Hill Street, Upper Well Street and Far Gosford Street comprise three
suburban streets which stood directly outside the city gates of Coventry
for much of the medieval period. As a result of the 2003-2007
excavations an extensive body of archaeological, environmental and
documentary evidence has been brought together to allow comparison in
terms of land planning, construction methodologies, character and
relative fluctuations in the long-term economy of two of the city's
medieval and post-medieval suburbs. As well as evidence for street
frontage occupation, the sites contain substantial portions of the
city's defences, never before looked at in such detail. The new data is
of great value in comparing the results with those previously gained
from a variety of smaller sites in Coventry and comparable sites
elsewhere in the country. The work has, in some detail, married up
excavated data and documentary sources for the working of the defences
over a period of 250 years. In addition the immediate suburban
environment has come under scrutiny and an unprecedented level of
botanical data has come to light in a programme of sampling for both
seeds and pollens as a guide to the changing character of the suburbs.
At Hill Street, excavation uncovered two medieval and post-medieval
frontage properties 50m wide and their rear yards adjacent to the city
ditch. While upstanding structural remains were scant, analysis of
contemporary pits has highlighted mainly domestic but also some
industrial aspects of the properties and given an insight into the diet,
economy and changing face of suburban Hill Street from the 13th to 19th
centuries. Excavation also uncovered some 55m of the city ditch adjacent
to Bond Street, into which four large sections were cut, three close to
Hill Street and one at the junction with Upper Well Street. The
excavations highlight the huge investment made in digging and
maintaining the ditch as a defensive line for the first half of the 15th
century before it was gradually misused for fly-tipping and eventually
lost beneath a welter of dumping by the later 17th century. It was
probably indefensible long before the Civil War. A varied and rich
environmental profile of the site has been constructed, which paints a
picture of a suburban, semi-rural habitat which was increasingly spoiled
in the 16th and 17th centuries by unrestricted dumping of refuse and
cess. A wide variety of finds was recovered, indicative of both domestic
and industrial occupation and use. This range was dominated by a large
group of well-preserved late medieval leather shoes. The Far Gosford
Street excavations revealed evidence for some 800 years of human
activity. The earliest remains comprised a solid timber post, possibly
related to a bridge over the River Sherbourne, for which tree-ring
dating established a felling date of 1162-1212. A frontage was first
occupied in the early 14th century when buildings were laid out along
the street. A hoard of silver pennies found buried beneath the floor of
one of the buildings probably represents the savings of one of the
street's earliest residents. These structures were replaced in the first
half of the 15th century, probably at the same time as the city wall was
built a short distance to the west. A second medieval frontage lasted
until 1643 when it was again dismantled during the Civil War.
Entrenchments dating to this period were also excavated. In the 18th
century a third frontage was built, replaced in the 19th century and
finally demolished to make way for Singer Motors car showroom after they
acquired the site in 1926.
