SWX8581 - The Proposed Development of Land on the Guildhall Car Park, Weymouth, Dorset.

An archaeological field evaluation on the site of the Weymouth Guildhall Car Park, was carried out by AC archaeology during early October 1999. The site is located close to the north side of the harbour towards the southern end of the town centre. It lies adjacent to a possible former medieval market and quay area and it was considered that the site may provide evidence of waterfront activity in the form of a merchant's house containing cellars. In 1805, a maritime warehouse ('the great warehouse') was constructed on the site, which was subsequently modified in the early part of this century to become part of a police and fire headquarters. The building was demolished during the 1950s. The evaluation comprised the machine-excavation of two trenches with a total length of 6.80m, each 1.80m wide in plan, located within a proposed development area of 210m2. The sequence of deposits in Trench 1 comprised modern tarmac and hardcore layers overlying a greyish-brown silt soil accumulation above redeposited beach gravels. The south-west corner of a red brick building, visible in the north-west corner of Trench 1 was considered to be of relatively modern date. The upper sequence of deposits in Trench 2 were similar to those in Trench 1 comprising modern tarmac and hardcore layers overlying a greyish-brown sandy clay soil accumulation. Below this were the remains of two stone-built walls, a brick wall and a brick constructed floor surface. These structures represent three construction phases of one or more buildings. The structures were not removed and although it is probable that the brick wall and surface are of relatively modern date the stone-built structures could not be attributed to a specific period. They may once have been part of the 'great warehouse', constructed in 1805. Hand-excavation of deposits lying adjacent to, and pre-dating the earliest wall were removed. These clearly represent former beach deposits. The presence of deposits of this type immediately beneath probable 18th and 19th century building remains confirms the absence of an earlier (medieval) building, at least in these locations. Based on currently available evidence, it is considered unlikely that a building of this date is present elsewhere on the site.