Event/Activity EPM141 - Victoria Road North

An archaeological investigation was carried out to the west Victoria Road North, and north of Carlisle Road, by Portsmouth Museum Service in 1983. A trench measuring 12m x 20m was excavated to the natural gravel at the rear of what had been Chichester terrace, Victoria Road North. It was found that the upper levels of stratification adjacent to the west side of the road had been destroyed by the construction of the terrace in the 1860s. Agricultural activity and brick-earth stripping in antiquity had resulted in a loss of further stratification. Evidence of medieval occupation on the site took the form of small pits and post-holes containing pottery. Post-medieval material was also recovered. As there was no evidence of a medieval building, it was assumed that the nucleus of a hamlet or farmstead lay beneath a factory and the Fratton Bridge road/rail complex to the north. The work was part of a larger series of excavations that took place during land clearance in Fratton in 1982 and 1983, ahead of the construction of a new north-south road. No evidence of medieval structures was revealed, but the presence of medieval pottery at a number of sites suggests there was a settlement near by. Accession number: 1984/106