Princes Street, Ipswich Desk-Based Assessment SCCAS Report No. 2014/108 Client: C.A. Cornish & Associates Ltd Author: M. Sommers September 2014 © Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service Princes Street, Ipswich Desk-Based Assessment SCCAS Report No. 2014/108 Author: M. Sommers Editor: Dr R. Gardner Report Date: September 2014 HER Information Site Name: Princes Street, Ipswich Report Number 2014/108 Planning Application No: pre-determination Grid Reference: TM 1585 4434 Oasis Reference: n/a Curatorial Officer: Dr A. Antrobus Project Officer: M. Sommers Client/Funding Body: C.A. Cornish & Associates Ltd Client Reference: n/a Disclaimer Any opinions expressed in this report about the need for further archaeological work are those of the Field Projects Team alone. Ultimately the need for further work will be determined by the Local Planning Authority and its Archaeological Advisors when a p lanning application is registered. Suffolk County Council’s archaeological contracting services cannot accept responsibility for inconvenience caused to the clients should the Planning Authority take a different view to that expressed in the report. Prepared By: M. Sommers Date: 5th September 2014 Approved By: Dr R. Gardner Position: Contracts Manager Date: 5th September 2014 Signed: Contents Summary List of Abbreviations used in the text 4 1. Introduction 5 1.1 Project background 5 1.2 Site description 5 1.3 Topography and geology of the PDA 7 1.4 Scope of this report 8 1.5 Aims 8 1.6 Methods 9 1.7 Legislative frameworks 9 2. Results 11 2.1 Suffolk HER search 11 2.2 Scheduled Monuments 23 2.3 Listed Buildings 24 3. Site visit 40 4. History of the PDA 45 5. Assessment of impacts and effects 52 5.1 The archaeological potential of the PDA 52 5.2 Potential for preserved archaeological remains within the PDA 55 5.3 Assessment of the impact of the development on the archaeological resource 55 6. Mitigation measures 56 7. Conclusions / Recommendations 58 8. List of contributors and Acknowledgements 59 Disclaimer 59 List of Figures Figure 1. Location of the PDA 6 Figure 2. Contour plan 7 Figure 3. HER entries (red) within 400m (blue) of the PDA (black) 11 Figure 4. Scheduled Monuments within 400m of the PDA 23 Figure 5. Listed Buildings within 400m of the PDA 24 Figure 6. Site visit 41 Figure 7. Speede’s map of Ipswich, 1610 (location of PDA is very approximate) 45 Figure 8. Ogilby’s map of Ipswich, 1674 46 Figure 9. Pennington’s map of Ipswich, 1778 47 Figure 10. Hodskinson’s map, 1784 48 Figure 11. White’s map, 1867 49 Figure 12. Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale map, first edition of 1884 50 Figure 13. Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale map, second edition of 1904 50 Figure 14. Ordnance Survey, 1:2500 scale map, third edition of 1927 52 Figure 15. Actual area within the PDA affected by the current proposals 56 List of Plates Plate 1. General view across the PDA, camera facing north 41 Plate 2. Former building floor slab and wall lines, camera facing north 42 Plate 3. Garages and showrooms on corner of Princes Street and Friars Bridge Road 42 Plate 4. Rear of garages and showrooms 43 Plate 5. View of ramp up to garage roof car park from Princes Street 43 Plate 6. Drum and Monkey Public House, Princes Street frontage 44 Plate 7. Rear of Drum and Monkey public house, camera facing east 44 List of Appendices No appendices Summary This archaeological Desk Based Assessment (DBA) has been undertaken to inform the planning process in advance of any developments that may be proposed. This DBA includes an examination of the Suffolk Historic Environment Record (HER) and a historic map and documentary search. The proposed development area (PDA) lies within an area of former marsh on the edge of the River Orwell, just outside the known Anglo-Saxon and m edieval extent of the town of Ipswich. The presence of evidence relating to the Prehistoric, Roman, Saxon, medieval and post-medieval periods has been positively identified from historical records and previous discoveries within the Study Area. In particular, the site of a bridge recorded on post-medieval maps, but possibly with medieval origins, lies close to the eastern boundary of the PDA, which is associated with a trackway that runs across the PDA, later formalised as Friars Bridge Road. This trackway may have originally consisted of a raised earthwork causeway marked by drainage ditches. The site of a probably post-medieval farmstead associated with this trackway also lies within the PDA. Later sites within the PDA consist of a 19th century cattle market, ironworks and a drill hall/ice-rink, all of which were demolished during the 20th century. Consequently there is a potential for buried evidence dating from the prehistoric period onwards, primarily relating to the exploitation of the former marsh, to be present within the PDA. It is the County Council Planning Archaeologist who will make any decisions regarding the need for, and the extent of, any further archaeological works and consultation should be sought at the earliest possible opportunity, as archaeological investigations can have considerable time and cost implications. If further development of this site is proposed it is highly likely that some form of archaeological fieldwork would be stipulated. List of Abbreviations used in the text BP Before Present DBA Desk Based Assessment HER Historic Environment Record IBC Ipswich Borough Council LDF Local Development Framework LPA Local planning authority NHLE National Heritage List for England NPPF National Planning Policy Framework PAS Portable Antiquities Scheme PDA Proposed Development Area PPG 16 Planning Policy Guidance 16 PPS 5 Planning Policy Statement 5 SM Scheduled Monument SCCAS/FT Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service/Field Team SCCAS/CT Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service/Conservation Team 1. Introduction 1.1 Project background This archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (DBA) has been prepared by Mark Sommers of Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service’s Field Team for C.A.Cornish & Associates Ltd. This DBA is intended to establish the potential of the Proposed Development Area (PDA) for heritage assets, as recommended by national and local planning policy, by characterising the nature, date and potential for survival of archaeological deposits upon the site and the extent to which such deposits could be impacted upon by the proposed residential development of the site. Advice as to the requirement and nature of further investigation to establish the archaeological potential of the PDA is also provided. There is a proposal to redevelop part of the site with an office block in the area of the existing structures in the southeast corner of the site. Planning permission is yet to be sought although the developer has been advised by the Suffolk County Council Conservation Team that a DBA would help facilitate the planning process. 1.2 Site description The subject of this DBA comprises an area of approximately 2.3 hectares centred at TM 1585 4434 (see Fig. 1. Location plan). It is situated within the urban area of the Suffolk town of Ipswich, approximately 400m to the southwest of the town centre (The Cornhill). It lies on the edge of the main commercial/retail area of the town in an area that is predominately occupied by office accommodation and associated car parks. The PDA is an irregular shaped area of land bounded by Princes Street to the south, Portman Road to the west and Great Gipping Street to the North. The eastern boundary is formed by a short section of Friars Bridge Road and the rear boundary of properties that front onto Civic Drive. The greater part of the PDA is open ground surfaced with tarmac that is currently used for car-parking. The only permanent buildings presently on site comprise a g roup of commercial structures that front Princes Street and Friars Bridge Road. 5 Norfolk SUFFOLK Essex 0 25km N Crown Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Suffolk County Council Licence No. 100023395 2014 Figure 1. Location of the PDA 6 1.3 Topography and geology of the PDA The PDA is located on a level terrace at c. 3m above sea level. It lies within the flood plain of the River Orwell which flows in a channel c. 350m to the south. The edge of the flood plain lies to the north of the PDA from where the land steadily rises up to a plateau at c. 45m OD some 1km to the north and northeast (see Fig. 2). The geology of Great Britain is recorded by the British Geological Survey and is published on t heir website (http://www.bgs.ac.uk). It reveals that the underlying superficial geography is typical of a r iver flood plain although there is some variation across the site. The southwestern area consists of river terrace deposits of sand and gravel whilst the remainder of the PDA lie on silty clay alluvium deposits. This is a result of the presence of a watercourse which flows roughly north to south just to the east of the PDA. It branches off the River Gipping (the upper reaches of the Orwell) and skirts around an area of former marsh before draining back into the River Orwell. It was formerly an open channel that fed a watermill but now runs in an underground culvert. To the north and east of the PDA the surface geology is dominated by a high plateau which is formed of impermeable Boulder Till. The underlying bedrock geology consists of sedimentary chalk of the Newhaven Chalk Formation. N Crown Copyright. All Rights Reserved. Suffolk County Council Licence No. 100023395 2014 Figure 2.