Monument MPM1000 - 42-46 Broad Street (Spice Quay)

A watching brief at 42-46 Broad Street revealed possible remnants of an earlier quay wall, cellar walls to a late-18th/early-19th century building, and two cobbled surfaces believed to be of the same date.

A watching Brief carried out during re-anchoring of the quay wall at 42-46 Broad Street (Spice Quay) in 2002, revealed possible remnants of an earlier quay wall, cellar walls of late 18th/early 19th century building, and two cobbled surfaces believed to be of the same date. The site was formerly occupied by the Lucas Sails building.

The Quay Wall excavations (phase 1) uncovered several features:

- Fragments of 19th century roof tile and ceramics, 18th and 19th century glass, fragments of animal bone (pig, sheep/goat), and a wooden handle (possibly from a knife) dating to the 18th/19th century, were recovered from a clay layer in Trench 3.

- A flint cobbled floor approximately 1.80m long, at a depth of 1.20m OD, was observed in the north facing section of trench 7. The cobbles were laid upon a bedding of shingle, below which was a layer of mixed gravel, clay and sand. A large shard of glass was recovered from this layer, probably dating to the late 18th/early 19th century.

- Two parallel vertical lines of randomly sized lumps of limestone were uncovered in the south facing section of trench 7. There were no tool marks or mortar bonding, and due to the absence of finds, it was not possible to date the feature. Cobbles and building material, similar to that observed in the north facing section of the trench, were uncovered above the limestone feature, and sealed the eastern line of boulders. This indicted that the limestone boulders were in place before the cobbled surface was laid. Due to inadequate evidence at Broad Street, it was not possible to investigate a link between these features and a similar arrangement of boulders and cobbles found during the excavation of a series of 13th-14th century and 17th-18th century wells at Oyster Street in 1968-1971.

- Four granite cobbles with an abutting brick feature were observed on the east facing section of trench 10. The brick feature consisted of nine red bricks with large inclusions and air pockets. The bricks were made of local clay and probably date to the early to mid 19th century. This feature abutted the cobbles and cut the context below.*

The granite cobbles were associated with a limestone cobble, below which, and cut by the brick feature, was a 'bedding layer' of tightly compacted sand and grit containing small fragments of brick, animal bone and copper residue. The granite cobbles are similar to those still in situ in Tower Alley to the west of the site. Early to mid 19th century maps suggest there was a pathway running through the site from Broad Street to the inner camber in alignment with the granite cobbles. A layer of concrete sealed the granite and limestone cobbles. This was possibly associated with the development of W.G. Lucas Sail Makers during the late 19th century.

During the second phase of the watching brief a row of limestone blocks were observed to the east of the site at a depth of approx. 3m beneath the modern concrete wall. This was possibly part of the original quay wall, but was not investigated further due to the water table. As the piles for the new development did not disturb this feature, there is the possibility for future investigation. Further cobbles were observed on the western side of the site, but due to the nature of the investigation it was difficult to establish relationships between the deposits.

*the red brick walls show evidence of an early form of waterproofing, identified in the deep foundations of the foundry building at the new Gunwharf site. This technique is believed to have been in use during the late 18th/early 19th century, and was replaced by new damp proofing techniques by the 1830s. The cobbled surfaces in the trial pit and Trench 7 are believed to be contemporary with the red brick structure, as the shard of glass recovered from underneath the flint cobbles also dates to this period.



Accession number 2002/368

Gifford and Partners, 2002, 42-46 Broad Street, Old Portsmouth (Unpublished document). SPM30.