Late Medieval and Post-Medieval Remains at the Queensgate Centre and Westgate Arcade, Peterborough: Post-Excavation Assessment

Between the 19th October and 25th November 2001 the Archaeological Field Unit (AFU) of Cambridgeshire County Council carried out an excavation on land opposite The Still Public House adjacent to Westgate Arcade, Peterborough (TL5488 2658) in advance of the proposed construction of a single shop unit. The work was commissioned by Lambert Scott & Innes Architects on behalf of Norwich Union. The site was a small paved area (6mx9m) providing open ground adjacent to the covered shopping areas of Queensgate Centre and Westgate Arcade. The excavation was undertaken in accordance with the AFU Specification drawn up by Paul Spoerry in response to a design brief issued by Ben Robinson of the Peterborough City Council Archaeological Service.

Excavations revealed up to 1.6m of stratigraphy dating from the late medieval period to the present day. The earliest period included a wall, dumping layers, pits and a cobbled surface. The pits and dumping layers produced a large assemblage of well-preserved leather of 15th century date which included many pieces of shoes, sufficient to suggest cobbler's workshop in the vicinity. The wall identified in the northern part of the site may represent a boundary wall or an outbuilding of the postulate workshop. Post-medieval evidence consisted of a series of surfaces representing yards adjacent to, or perhaps the street of, Cumbergate. A number of modern service trenches were recorded which truncated this stratigraphy.