All recording work was undertaken according to the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) guidance. Fieldwork: historic building record: A historic building recording of the areas affected by the works was undertaken prior to the work commencing. This was the equivalent of a Level 3 Building Survey (as defined by Historic England 2016) and was confined to the areas specified in the proposal plans for repairs and alterations. Phased development plans were created. Recording included external and internal architectural features and room detail, affected by the works, annotated to copies of existing measured external elevations and floor plans supplied by the client. Analysis of the fabric was undertaken on site (recorded as notes) to allow a description to be written up at the archive report stage. Photographic recording was colour photography using a digital SLR camera (with a resolution of 10 million pixels or higher). Digital images taken as part of the site archive were deposited with the Archaeology Data Service (ADS). CAU follows Historic England guidance on digital image capture and file storage (2015). The photo record comprised: General views. External elevations which were subject to repair or alteration. All internal room spaces which were subject to repair or alteration. Examples of structural and architectural detail. Fieldwork: archaeological monitoring and recording during alteration works: Any uncovering of historic fabric associated with alteration works was undertaken under archaeological supervision as part of intermittent monitoring. Fieldwork: archaeological monitoring and recording during groundworks: The SDOHE advised that continuous archaeological monitoring and recording was required on the site during groundworks. This work was guided by CIfA guidance on undertaking archaeological monitoring and recording (CIfA 2023). Recording included: Identifying and recording any archaeological features that were revealed; the level of recording was appropriate to the character/importance and accessibility of the archaeological remains. Site drawings (plans and sections) were made by pencil (4H) on drafting film; all drawings included standard information: site details, personnel, date, scale, north-point. All features and finds were accurately located at an appropriate scale. All archaeological contexts were described to a standard format linked to a continuous numbering sequence. Photographic recording comprised colour photography using a digital SLR camera (with a resolution of 10 million pixels or higher; CAU follow Historic England (2015) guidance on digital image capture and storage). Photographs included a record of significant features and general working shots. A metric scale and a north arrow where appropriate and possible, were be included in record shots. The part of the building subject to alterations dates from the late 18th century. This part of the building originally formed the north east corner of the casting houses, later being reconfigured to become part of the shop stores in the mid 19th century before it was majorly remodelled in the 1890s with a new first floor level added, new strongrooms, new WCs and new staircase to access the first floor offices. The room layout, internal partition walls and floors recorded as part of the historic building record were all inserted as part of the late 19th century remodelling, although these lie within a much earlier part of the building related to furnace/casting activity. During monitoring and recording work inside the building the existing late 19th century ground floor level in rooms 2 and 3 was excavated down to a depth of approximately 1m, revealing that the earlier ground floor level of the building lay at a much greater depth and was not reached during the works.
Motley et al. (2026) studied this question.