Monument MPM1284 - Former Stable Block and Courtyard, Governor's Green

Several features relating to a stable block which formed part of the late-16th century Governor's House complex were recorded during excavations in 2009. One of the walls of the stable block was revealed, the foundations of which had been built on the remains of an ealier wall thought to belong to the medieval Domus Dei. Several surfaces associated with this wall were interpreted as the stable floor, which had been divided by a number of drainage channels. These channels probably drained into a nearby feature, possibly a soak-away. A feature to the east of the stable may have been a post-hole used for scaffolding when the stable block was constructed.

The drainage channels were in-filled and levelling layers deposited against the surface when the stable block was demolished during the later post-medieval period. Residual medieval pottery, post-medieval earthenwares and clay pipe bowls dating to 1640-1690, were recovered from these deposits.

A courtyard surface was revealed outside the stable block to the north-west. This was made up of three layers, all contemporary with each other, which comprised a rammed chalk surface and two metalled surfaces.

The features were all recorded in Trench 1. A map dated 1584 shows stables in this area of the site, and they are also mentioned in an evaluation of 1582. An open courtyard is shown to the south of a two-bay building on a northwest-southeast alignment on the Desmaretz map of 1750.

The Governor's House, with the exception of its chapel (the present day Royal Garrison Church), was demolished in 1826 and the site was levelled using deposits including mortar spread.

Accession number: 2009/108

Wessex Archaeology, 2010, Governor's Green Portsmouth, Hampshire: Archaeological Evaluation Report (Unpublished document). SPM221.