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The Former Master’s Lodge and Great Hall Corpus Christi College, Cambridge An Archaeological and Architectural Investigation Richard Newman CAMBRIDGE ARCHAEOLOGICAL UNIT THE FORMER MASTER’S LODGE AND GREAT HALL, CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE An Archaeological and Architectural Investigation Richard Newman With specialist contributions by Martin Allen, Craig Cessford, Andrew Hall, David Hall, Jackie Hall, Vida Rajkovača, Ellen Simmons, Ian Tyers and Justin Wiles © Cambridge Archaeological Unit University of Cambridge November 2018 Report No. 1405/ ECB 4419 Summary An archaeological and architectural investigation was conducted at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in advance of the redevelopment of the college kitchen. First established in the early 19th-century, the kitchen occupies the former 14th-century Great Hall and Master’s Lodge in the south range of Old Court. Archaeologically, a range of features were investigated that were associated with pre-collegiate occupation at the site, including pits and structural remains. Subsequently, within the Great Hall itself evidence of the original 14th-century pitched-tile fireplace, clay floor and two phases of raised dais were identified. Architectural elements including moulded medieval timbers and five well-sculpted stone corbels were also revealed and recorded here. Within the former Master’s Lodge, a range of medieval timbers including rafters, joists and moulded beams were exposed and recorded while numerous archaeological features pertaining to the post-medieval usage of the space were also investigated. Finally, a number of Late Medieval artefacts were recovered from the site, including a copper alloy bag or purse mount, a copper alloy candle holder and a worked bone stylus as well as a large assemblage of early 20th- century college ceramics. ii CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 Topography and geology 1 Methodology 1 Historical and archaeological background 4 RESULTS 7 Phase I: Pre-college occupation (Saxo-Norman-c. 1351) 7 Phase II: Medieval Corpus Christi College (c.1352-1500) 12 Phase III: Post-medieval alterations (1501-1822) 33 Phase IV: 19th century to present (1823-2018) 40 MATERIAL CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL REMAINS 45 Metalwork 45 Ceramics 49 Glass 54 Ceramic building materials 54 Plaster 57 Worked stone 57 Architectural stone 58 Worked bone 59 Faunal remains 60 Macroscopic plant remains and wood charcoal 64 Dendrochronology 69 DISCUSSION 70 CONCLUSION 74 REFERENCES 75 APPENDIX 1: FEATURE DESCRIPTIONS 84 APPENDIX 2: OASIS FORM 94 iii FIGURE LIST Figure 1. Site location 2 Figure 2. Areas of investigation 3 Figure 3. Photographs showing excavation in progress in Area F 8 Figure 4. Section of Area F 9 Figure 5. Sections of Areas C and D 10 Figure 6. Elevation of the Master's Lodge 13 Figure 7. Plan and photograph of medieval roof timbers 14 Figure 8. Plan of medieval first-floor joists 17 Figure 9. Photograph of first-floor joists 18 Figure 10. Profile and photograph of moulded beam in former Master's Lodge 19 Figure 11. Profiles of beams in former Master's Lodge 20 Figure 12. Plan of medieval features identified within the former Great Hall 22 Figure 13. Photograph of features within the former Great Hall 23 Figure 14. Composite photograph of interior of former Great Hall 24 Figure 15. Section of archaeological deposits within former Great Hall 25 Figure 16. Photograph of pitch-tiled hearth F.309 27 Figure 17. Photograph of north wall footing of former Great Hall 28 Figure 18. The five surviving corbels in the former Great Hall 29 Figure 19. Elevation of the fromer Great Hall 30 Figure 20. Profile of moulded cornice in former Great Hall 31 Figure 21. Plan of post-medieval features identified within former Great Hall 34 Figure 22. Photographs of chimney blocking F.332 and cellar F.328 35 Figure 23. Photographs of medieval timbers reused within garret floor 36 Figure 24. Historic plans of former Master's Lodge 37 Figure 25. Photograph of moulded string course within former Great Hall 39 Figure 26. Plan of investigated 19th and 20th-century features 41 Figure 27. 1931 photograph of College Kitchen 42 Figure 28. Photograph of vat base F.322 43 Figure 29. Notable metal and worked bone artefacts 46 Figure 30. Early 20th-century college ceramics 53 Figure 31. Notable elements of the ceramic building materials assemblage 55 Figure 32. Reconstructed view of 14th-century first-floor chamber 72 iv INTRODUCTION This report presents the results of a combined archaeological and architectural investigation that was conducted by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit (CAU) at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, between the 22nd of January and the 11th of July 2018. The area of investigation, which covered a combined total area of 270sqm, was primarily focused upon the interior of the college kitchens in the south range of Old Court – formerly the site of the original 14th-century Master’s Lodge and Great Hall – but also included a small external portion of the adjoining Bursar’s Garden where a new grease trap was installed (TL 4487 5822; see Figures 1 and 2). The project had two principal aims. The first was archaeological; to mitigate the impact of the below-ground works associated with the kitchen’s redevelopment, which primarily consisted of service works and foundation trenches. This was achieved by hand-excavating in advance those areas where disturbance to the archaeological strata could not be avoided (Areas A-F, as shown in Figure 2) and monitoring those areas where the impact was minimal. The second aim was architectural; as part of the ongoing redevelopment, much of the standing building’s original fabric was exposed. In response to this opportunity, detailed recording was undertaken, a series of plans and elevations were drawn and a photographic survey was undertaken. In the few instances where the development impacted directly upon the building’s historic fabric, such as the insertion of two new doorways, this work was closely monitored and recorded. The results derived from both aspects of the project – which together comprise one of the most in-depth investigations yet undertaken of a medieval college in Cambridge – have been amalgamated in this report. The investigation was commissioned by Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and the work was carried out in accordance with the Written Scheme of Investigation prepared by the CAU (Evans 2018). It was monitored by Kasia Gdaniec of the Cambridgeshire County Council Historic Environment Team. Topography and geology Topographically, Corpus Christi College is located in the southern half of the historic core of the city of Cambridge, within the boundary of the medieval King’s Ditch (Figure 1). Prior to the commencement of the present works, the floor level of the college kitchens lay at 9.45m AOD on average. Externally, however, in the Bursar’s Garden the ground surface had continued to rise following the college’s construction to 10.52m AOD, thereby partially subsuming the adjoining building. Geologically, the site lies on second terrace river gravels overlying Gault clay (British Geological Survey 1976). Natural gravels were determined to lie at a depth between 7.21m and 7.60m AOD via a combination of excavation and targeted auger survey. Methodology During the course of the excavation, modern deposits and overburden – including layers of concrete and hardcore – were broken out and removed by the principal contractor. All stratified features and deposits were then excavated by hand and recorded using the CAU-modified version of the MoLAS system (Spence 1994). 1 264000 BENE'T STREET 263000 St. Benet's 262000 2 261000 1 260000 Old Court 259000 258000 5 TRUMPINGTON STREET 257000 New Court Chapel (Private) 256000 St. Catharine's 8 7 FREE SCHOOL LANE 255000 Master's Lodge Corpus Christi College 254000 549000 0 2 kilometres 6 541000 542000 543000 544000 545000 546000 547000 548000 Master's 3 Garden 1. Hostel Yard, Corpus Christi Former Master’s 2. Free School Lane Lodge QUEENS’ LANE 3. Corpus Christi Master’s Garden 8 4. 52-54 Trumpington Street St. Botolph's 5. St. Catherine’s College Chapel Court BOTOLPH LANE 6. Test pits in the basements of the former Master’s Lodge and Ramsden Building 7. Pipe trench monitoring 2017 8. 2017 Corpus Christi New Court and Master’s Garden investigations 4 2018 Corpus Christi College Investigations PEMBROKE STREET Figure 1. Location of investigations, also 0 100 showing selected previous investigations metres conducted in close proximity to the site Former Master’s Lodge Former Great Hall III I Area EE Areas of excavation C Areas of archaeological monitoring Area B Chimney A B Section locations Area A I Area D I II South range of H Elevation locations Old Court continues G Area C D F E Free School Lane Lift Shaft Lift Shaft II IV A Bursars Office Treasurers Office Area F B Bursar’s Garden New Court continues 0 10 metres Figure 2. Extent of areas of excavation and associated monitoring, also showing locations of illustrated sections and elevations Where deep hand excavation to 3.5m was required (Area F), the principal contractor supplied and installed a trench box shoring system (see Figure 3). Base plans and elevations were drawn at a scale of 1:20, and sections at a scale of 1:10. Moulding profiles were drawn at a scale of 1:1. The standing building recording component followed Historic England’s guidelines for a Level II building survey. A Level II survey consists of an illustrated record in which the structure will be viewed, described and illustrated; conclusions will be presented, but detailed descriptions will not necessarily be provided (Lane 2016, 14; Andrews et al. 2010, 31). As part of this process, a detailed photographic record was compiled and comprehensive plans and elevations were also drawn in accordance with Historic England’s recommendations for drawing historic buildings (Adams 2016).

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