Monument MPM1092 - Former Whitehall Public House

A watching brief in 2006 revealed a series of pits possibly related to the demolition of 17th/18th century buildings and the construction of the Whitehall public house. An assemblage of 18th century artefacts indicated that the latter had been operating since the mid-late 1700s. A purbeck stone wall, possibly a 19th century boundary wall with Malthouse Lane, a brick-lined well, the cellar to the Whitehall and evidence of post-medieval horticulture was also observed.

Observations were made during a watching brief at the site of the former Whitehall Public House in 2006. The pub was demolished in 2005. The assemblage of 18th century artefacts recovered during the wathing brief indicate that the public house had been operating by the mid to late 1700s.

A layer of garden soil up to 900mm thick was present across the whole of the site, suggesting centuries of gardening activity. This deposit contained a post-medieval peg tile and two hip or bonnet tiles, a sherd of mottled pearl ware dating to the late 18th/early 19th century, and fragments brick, probably of 19th century date. A foundation trench, cut into the garden soil, containing a possible structural or boundary brick wall was observed on the southern edge of the site. The wall was bonded with lime mortar, and consisted of three courses of bricks in a stretch 3m long, 0.24m high and 0.1m wide. It sat on a lime mortar foundation bed in a shallow trench. The thickness of the handmade bricks, 2.25 inches, suggested a 17th or 18th century date.

A series of late 18th/early 19th century pits possibly related to the demolition of 17th/18th century buildings which had previously occupied the site and the construction of the Whitehall public house. The earlier buildings may have been timber framed with tiled roofs. A shallow pit in trench 10 measured 2.52m in length, and was more than 800mm wide by 300m deep. The pit had three fills, although only one contained artefacts. These consisted of three sherds of creamware, two sherds of pearlware, a sherd of red earthenware and a fragment of 18th century clay pipe. It is likely the pit dated to around 1760-1820. A large pit, 2.72m in length and 1.4m deep, contained large amounts of tile and a sherd of late 18th century/early 19th century creamware. A further pit (2.6m by 0.4m and 0.6m deep) contained a fill of timber lining reduced to a decayed peaty texture and a 300m thick layer of lime/chalk which included a post-medieval roof tile. It is possible the pit may have been used for slaking lime to prepare lime mortar.

The foundation trench for a wall ran along the northern boundary of the site with Malthouse Lane. The wall was built from Purbeck stone blocks bonded with lime mortar, and was probably a 19th century boundary wall with Malthouse Lane. At it's western end bricks were present below the stone blocks. Another wall towards the southern end of the site had been constructed from 19th century bricks bonded with an ashy lime mortar.

A well with a brick shaft was situated midway along the eastern edge of the site. This measured 600mm at the top and became wider. The bricks, 2 3/8 inches thick without frogs, suggest an 18th century date. A slab of Purbeck stone had been used to cap the well in more recent times. The shaft dug for the well was more than 2m in diameter and more than 5.5m deep.

The cellar of the Whitehall public house was observed in the north-east corner of the site. The walls were made of red brick and it was at least 2.4m deep. This had been filled with demolition material.

A modern wall of four courses of brickwork bonded with lime mortar and its concrete foundation formed the foundations to an east-west wall running along the length of trench 11 at the north-east of the site. Three further modern features, an irregular feature with a fill containing small fragments of building material, and two pits containing modern rubble, were observed.

Unstratified finds consisted of 1 sheep/goat bone, 1 sherd of 18th/19thcentury china and 3 fragments of clay pipe dating to the 18th/19th century.

Accession number 2006/458

Thompson, G L, 2007, Watching brief at Whitehall Public house, 215 Kingston Road, Portsmouth (Unpublished document). SPM107.