Paradise Street, Oxford

Phase 1
Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried out a field evaluation at Paradise
Street, Oxford on behalf of Ambroseden Court Ltd. The evaluation
revealed a layer of rubble within the Castle Ditch which may have acted
as a ford or weir at the point at which the ditch meets the Mill Stream. A
channel forming part of a ?16th-century sluice house was seen, into which
a later brick culvert had been constructed. A possible 18th-century pitched
stone surface was encountered which was cut by a large 19th-century
feature; both may be related to the sluice house, which is known from
16th- and 17th- century maps of the area.

Phase 2
OA carried out field evaluation at Paradise Street, Oxford. The evaluation revealed a limestone spread which may have formed part of an early for or weir at the point where the castle moat fed into the Mill Stream. Layers of re-deposited clay and gravel were also discovered, which probably date to the construction of the defences of the adjacent Oxford Castle. The floor of a probable 13th century building was discovered at the north end of the area excavated. A sequence of metalled surfaces related to Paradise Street itself, dating to between the 13th and 16th centuries, along with a road-side drainage ditch.