An Archaeological Assessment at Marshall's Garage, Huntingdon

During December 1993 , the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridgeshire County Council undertook an assessment at Marshall's Garage, High Street, Huntingdon. Three trenches were excavated, all of which revealed a variety of archaeological deposits. The earliest of these were dated by pottery evidence to the 12th to 13th centuries. A gravel surface, perhaps part of a yard, was also revealed and appeared to date to the 13th or 14th century. The next period of activity recognised archaeologically was an apparently deliberate raising of the ground surface, perhaps to combat problems of flooding. Large quantities of clay and other materials, much of it burnt, were observed in all three trenches and may have been dumped there at the end of the medieval period.
Following this, a cellared building was constructed on the High Street frontage, perhaps around 1500. This building , may well be one of the three inns mentioned in a document dating to 1572. Evidence of a 17th century building, probably fronting onto Hartford Road, was also recorded. These buildings seem to have survived until the 19th century, when they were demolished to make way for St Marys vicarage. Wall footings belonging to the vicarage were seen just beneath the present tarmac and gravel surface, the building having been demolished in the 1930s to widen the junction between the High Street and Hartford Road.
The assessment showed widespread survival of medieval and post-medieval deposits, including structures and other occupation evidence. The deliberate dumping of material on the site, probably at the end of the medieval period, means that the earliest levels have only been partially disturbed by later building work, and the fact that much of the area remained open during the 19th and 20th centuries has further protected the archaeology.