EDO4940 - 14 High Street (W37), Christchurch; excavation 1982

The Wessex Archaeological Committee conducted an archaeological excavation at 14 High Street, Christchurch during September 1982 as part of the Saxon Square development. 14 High street was to be demolished to provide access to the development site. The premises were on the line of the northern defences of the Saxon burh. It was hoped that these and part of the northern 'Bargate' might be found. The 25m x 10m site was excavated in two strips, each 5m wide, to allow access for lorries. The northern strip was area A and the southern, area B. A 25m length of the burh ditch was found and excavated in four sections to reveal a 'v' profile. It may have been open for c. 100 years. Slight evidence for a contemporary bank was found. In the medieval period the site the site was occupied by a two phase timber structure represented by two beam slots fronting on the High Street enclosed at the rear by plot boundaries. Following this a stone building was erected with external buttresses containing re-used ecclesiastical stonework. In the 19th century the Green Tree Inn stood on the site, a two storey brick building with cellar. This burnt down in 1863 to be replaced by a larger brick building used as a shop in recent times. Site code: W37/30732.