Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 4 The Aylesbury area from the map of Bucks. 1610 Not to scale N
SITE
Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 5 Jeffery’s map of Buckinghamshire, 1770 Not to scale N B
SITE Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 6 Plan of the hamlet of Walton, 1800 Not to scale N
A
SITE
B
Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 7 Sketch or eye-draught of Aylesbury, 1809 Scale 11/2 to 1 mile N
SITE
Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 8 Bryant’s map of Buckinghamshire, 1824 Scale unknown N A
SITE
B
Reproduced from the 1879 Ordnance Survey 10 to 1 mile map with the Archaeological Solutions Ltd permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Ó Crown copyright Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 9 OS map, 1879 Licence number 100036680 Not to scale (reduced from a map at scale 10 inches to 1 mile) N
A
B
SITE
Reproduced from the 1884 Ordnance Survey 6 to 1 mile map with the Archaeological Solutions Ltd permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Ó Crown copyright Fig. 10 1st edition OS map, 1884 Archaeological Solutions Ltd Licence number 100036680 Not to scale (reduced from a map at scale 6 inches to 1 mile) N
SITE
A
B
Reproduced from the 1899 Ordnance Survey 25 to 1 mile map with the Archaeological Solutions Ltd permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Ó Crown copyright Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 11 2nd edition OS map, 1899 Licence number 100036680 Not to scale (reduced from a map at scale 25 inches to 1 mile) N
SITE
A
B
Reproduced from the 1925 Ordnance Survey 25 to 1 mile map with the Archaeological Solutions Ltd permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Ó Crown copyright Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 12 3rd edition OS map, 1925 Licence number 100036680 Not to scale (reduced from a map at scale 25 inches to 1 mile) N
A
SITE
B
Reproduced from the 1950 Ordnance Survey 6 to 1 mile map with the Archaeological Solutions Ltd permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Ó Crown copyright Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 13 4th edition OS map, 1950 Licence number 100036680 Not to scale (reduced from a map at scale 6 inches to 1 mile) N
A
B
SITE
Reproduced from the 1967 Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 map with the Archaeological Solutions Ltd permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Ó Crown copyright Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 14 OS map, 1967 Licence number 100036680 Not to scale (reduced from a map at scale 1:10,000) N
SITE A
B
Reproduced from the 1976 Ordnance Survey 1:1250 map with the Archaeological Solutions Ltd permission of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.Ó Crown copyright Archaeological Solutions Ltd Fig. 15 OS map 1976 Licence number 100036680 Scale 1:2500 (reduced from a map at scale 1:1250)
Area A
Plate 1 View of the cattle market and recreation ground, with the eastern section of area A of the site beyond, 1944 (Hanley & Hunt 1993) Multi-storey Theatre car park Swimming pool Area A
Plate 2 View of the cattle market showing encroachment from the Civic Centre buildings located within area A of the site, 1987 (Cook 1995) Area B
Plate 3 View of the southern corner of area B of the site, showing the wharf, structures within the site, and buildings fronting Walton Street, 1900 (Hanley & Hunt 1993) Plate 4 Staff at the timber yard in Exchange Street, depicting former buildings in area B of the site, 1920s (Truen 2006) Area B
Plate 5 View of the canal basin and associated crane and buildings, forming the south-eastern extent of area B of the site, 1970s (BHA 2002) Area B
Plate 6 Oblique aerial view of area B of the site, depicting the Walton Street frontage, the canal, electricity depot, timber yard, and car parks, 1965 (BHA 2002) SITE
A
B
Plate 7 Oblique aerial view of the site depicting area A of the site to the north of Exchange Street, and area B of the site to the south, 1973 (BCC CAS) A
SITE
B
Plate 8 Oblique aerial view of the site showing the newly developed theatre, swimming pool, and multi-storey car park in area A of the site, 1975 (BHA 2002) A
SITE
B
Plate 9 Vertical aerial view of the site depicting area A of the site prior to the development of the Civic Centre buildings, 1960s (BCC CAS) A B
SITE
Plate 10 Vertical aerial view of the site showing a near-empty canal, the electricity depot, and the timber yard within area B of the site, 1960s