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Monument Types

• Castle Ditch (MEDIEVAL - 1066 AD to 1539 AD (between))
• Castle Ditch (POST MEDIEVAL - 1540 AD to 1900 AD (between))

Associated Events

• King's School drama centre (Ref: WCM100037)
• 18/20 Severn St (Ref: WCM100208)
• Norman defences, Severn Street (Ref: WCM100348)
• Kings School (Ref: WCM100378)
• Potters Wheel, Severn Street (Ref: WCM100637)
• Kings' School SPACE excavation (Area A) (Ref: WCM101941)
• Watching brief, Salmon's Leap ground reductions etc (Ref: WCM101746)
• Salmon's Leap evaluation stage 2 (Ref: WCM101735)

Full description

The southern sector of the perimeter ditch of the motte-and-bailey castle (WCM 96017), underlying the properties on the north side of Severn Street (Frog Lane). Possibly a re-cutting of earlier town fortifications (see WCM 96599).

The ditch has been the subject of several superficial interventions and one substantial one. Several (**check this) unlocated sections were excavated across the ditch by Shearer and the Severn Valley Study Group in 1963 (WCM 100348 **check). One proved the southern edge to a depth of 19 ft 6 ins (5.94m) where it appeared to be approaching the bottom, another trench was terminated at 13ft. A watching brief in 1986 by T Bridges on the King's School Drama Centre (WCM 100037) was confined to superficial disturbance. A watching brief in 1993 by C Mundy on underpinning to the Potter's Wheel Inn (WCM 100637) recorded 0.5m of ditch fills of probable medieval date.

At WCM 100378 Rachel Edwards found by augering that the buried natural surface was sloping steeply downwards to the north of and below the retaining wall (WCM 96023) bounding the north side of the Severn Street properties. This suggests that the ditch was wider than the present ground-formation suggests, or that the latter disguises earlier ditches on approximately the same line {1}.

The ditch was said by Richardson to have been traceable as far as the rear of No.2 Severn Street 'where it ended abruptly deep down against the high retaining wall of a garden adjoining Castle Place {2}. A watercourse was diverted into the ditch from the Frog Brook, where it drove the Frog Mill (WCM 96024). At this point it is probable that the ditch was widened and dammed to form a mill pond. The water flow seems to have been channelled into a culvert after the ditch had been infilled, and this culvert carried the parish boundary between St Michael's and St Peter's {3}.

**note the ground level difference between St Albans lawn (near 1991 ev/wb) and Severn St. and Richardsons comments on this (1965)

**evals 2007 & 2009 (Salmons Leap) and 2010 (boathouse)

Cross-ref. to: 96022, Curtain Wall (south-west)
Cross-ref. to: 96302, Severn Street (Frog Lane)

Sources and further reading

Related records

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