Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment, 31 Market Place, High Street, Bawtry, South Yorkshire

ARCUS were commissioned to undertake a desk-based assessment of 31 Market Place, High Street, Bawtry, South Yorkshire (SK 6513 9302). The assessment was produced in relation to a planning application for commercial redevelopment at the site, which lies within the Bawtry Conservation Area, and included a site visit, along with documentary and cartographic research. The proposal area is likely to have been undeveloped prior to Bawtrys creation as a planned town during the early 13th century. During this period, the site is likely to have been occupied by a burgage plot comprising a developed street frontage with a garden to the rear. Archaeological deposits associated with this period will have been destroyed during the construction of later buildings within the site. It is possible that sub-surface medieval deposits survive within the garden area along the Tickhill Road frontage to the north. However, should medieval deposits be present in this area, they are unlikely to be associated with the St. Mary Magadelene hospital cemetery, as the Roman road to Doncaster is likely to have formed a property boundary at the east of the hospital, prior to its re-routing through the planned town during the medieval period. No inhumations or other archaeological finds were recorded in associated with the extension of Tickhill Road to Market Place during the early to mid- 19th century. A variety of structural modifications and more extensive rebuilding has occurred throughout the present-day no.31 Market Place. Although Magilton (1977) has suggested that the building may contain a possible 17th-century core, these elements were not specified and the building cannot be dated conclusively on the basis of the current evidence. The cellar appears to be one of the oldest parts of the surviving structure, has been preserved in good condition and is the least modified surviving part of the building. While several features may be later insertions, the cellar is an unusual and historic feature of local archaeological interest and represents the sites principal area of archaeological potential. The proposed development is unlikely to impact negatively on the immediate environment or the wider Bawtry Conservation Area.