An Archaeological Evaluation at East Street, St Ives

In August 1995 the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridgeshire County Council carried out an evaluation of a site behind 6-8 East Street, St Ives (TL 312/715). This was commissioned by Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association in advance of a proposed housing development. Sample trenches revealed no evidence of prehistoric and Romano-British activity on the site and they confirmed that it lay beyond the limits of the medieval settlement of St Ives. A survey dating from 1728 showed the evaluation site as orchard and excavation appeared to confirm this, but an unrecorded pond or quarry was also found. This was backfilled in the later 18th century and much of the site has since been employed for horticulture/agriculture and dumping of rubbish, probably deriving from surrounding properties on East Street and Carlisle Terrace. Small sheds were present on part of the site in the 19th century and garages replaced them in the 20th century.