Watching Brief at 14 Priory Road, Alcester, Warwickshire

archaeological monitoring and recording Archaeological recording (watching brief) was carried out during May 2024 at 14 Priory Road, Alcester, Warwickshire. The work was carried out on the recommendation of an historic environment desk based assessment which was required to support a planning application for a rear extension. The excavation was small in scope consisting of an L shaped foundation trench. No archaeological cut features or deposits were recorded during the excavations either overlying or cut into the surface of the natural substrate which was shown to consist of a sandy-gravel and stiff red clay. Instead, the substrate was directly overlain by what appears to be a modern garden soil layer. The absence of a clear sequence of stratified deposits including any evidence of a relict subsoil deposit suggests that previous truncation of the underlying deposits had already occurred and that the topsoil may represent a period of re-redeposition and landscaping. Such truncation could be attributed to activity associated with the former C18 building that occupied the site or later.