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HER Number:MSH3400
Type of Record:Find Spot
Name:Maddison Street (West Side) - wall inside castle bailey
Grid Reference:SU 4188 1147
Map:Show location on Streetmap

Summary

The robber trench of a stone wall was found at the southern end of an archaeological excavation in Maddison Street in 1980 and 1981 (SOU 29). The robber trench was aligned east-west and was just over one metre deep. It appeared to coincide with the location of a wall shown on Speed's 1611 map. About 5.5m to the north was a ditch (MSH3399), perhaps associated with the wall. The ditch and wall are dated to the late 12th to late 13th century. They may have been the earliest defensive features on the north side of the castle or an internal division of the bailey into two wards. (See parent record MSH3412.)

Protected Status: None recorded

Other References/Statuses

  • HER backup file (new series): SOU 29  etc
  • Old Southampton SMR No/Backup file: SU 4111 SE 3 (M)  also SU 4111 NE 11

Monument Type(s):

  • CASTLE (Medieval - 1150 AD to 1299 AD)
  • WALL (Built, Medieval - 1150 AD? to 1299 AD?)
  • ROBBER TRENCH (dug, Post Medieval - 1540 AD? to 1900 AD?)

Full description

SOU 29 (excavation in Maddison Street in 1980 and 1981):
[1] in [2]: The first features found on the site which appear to relate to Southampton Castle are a Phase 3B ditch (feature 529/3002) and an associated wall which was later robbed out (feature 3022) (figs 20 and 21). Both were aligned east-west. The ditch was just under 5m wide and at least 2.5m deep. The robber trench was about 5.5m south of the ditch and was just over one metre deep. The ditch and wall may represent the primary defensive features on the north side of the castle or may have been an internal division of the bailey into two wards. Roughly contemporary features include four rubbish pits. (Phase 3B - pits, postholes, ditch and wall - are dated to the late 12th to late 13th century.) The robber trench appeared to coincide with the location of a wall shown on Speed's 1611 map.

Sources / Further Reading

[1]SSH1888 - Article in monograph: SR Smith and J Oxley. 1986. SOU 29 (Maddison Street).. Oxley, 1986: Excavs at Soton Castle, 47-77. (pp 47 - 77, etc in same volume)
[2]SSH516 - Monograph: J Oxley (ed). 1986. Excavations at Southampton Castle. Southampton Archaeological Monograph 3.

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events

  • ESH29 - Excavation in Maddison Street in 1980 and 1981 (Ref: SOU 29)

Related records

MSH23Child of: Former Southampton Castle
MSH3412Child of: Southampton Castle – boundary wall marking internal division within castle bailey
MSH709Peer (All Groups): Maddison Street (North Side) - part of the bailey of Southampton Castle (Below- Ground Evidence)

Associated Links: None recorded

If you have any feedback or new information about this record, please email the Southampton HER (her@southampton.gov.uk).