Archaeological Evaluation, Bulls Head Hotel, Dun Street, Sheffield

ARCUS were commissioned by Ellis Willis and Beckett to carry out pre-demolition archaeological evaluation on land adjacent to the former Bulls Head Hotel on Dun Street, ShefÏeld, South Yorkshire. A planning application has been submitted by Ellis Willis and Beckett to demolish two mid-20 th-century workshop buildings and to re- develop the site of which central area is presently in use as a car park. The archaeological evaluation was undertaken to document and assess the archaeological potential of the site, and the potential impact of future development on such remains as a condition of planning consent required by ShefÏeld City Council. This document details the results of excavation of two archaeological trial trenches and incorporates the results of specialist reports on the artefacts recovered. The fieldwork was carried out in May 2008. The trenches were located with reference to buildings and courtyards shown on earlier maps of the site. The majority of archaeological structures identified in Trench 1 related to early 19 th- century back-to-back houses with vaulted cellars, and an open courtyard to the rear of these properties. In the late 19th/early 20th century, drain construction cuts were made in the eastern part of the trench for insertion of ceramic drain pipes and the tarmac surfaces were laid down. Between 1935 and 1951, all structures had been demolished and the site was subjected to re-development, which took place during the second half of the 20thcentury. The central area of the site was used as a yard and material store, as well as a base for heavy machines, and to serve these purposes, concrete made ground in the north-eastern part of Trench 1 and crane base in the south-western part of the trench were constructed. In Trench 2, the earliest recorded archaeology was represented by the remnants of the early 19th-century back-to-back houses and a vaulted cellar. In the mid-/late 19 th century, the south-western part of the trench had been rebuilt and further major alterations took place in the early 20th century, when the walls dividing available space into several small rooms and toilet cubicles were constructed, and a sloping and grooved floor in a central workshop was laid down. Between 1935 and 1951, all structures were demolished, and the area backfilled with a demolition layer, which was levelled and converted to function as the yard of a mid-20 th-century workshop built south-east to Trench 2 on Dun Field. In the late 20th century, the whole area, including Trench 1 and Trench 2, was levelled and the present day car park surface was laid down. Artefacts recovered from the earlier phases in each trench included ceramics, clay tobacco pipes, ceramic building material, waste from crucible steel production, glass, animal bone, worked bone, shell, wood and leather. The pottery assemblage was predominantly of late 18th- and 19th-century date and was domestic in character.