Summary

An excavation in 1960 found the remains of the medieval city wall built on earlier wall foundations. These foundations cut though a 13th century occupation layer which contained sherds of pottery. Sherds of late 12th century pottery were also recovered from the site.

Monument Type(s):

• DITCH (Earlier Medieval - 1066 AD to 1350 AD)
• PIT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• OCCUPATION SITE (Earlier Medieval - 1201 AD to 1300 AD)
• TOWN DEFENCES (Later Medieval to Jacobean - 1351 AD to 1622 AD)
• TOWN WALL (Later Medieval to Jacobean - 1351 AD to 1622 AD)

Protected Status: None recorded

Full description

1> King Street Coventry SP332,795, April 1960. Backing section, final section by B.H. in Museum. Section cut for Miss C. Phillips, Coventry Museum. Cut on inside of defences where wall is still standing. This is a late wall on early wall foundations. This early wall cut through a 13th century occupation layer. Later wall very thin. On outside of wall there is a square bastion and outside this ground shows sagging - partly due to presence of a ditch.
2> 4 slides showing the features recorded during the excavation.
N.B. Exact location of the trench on King Street is uncertain.
3> Mrs. C. Woodfield, for the Coventry Museum, showed that the footings of the city wall had been cut through a ground level containing sparse 13th century sherds, which was overlain by a turfy layer, containing late 12th century and 13th century pottery. This turf may represent the original bank. The internal face of the wall and the core had been robbed, except for the lowest interanl faced course, giving a width of some 5.5 ft for the wall, and about 7ft for the foundation. The footings were packed in sandy clay, but the core was mortar and stone rubble. The depth of the footings was 2.5 ft on this internal face, and the bottom course was especially massive. This section gave information on the structure but did not date the wall, which, however, is unlikely to be earlier than 1360…

<1> 1960, King Street, Coventry: Site summary notes April 1960 (TEXT). SCT1967.

<2> 1960, King Street Wall Excavations April 1960: slide collection (-PHOTOGRAPH). SCT1968.

<3> Medieval Archaeology, 1961, Medieval Archaeology Volume 5: Medieval Britain in 1960, p.324-325 (--ARTICLE). SCT1973.

<4> Historical Association, Coventry Branch, 1971, Coventry's Town Wall (-PUBLICATION). SCT1581.

Sources and Further Reading

Associated Finds

• FCT442 - SHERD (Earlier Medieval - 1150 AD to 1300 AD)

Associated Events

• ECT21 - King Street 1960 excavation of the city wall
• ECT680 - Conservation Management Plan Condition Survey for Medieval Defences

Related records

Images

King Street Wall Excavations: partially robbed footings of 14th century wall with later wall, its builders debris and pit © Coventry City Council

King Street Wall Excavations: Wall footings below robbing level © Coventry City Council

King Street Wall Excavations: bottom course of faced stone, robbed wall, 13th century black occupation level, construction trench © Coventry City Council

King Street Wall Excavations: footings removed, 13th century black occupation layer cut through by construction trench © Coventry City Council

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