Early Iron Age and medieval to modern settlement remains at Harvest Way, Barnwell, Cambridge: Full Report

An archaeological excavation was carried out by Oxford Archaeology East at 9–15 Harvest Way, Barnwell, Cambridge (TL 4635 5887) between 3 February and 27 June 2014 in advance of the construction of apartments over retail outlets with associated services and access routes. This work extended over a 2440.9m² area and followed on from trench evaluation (Atkins 2013a). The excavation area was limited by its proximity to the modern Newmarket Road. Although the origins of this road date to at least as early as the 12th century, and probably before, its extent and alignment have fluctuated. The road as it is now being widened to the south in the late 1960s and has thus removed all evidence for activity close to the street frontage.
The site lies on the south side of Newmarket Road within the Cambridge suburb of Barnwell. Barnwell started as a settlement servicing Barnwell Priory in the 12th or 13th century with its peak in the 14th to 15th centuries. Whilst the dissolution of the priory in the early 16th century had some impact on the settlement, excavation of this site has shown that it continued to be occupied throughout the 17th to 20th centuries.
The evidence from this site best represents the medieval and post-medieval periods, but there are some hints of earlier occupation. A crouched burial of a male adult was found within five metres of the modern Newmarket Road and was radiocarbon-dated to 800–546 cal BC. The fragmentary remains of a curvilinear ditch may be other evidence for a prehistoric presence. Whilst no features were present that could be positively identified as Late Saxon, a small number (63) of pottery sherds of this period attest to a limited presence.
Soon after the foundation of the priory, the site was organised into plots along a street frontage (later to become Newmarket Road). The plots may initially have been used only as animal paddocks or may be evidence of a deliberate founding of a new settlement, since later features seem to have been influenced by this organisational structure. All later features seem to have been influenced by this initial layout and it is proposed that the site was divided into eight properties, each with a frontage onto the street where the main dwelling would have been (outside the excavated area). Medieval features included large numbers of pits, along with specialised features including several deep (over 4m) wells, ovens and clay-lined tanks. Groups of postholes may represent temporary buildings, particularly towards the street frontage.
The post-Dissolution activity included indirect evidence for a possible high status building on the west side of the site. A deep, stone-lined cess pit occupied this area. Lined with stone taken from the priory, this feature was almost certainly associated with a high status building. It is speculated that this may be the ‘Old Manor’ referred to in Victorian documents. There is no other excavated evidence for a high status building here, although a group of postholes (Building 8) may be associated with it, and along the now demolished frontage a building that may have been built in the 16th century still stood in the 20th century. Clear evidence for a row of houses fronting the street was in the form of H-shaped chimney bases. The survival of these was variable but they were spaced at regular intervals, all faced the same direction and each showed evidence for passageways between them. Comparison with the First Edition Ordnance Survey map shows that these buildings correspond well with the property divisions of the late 19th century.
In the 17th and 18th centuries the plots behind the houses were gradually built over. One of the earliest of these buildings was a probable stable associated with a possible inn. The stable was of brick construction and may date as early as 17th century. A cellar associated with the inn showed signs of having been severely damaged by fire, and can perhaps be linked to the documented 1731 Fire of Barnwell.
The earlier properties continued into the 19th century but the backplots became more heavily built up along the passageways. For the first time the names and functions of individual properties can be identified and included perhaps three public houses or inns (The George, The Shamrock and the Black Bull) at the eastern end of the site. Shamrock Passage and Brown's Yard were heavily developed and included rows of small terraced houses, whereas George and Dragon Yard remained open. Another passage (at the west end of the site) was developed and named Leeke Street. Two probable passageways between George and Dragon Yard and Leeke Street were built over entirely, although boundaries had fossilised in parts, indicating the routes of the earlier passages.
A wide range of artefacts and ecofacts was recovered from all periods and included some significant assemblages. Large quantities of pottery were recovered including complete and near complete medieval jugs, and from the post-medieval period there was a particularly interesting group of collegiate pottery. There was a wide range of metal and bone objects of mostly later medieval and post-medieval date, providing evidence for personal ornament, craft-working, building and domestic activities. The plant remains, particularly charred seeds, provide interesting information about the types of local environment and processes undertaken and their study has shown possible evidence for brewing, baking and dyeing. The faunal remains provide evidence for the wide range of meats consumed in every period and the changing diets over time.