Monument record 10141 - Medieval pits at Goldsmith House

A number of medieval pits were recorded during archaeological observations at the site of the present Goldsmith House in 1972. The observations were carried out during the mechanical excavations of a basement for the building and the work observed by T. Ward of the Grosvenor Museum. Five pits of a probable medieval date were encountered cutting into the bedrock although the upper layers in each case had been truncated.

Pit 2 contained fragments of pottery representing at least four vessels made of a distinctive creamy white fabric previously unrecorded in Chester. All the vessels are a large size and all except one are green-glazed. This indicates that there was at least one more kiln supplying Chester apart from those at Ashton and Audlem.

Pit 5 was a late 13th-14th century cess pit and produced a piece of leather and an organic sample which consisted mainly of sloe and bullace seeds. Analysis of the sample showed it to contain both edible plants and weeds, which could have been exploited for their medicinal or poison content (1).

<1> multiple authors, 1973, Excavation Reports and Summaries (Article in Journal). SCH5782.

<2> Anon, 1973, September 1973: North West Newsletter. Excavations (Article in Journal). SCH6497.

<3> Ward T & Wilson D.G, 1975, Goldsmith House site, Goss Street, Chester. 1972 (Article in Journal). SCH5904.