Archaeological Monitoring and Recording Report: 26 The Green, Cornforth, Co Durham

Archaeological monitoring took place in two locations; a small rectangular area near to the central western boundary of the site at the location of the proposed garage and across an area of strip foundation trenches for the new dwelling in the south-east corner. All trenches were excavated with a tracked 360� 8-tonne mechanical excavator fitted with a toothless ditching bucket. The remains of a cellar structure were encountered within the south-east corner of the site. This had been largely demolished with only the lower three courses of the wall and the floor remaining. Although the cellar was only partially exposed within the limits of excavation, the full extent of the northern and eastern wall was revealed. This was a small structure; internally it measured 2.50m east-west and 2m north-south. The cellar had been backfilled with material which included debris presumed to have originated from the demolition of the cellar and associated building. Demolition would have taken place prior to the construction of the buildings that stood here until recently. These buildings are depicted on the Tithe map of 1839, the earliest map to show Cornforth in detail, so demolition took place prior to this date. The construction technique indicates that the cellar is likely of early post-medieval date and was presumably part of a building located on the northern side of the village green.