Monument record 12008 - Fourteenth to Fifteenth Century Infilling of Medieval Town Ditch, Site of Former Library, St John Street

Excavations carried out at the site of the former library, St John St. between 1988 and 1989 allowed for the recording of the medieval defensive ditch at this location, in addition to a lime kiln (CHER 12003) (8). The defensive ditch was cut slightly in advance of the Roman wall, which entailed the removal of much of its tumbled masonry. The dimensions of the feature had been all but removed by later features, but from what remained it would seem to have been approximately 12m wide and about 3m deep. At this location, the ditch was seem to have silted up, at which point the twelfth century kiln was created, followed by its demolition and the cutting of a new ditch larger than its predecessor. This was about 4 - 5m deep and at least 14m wide. Finds from the fills of the ditch after it went out of use suggest that it stopped functioning as a defensive feature at some point during the fourteenth century (8). An unpublished summary report of this ditch (9) provides additional detail: the cutting of the ditch partially demolished and infilled the former kiln, with a base approximately at the level of its Saxon predecessor (CHER 9041). Its outer lip was beyond the eastern boundary of the excavated area, while the inner lip was thought to have been directly above the buried stub of the former Roman wall. According to this report, and contra (8), its width was thought to have been approximately 7m and it was 3.5m deep. Maintenance of the ditch was neglected, and it was used as a convenient dumping ground for refuse. Tip lines including amounts of charcoal were clearly visible. The pottery recovered from the ditch was of predominantly fourteenth or early fifteenth century date, suggesting to the excavators that it became filled relatively rapidly (9).

<1> Simpson, F., 1910, The Walls of Chester, /30 (Book). SCH3255.

<2> Pevsner N & Hubbard E, 1971, The Buildings of England: Cheshire, /155 (Book). SCH3078.

<4> Harris, B.E., 1979, Bartholomew City Guides - Chester, /93 (Book). SCH394.

<5> Morris, Rupert H (Rev.), 1894, Chester in the Plantagenet & Tudor Reigns, /245 (Book). SCH946.

<7> Donald Insall Associates, Chester City Walls Conservation Management Plan, R3251 (Client Report). SCH6603.

<8> Mason, D. J. P., 1994/5, 'And the Walls came Tumbling Down': Excavations Adjacent to the City Walls in St John Street 1988/9 (Article in Journal). SCH5840.

<9> Mason, D. J. P., 1989, Excavations on the site of the former Public Library Buildings, St John Street, Chester Medieval - Post medieval phases (Unpublished Report). SCH6877.