Archenfield Archaeology Ltd
M & S, Hereford
M &S in Hereford is in the High Town, the site of the City's Norman market place. The
store is built on the site of the northern part of the defences of the original Mercian
town. After Hereford was burnt by the Welsh under Gruffydd ap Llywellyn in 1052,
Harold Godwinson, who was then made Earl of Hereford, widened and strengthened
these defences. Harold was to be the last king of Anglo-Saxon England.
Two trenches were excavated below the basement floor - trench 1 was slightly north
and east of trench 2.
When the old Greenlands department store was demolished in the 1960s and the new
Marks and Spencer Store was built on this site, there was no archaeological work
done, so this project was particularly exciting.
Not just
archaeology ....
but M&S
archaeology.
Cleaning
preserved
timber
structures
beneath the
floor of the
basement.
'x' is the position
of M & S
marked on this
view of Hereford
in 1142. The
image was
created by Enok
Sweetland and
based on a
model of
medieval
Hereford in the
city's Old House
museum.
By this time the
new NormanFrench market
and suburb had
developed to
the north of the
old Anglo-Saxon
town. It would
be surrounded
by a new
defensive circuit
later in the
century.
The narrow East
Street originated
as the road
behind the
northern
rampart of the
Anglo-Saxon
town. The
original rampart
was on the left.
Hereford's old
town hall stood
in the market
place. Originally
of three stories
the top one was
removed when
the structure
threatened to
collapse. The
buildings behind
it on the left
occupied what
is now the site
of M&S. On the
right is the
entrance to
Hereford Butter
Market before
the clock tower
was built.
A possible
northern edge of
the AngloSaxon ditch still
survives
underneath the
Hereford M & S
store. This was
recorded in
trench 1.
Trench 2 cut
through the floor
of the basement
- the
archaeologist is
excavating
timber wattle
work. The two
circular features
are later
medieval
rubbish pits
Exposed
wooden wattle.
The post on the
right formed the
north east
corner of a
building or
enclosure.
Similar wattle
was found in the
Anglo- Saxon
ditch when the
old City Arms
hotel was rebuilt
as Barclay's
Bank in the
1970s
The timber
wattle in section
- the section
exposed was
fully excavated
and retained for
further analysis.
The timber
wattle was built
into layers
accumulated
over this stone
surface.
The surface was
laid in a thin
band of clay that
covered natural
gravel. There
was no sign of
the southern
edge to the
Anglo- Saxon
ditch.
Could this be
the space or
berm between
the rampart and
the ditch?
Certainly the
dating evidence
suggested that
there was
Anglo-Saxon
period activity
on this site.
'This is a very
unusual sherd
the fabric is
Stafford Ware
sometimes
known as
Chester ware
(Fabric 48),
and dates from
the mid 9th to
early 11th
century. The
form is most
likely that of a
lamp, although it
is possible that
it could be a
small crucible in
which case it is
rather thin and
has not seen a
lot of use.' Alan Jacobs of
Worcestershire
Historic
Environment
and
Archaeology
Service
'This appears to
be Cotswolds
ware (Fabric 57)
which was
dated from the
early-mid 11th
century , with
the possibility of
them being
10th. They
generally
continue into the
late 12th
century but this
looks an earlier
form.' - Alan
Jacobs
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Archenfield Archaeology Ltd
Bastion Mews, Hereford

borehole survey
Although not original, the walling here gives an
impression of what the Hereford walls were like.
The city ditch was in front of this wall.
Boreholes behind this wall found a very compact
layer of gravel – the base of the 12th century gravel
rampart which preceded the stone wall.
Immediately to the north of this site was the most
imposing of Hereford’s medieval gates – variously
known as Bye Gate, Bister’s Gate or Bishopstreet
Gate.
The Bye Gate in the 18th century (courtesy of
Hereford City Library). On the extreme left is the
turret or ‘bastion’ which gives Bastion Mews its
name. The left hand side of the gatehouse here
was used as the city prison for many years until
replaced with a new building in what is now Gaol
Street. This is now the Elim Pentecostal Church.
history
Publication
This site will be published in a volume of Archenfield Archaeology’s Hereford City
excavations to be published by Logaston Press
A note on this project appears in the 1998 volume of the Transactions of the
Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club