Monument MPM1109 - Brick vault and wall, 84 High Street

A section of a red brick wall belonging to the frontage of the former No 84 High Street and a red brick vault (probably covering a coal hole situated beneath the pavement on the High Street) recorded during a watching brief in 2010. The structural remains were exposed during repaving works.

The remains of a house frontage and a brick vault (probably belonging to a coal hole) were recorded during a watching brief carried out by Southampton Archaeology Unit on the site of 84 High Street in 2010. The structural remains were exposed during repaving works to the footway.

The remains of the frontage of No. 84 were represented by a red brick wall (1) 330mm thick, composed of a solid wall 1.5 bricks thick. The bricks measured 223m by 102mm by 65mm thick, and were in a strong, white, sandy mortar. There was a door opening in the wall 750mm wide. Although the footings of the wall were not exposed, the lower parts that were visible included some 'Tudor' type brick, only 45mm thick.

A vaulted red brick structure (3) aligned approximately north-south, butted the wall (1) on its south side. The bricks measured 230mm by 104mm by 64mm thick, and were set in a hard, light grey, lime mortar, which had possibly been used as a lime putty. The soffit was built in alternate rows of headers and stretchers. Many of the headers were dark blue/grey, but not all. The maximum dimension of the section of vault exposed was 1.6m, but it could have extended up to 1.6m further, bringing it in line with the present pavement edge. If the vault had extended this far it would have been removed by the modern services which run through the area. The vault probably covered a cole hole beneath the pavement of the High Street, and would have been entered via an opening in the front wall of the house. As no opening/coal shoot into the chamber was found, this probably lay further out under the pavement, in the area where the modern services are situated. The date of the structure was not determined, but the thickness of the bricks used in its construction, and the presence of blue header bricks, would suggest an 18th century date.

A sleeper wall (2) constructed from the same bricks had been built on top of the vault. It is possible that this may have supported steps leading into the house, or a large bow window shown on Charpentier's elevation of the building in 1842.

In order to create a safe and level footway, the central section of the vault was removed, and its fill compacted and backfilled.

Historical Background to the site:

The earliest evidence of a structure on the site is recorded on a map of Portsmouth dated c. 1584. The plot was assigned the number 84 High Street during the 19th century, and an elevation of the building is shown in Charpentier's Guide of 1842, when it was a dispensing chemist owned by Blunden & Padwick. The building was still in use as a chemist in 1913, when Holttum Ltd were listed as the owners in the Kelly's Street Directory.

The High Street suffered heavy bombing during the Second World War, and the bomb damaged buildings, together with a few surviving structures on the west side of the street, were demolished during the post-war period. The entrances to the cellars belonging to these buildings were backfilled, but have subsided causing concavities in the pavement.

Russel, A, 2010, Archaeological Watching Brief at 84 High Street, Portsmouth (Unpublished document). SPM124.