36-42 Duke Street, Norwich

Between the 26th February and the 5th October 2018 Oxford Archaeology East conducted an archaeological excavation at 36-42 Duke Street, Norwich in the parish of St Michael Coslany. This excavation, following the evaluation carried out the previous year, revealed a complex sequence of stratified archaeological features and deposits consisting of pits, post holes, buried soils, walls and floor surfaces.
The investigation revealed activity on the site dating from the Late Saxon period to the present day, and as a result of the approved mitigation strategy of the excavation phase of works the majority of the Late Saxon and medieval remains were preserved in situ.
The deeper interventions produced a quantity of metal working residue including slag and hammerscale which dated to the Late Saxon and early medieval period adding to the corpus of evidence for early ironworking in this area of Norwich.
The discovery of an intact vaulted cellar was made during the removal of an obstruction and despite its inaccessibility, photogrammetric and other more innovative approaches were used to provide a record before the feature was infilled with sand and preserved in situ.
The site underwent numerous changes from the late medieval period onward. A high level of survival and reuse of many of the walls and floor surfaces during the post-medieval periods allows a detailed study of the development and change of use of the site in this period. The earlier structural evidence indicates a series of buildings relating to Rosemary Lane and St Miles Alley, with much of the area to the rear of these properties left open. Over time the area became increasingly built up as dwellings and workshops were built into the previously open spaces.
Barkers Yard at the north of the site retained its individual yard layout for the longest period, only completely going out of use in the 20th century. It is unlikely that it was known as “Barkers” before the 19th century and there is good historical and documentary evidence which links the site to the worsted weaving and dyeing industries. The parish of St Michael Coslany is known to have links to these trades from the late medieval period onwards due to its proximity to the river. This documentary evidence is supported by the artefactual assemblage recovered from the site which includes items relating to these activities.
A major change to the layout of the site took place in the 1820s with the construction of a new road – Duke Street. New houses were soon built along the new road, with Rosemary Lane acting as access for services and industry to the rear of the houses. Most of the site was subsequently purchased by Edward Galloway Reeve who expanded an earlier smithy into a foundry complex and later added a showroom (for the ranges and stoves he manufactured) along with a house fronting Duke Street. For this he commissioned the renowned Norwich architect Edward Boardman to renovate the site and construct a new glass roof for the workshop. Reeve himself does not appear to have been born into this wealth. His father was a dyer and in his early years he lived with his family in Barkers Yard, which would most likely have devolved into a more typical “Yard of Norwich” had it not been for the construction of Duke Street.
Between the 26th February and the 5th October 2018 Oxford Archaeology East conducted an archaeological excavation at 36-42 Duke Street, Norwich in the parish of St Michael Coslany. This excavation, following the evaluation carried out the previous year, revealed a complex sequence of stratified archaeological features and deposits consisting of pits, post holes, buried soils, walls and floor surfaces.
The investigation revealed activity on the site dating from the Late Saxon period to the present day, and as a result of the approved mitigation strategy of the excavation phase of works the majority of the Late Saxon and medieval remains were preserved in situ.
The deeper interventions produced a quantity of metal working residue including slag and hammerscale which dated to the Late Saxon and early medieval period adding to the corpus of evidence for early ironworking in this area of Norwich.
The discovery of an intact vaulted cellar was made during the removal of an obstruction and despite its inaccessibility, photogrammetric and other more innovative approaches were used to provide a record before the feature was infilled with sand and preserved in situ.
The site underwent numerous changes from the late medieval period onward. A high level of survival and reuse of many of the walls and floor surfaces during the post-medieval periods allows a detailed study of the development and change of use of the site in this period. The earlier structural evidence indicates a series of buildings relating to Rosemary Lane and St Miles Alley, with much of the area to the rear of these properties left open. Over time the area became increasingly built up as dwellings and workshops were built into the previously open spaces.
Barkers Yard at the north of the site retained its individual yard layout for the longest period, only completely going out of use in the 20th century. It is unlikely that it was known as “Barkers” before the 19th century and there is good historical and documentary evidence which links the site to the worsted weaving and dyeing industries. The parish of St Michael Coslany is known to have links to these trades from the late medieval period onwards due to its proximity to the river. This documentary evidence is supported by the artefactual assemblage recovered from the site which includes items relating to these activities.
A major change to the layout of the site took place in the 1820s with the construction of a new road – Duke Street. New houses were soon built along the new road, with Rosemary Lane acting as access for services and industry to the rear of the houses. Most of the site was subsequently purchased by Edward Galloway Reeve who expanded an earlier smithy into a foundry complex and later added a showroom (for the ranges and stoves he manufactured) along with a house fronting Duke Street. For this he commissioned the renowned Norwich architect Edward Boardman to renovate the site and construct a new glass roof for the workshop. Reeve himself does not appear to have been born into this wealth. His father was a dyer and in his early years he lived with his family in Barkers Yard, which would most likely have devolved into a more typical “Yard of Norwich” had it not been for the construction of Duke Street.