Event/Activity EPM217 - An Archaeological Watching Brief at 16-17 Queen Street, Portsmouth

Pre-Construct Archaeology carried out an archaeological watching brief on groundworks at 16-17 Queen Street on the 23rd November 2007 and between the 30th April and 27th May 2008. The groundworks consisted of the excavation of a trench for the construction of a building brace, the excavation of strip foundations for the new development, and the underpinning of the east and west boundary walls. The foundation trenches measured approximately 2m long x 0.5m wide x 1.5m deep, and were excavated in short sections due to limited space. The underpinning was carried out in sections measuring 1m x 1m. 18th century maps show the triangular piece of land where the site was situated, and buildings are marked on the 19th century Ordnance Survey maps. The Royal Oak Hotel is recorded as occupying the site in the 1823-1824 Portsmouth Directory. This establishment is listed in the 1887 Kelly's Directory as the Royal Oak Hotel, Assembly Rooms, Livery and Bait Stables. The Kelly's Directories record numbers 16 and 17 Queen Street as confectionary shops from 1913/14. The final listing in the Kelly's for number 16 is for 1939 and number 17 is not recorded after 1953. The watching brief revealed a series of large pits that were probably excavated to quarry gravel, two of which contained 18th century pottery which may have been discarded from the Royal Oak or an earlier establishment on the site. A post-medieval brick well and 19th/20th century cellar were also observed. Accession No: 2008/287