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Monument Types

• TOWN WALL (MEDIEVAL - 1066 AD to 1539 AD (between))
• TOWN WALL (POST MEDIEVAL - 1540 AD to 1900 AD (between))

Associated Events

• City wall excavation, Queen Street (Ref: WCM100233)
• City wall excavation, Queen Street (Ref: WCM100234)
• City wall excavation, Queen Street (Ref: WCM100235)
• City wall excavation, Queen Street (Ref: WCM100236)

Full description

Medieval city wall, buried remains, between St Martin’s Gate (WCM 96112) and Trinity Gate (WCM 96114).

It appears on Speed’s map of 1610 with no distinguishing features; similarly on the 1651 map (all editions); on both maps it had an unoccupied lane or street (later Queen Street) running behind it. By 1741 (Doharty's map) the wall is not shown as such, suggesting that it may have been levelled in the immediate post Civil War demolition. A row of housing is shown instead extending north from St Martin’s Gate to about half way to the Trinity Gate, suggesting that the wall or its line had been colonised by houses in that area. The whole length of the wall was built up by 1779 (Young’s map); this also shows the older built-up frontage at the south end of Queen Street pushed forward (west) of that to the north. Watercourse Alley, outside the wall over the former ditch (WCM 96137) was also established with buildings on its east side by 1741. The east side of Queen Street is shown on the 1st edition O.S. completely built up with terrace housing along a continuous frontage, and a larger building at the south (Cornmarket) end.

This stretch of wall was examined in a sequence of four trenches by Bennett in 1973. Trench I (WCM 100233, 16/7) (No.2 Queen Street) found the wall reduced to its footings and one course of facing stones, re-used by the front wall of an 18th-century cellar. The wall had been constructed in a stepped foundation trench cut into the natural slope down to the east. The masonry lay in a brown soil matrix rather than mortar. The truncated city ditch (WCM 96137) lay one metre to the east. Trench II (WCM 100234, 16/8) (No.5 Queen Street) found the wall also reduced to its footings re-used for 18th-century cellar wall foundations. The ditch lay immediately outside. The trench was unstable and immediately back-filled. In trench III (WCM 100235, 16/9) (No.8 Queen Street) 18th- and 19th-century cellar construction had removed all evidence of the wall and ditch. In trench IV (WCM 100236, 16/10) (No.7 Queen Street) the wall had been re-used for the footings of the building and survived, rebuilt, to within 15cms of the 1973 ground level. Disturbance had removed all evidence of the ditch outside {1}.

A photograph in the City SMR file shows the entire area of this monument excavated to a considerable depth, post-Bennett’s excavations, pre-car park (to be completed. The depth of truncation on this side of the area is considerably less than further E and probably left the wall remains broadly intact)

drawing of stump of wall, late C19th? where is this? is it the same as:
1878 sketch of poss bit of wall in Bridges & Mundy 1996, fig 89

Sources and further reading

Related records

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