EDO191 - Westminster Memorial Hospital, Shaftesbury, proposed new car park; excavation

AC Archaeology conducted an archaeological excavation on the site of the proposed new car park at Westminster Memorial Hospital, Shaftesbury during 1996. The work was commissioned by the Salisbury District Health Care (NHS) Trust. The excavators identified four phases of activity on the site: Phase I: Medieval (13th century). A small group of ditches and pits of uncertain function, in the centre and eastern half of the site, together with a few isolated features and soil build-ups in the western half. Phase II: Medieval (13th to 16th century). An open-walled courtyard containing several probable contemporaneous industrial structures, mostly located around the northern and eastern edge of the site. Phase III: Post-Dissolution (16th century +). A series of largely rubble deposits, presumably associated with the demolition of the abbey buildings, and subsequent infilling to create a level surface for the later use of the area as gardens. Phase IV: Post-Medieval/Modern. Features and deposits associated with the use of the area as gardens.[1]