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Summary

Sub-basement room under west wing of Shaw House

Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status

• Conservation Area: Shaw House and St Mary's Church, Shaw
• Registered Park or Garden (II) 1001446: Shaw House

Other Statuses and Cross-References

• Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 03467.02.000
  

Monument Type(s):

• BASEMENT (Elizabethan to 18th century - 1581 AD to 1800 AD)

Full Description

A minor collapse of part of a floor under the kitchen revealed a previously unknown sub-basement room (probably part of a series). A partial excavation in 1995 revealed a blocked up mullion window and a brick partition wall within the room. The room had been backfilled probably in the latter part of the 18th Century. The main backfill of the sub-basement consisted of a relatively compact silt loam matrix, with many small rounded fragments of chalk and occasional brick. There was evidence of one episode of levelling. Above the main backfill was another deposit comprising a thick layer of sand and rubble. This was all sealed by the relaid stone flagstones of the 1581 floor, which was itself sealed by a dark ceramic material covered by modern vinyl tiles. The backfill contained many finds, though most were unstratified. The finds included glass, pottery, metalwork, clay pipe, animal bones and oyster shell <1>.

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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