Monument MPM2153 - Undated wall, promenade, Southsea Castle

Limestone wall of uncertain date observed beneath the promenade southeast of Southsea Castle during a watching brief for the Southsea Coastal Defence Scheme.

Wall observed beneath the promenade to the southeast of Southsea Castle during a watching brief for the Southsea Coastal Defence Scheme. The wall was constructed from irregular limestone blocks measuring 0.90m x 0.80m x 0.40m laid in an irregular pattern and bonded with lime mortar. The surviving section of wall measured 5.70m long x 1.00m wide x 0.20m high. The wall is not shown on any historic maps and therefore its origin/function is not known.

Nine sherds of post-medieval pottery and 54 sherds of modern pottery were found in association with the wall. The post-medieval pottery was all residual and occurred alongside modern material. The sherds included Bristol/Staffordshire slipware, Sussex redware, English tin-glazed earthenware and two pieces of Verwood-type pottery. One of the latter, part of the base of a jar, was produced in the kilns at Horton in Dorset and dated to between the 1600s to 1710s. Also present was a sherd from a Normandy stoneware jar/butter pot and a tiny sherd of Frechen stoneware. The modern pottery mainly consisted of plain refined whitewares and transfer-printed wares, with a very small amount of regional and imported wares. Examples also included Mocha wares, Denby-type stoneware, a pearlware dish base, a sherd of English porcelain and two sherds of Chinese porcelain.

42 pieces of clay tobacco pipe were recovered. 36 were pieces of stem, one of which was of 17th to 18th century date. There were five fragments of pipe bowl. One of these was thought to have been locally produced and was dated to 1850-1880. Another was recorded as Oswald type 22 and dated to the early 19th century. One of the bowls had fern(?) leave decoration and the spur was embossed with 'I G'. It has been suggested this may relate to the Goodall family who manufactured clay pipes along the Hampshire coast from c1841 until at least 1895.

A quantity of fragments/pieces of glass were recorded in association with the wall. These dated from the mid-late 19th century with residual material dating to the 17th and 18th century. The earlier pieces comprised the small neck of an onion bottle dating to the early 1700s, an incomplete neck of an onion bottle dating to 1680-1700, the base of an onion or squat mallet-style bottle of late 17th to early 18th century date, three basal fragments of cylindrical wine bottle probably 1730-1830s and one unusual octagonal bottle in aqua glass probably dating to 1750-1830. The remainder consisted of fragments of green vessel glass, one fragment of blue beverage bottle, two aqua glass fragments probably dating to the late 19th century and several fragments of modern clear window glass.

Sheep and cattle bone was also found in association with the wall.

See watching brief report for full details of the finds.

Williams, Rachel, 2025, Southsea Coastal Defence Scheme Sub-frontage 4, Southsea Castle, Southsea, Hampshire: Archaeological Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SPM671.