Excavations at Forehill Ely, Cambridgeshire: Post Excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design

Abstract

The area under investigation (TL 545/802) lay at the angle formed by Forehill and Lisle Lane, due east of the Cathedral, in Ely, Cambridgeshire. The area was largely derelict, formerly containing the Forehill Brewery premises. The excavated area was approximately 50m of street frontage on the north side of Forehill, flanking, and running behind the standing property at Number 47 Forehill. This strip of land was just over 15m wide and was bounded to the north by a live sewer and the basement area of the former brewery. The earliest features to be revealed were a sequence of major ditches beginning in the 10th century, running parallel to the existing road. It had previously been assumed that the construction of the post-Conquest Cathedral and monastic buildings were the impetus for the development of this route. This early evidence was highly significant in that it indicated an established route from the waterside to the hilltop long before the post- Conquest Cathedral and monastery were built. The earliest structural evidence on site dated to the 13th century and was followed by a full sequence of occupation into the 19th century. The site was divided into tenements running north from the street frontage, and excavation showed that the property divisions preserved in the buildings demolished in the 19th century were essentially those of the seven tenements listed on the area in the 1415 survey. Some of the property boundaries, including an alleyway to the east of Number 47 showed continuity from the earliest occupation phase in the 13th century. Analysis of the standing building at Number 47 suggested that during the 16th century the property occupied the tenement plot to the west and possibly to the east of Number 47 and included a shop front and relatively well-to-do living quarters. The presence of a merchant class in the properties in this area of Forehill reflects the development of this important route between the riverside wharves, market and monastic centre. The early tenement buildings stretched back a long way and only a limited amount of associated backyard activity was found within the excavated area. However waterlogged lower levels had preserved a full range of organic remains, including structural timbers and a large collection of cobbling and shoe-making waste dating from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Assessment of the pollen and seed evidence has shown the potential of this evidence to provide a wealth of environmental information concerning the diet and resources available to the individual properties, and the range of local habitats exploited. The early timber-built structures were replaced by brick and stone buildings. A complex of 16th/17th century brick-built structures indicates some small scale industrial process, possibly baking, took place behind one of these properties. The excavation produced a great range of inorganic finds, including a particularly large and important pottery assemblage and a copper alloy purse fitting decorated with a two-headed beast.