Monument MPM999 - 55 Havant Road Fratton

Three 19th or early-20th century pits excavated during a watching brief in 2003. One pit was associated with industrial work. Another was thought to be a gravel pit. A small amount of late-19th/early-20th century pottery and a 17th century clay pipe bowl was recovered from the site.

Three 19th or early-20th century pits excavated near the north-west corner of the site during a watching brief in 2003.

One of the pits was brick lined and contained rusted iron and a large number of cylindrical metal containers. This feature was associated with what was thought to be an outbuilding used for industrial work. The contents of the pit suggested some kind of industrial process.

A very large deep pit up to 3.6m deep, covering an area of 100 square metres, was excavated over much of the eastern part of the site. This was infilled with relatively recent material, and was thought to have been a gravel pit dug just prior to suburban development on the site in the 1880s and early-1890s.

The finds comprised mainly late-19th or early-20th century ceramics. Only three pieces of undated porcelain, all of which were from the brick lined pit, were retained: 2 sherds from a plate or bowl with pronounced footring showing a design of a kingfisher flying over reeds and water; a whole small teacup of chinese type (handle missing), with a design showing a complex of monastic buildings overlooking a lake. It should be noted that one of the shops on the London Road fronting the present property was a Chinese Acupuncturist.

An unmarked 17th century clay pipe bowl was recovered from disturbed topsoil, indicating earlier presence on the site. It was suggested this may have been lost by a farm worker from the nearby Kingston Farm working on the fields, or that it was brought to the fields with manure.

Accession number: 2002/582

CKC Archaeology, 2003, Archaeological Watching Brief at 55 Havant Road, North End (Unpublished document). SPM25.