Archaeological Mitigation Works at the site of St Mary's Court and Berkeley House, Horse Market, Northampton, January to October 2022

Archaeological mitigation was undertaken by MOLA Northampton on land at the site of St Mary's Court and Berkeley House, Horse Market, Northampton. The works were carried out on behalf of Northampton Partnership Homes in advance of the construction of affordable housing and associated works. The areas of mitigation by open area comprised three trenches in the eastern area of St Mary's Court (North) and an L-shaped area in the north-eastern corner of Berkeley House (South). The areas were opened using mechanical excavation and recorded using Leica GPS and hand planning. Artefacts were retrieved and stored under guidance for specialist analysis and a written record was maintained. MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) undertook archaeological mitigation works at St Mary's Court, Northampton in advance of the construction of affordable housing and associated works from January to October 2022. The earliest activity identified on site was the digging of early medieval waste pits on what would have been open ground within the northern defences of Northampton's 10th-century burh. From the late 11th century onwards, extensive quarrying for ironstone took place, along with small scale occupation, evidenced by cess and waste pits. This activity increased in intensity during the 12th century and small-scale industrial activity also occurred in the vicinity. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the settlement activity became more defined with the construction of a stone building, stone lined pits and ovens. A dramatic change occurred sometime after the mid-14th century with activity across the area being severely curtailed. The stone building is demolished, the stone-lined pits went out of use and there were build-ups of soil horizons covering the site. However, by the 16th century, occupation of the site was re-established and the frontages along Horsemarket and Castle Street became formalised with stone buildings, wells and out-houses that extended into the rear plots. A large fire, possibly the Great Fire of Northampton in 1675, saw the destruction of a building in the south of the area that appears to have been re-built soon after. Further infilling of the open areas occurred during Northampton's population increase in the late post-medieval period. Many of the buildings underwent modifications and survived into the modern period when the site was cleared for redevelopment during the mid-20th century. The flats and garages that were constructed at this time were then demolished immediately prior to the archaeological investigation. The excavations have enabled research questions concerned with the development and growth of the town, its industrial and commercial basis, its morphology and the function and construction of its buildings to be addressed from the early medieval period up to the modern day.