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Summary

Excavations on the site of the garage that formerly stood between Green Lane and Boutport Street revealed a pit, the lower sides of which were coated with lime suggestive of a tan pit. Two rectangular buildings associated with large amounts of animal bones were interpreted as workshops associated with the tanning industry.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• North Devon District Council Rescue Archaeology Unit Site Code: Site 150
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS53SE/538/3

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• LEATHER INDUSTRY SITE (XVI to XVIII - 1540 AD to 1749 AD (Between))
• TANNERY (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1750 AD)
• TANNING PIT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1750 AD)

Full description

Cullen, B + Thompson, S, 09/2013, Joy Street, Green Lanes, Barnstaple, Evaluation, 5 (Report - Evaluation). SDV357185.

Ordnance Survey, 1973, SS5433-5533 (Cartographic). SDV77308.

Garages marked to the north of the Bus Depot between Green Lane and Boutport Street.

North Devon District Council Rescue Archaeology Unit, 1990, Archaeology in Barnstaple: 1984-90, 18 (Report - non-specific). SDV342524.

Two rectangular stone buildings associated with large amounts of animal bones which were interpreted workshops associated with the tanning industry.

Lee, E., 1991, Barnstaple Archaeological Reports (Report - non-specific). SDV79099.

Excavation on the site of the Central Garage showed several phases of use and occupation.
Phase IV. Industrial use of the site appears to have continued. A large approximately square pit provided the clearest evidence of the nature of the work on the site. The bottom and lower sides of the pit were coated in a thick white deposit of lime, almost certainly suggesting a function related to the processing of leather. No evidence for above ground structures associated with the use of the processing pit was revealed. Other pits were backfilled with layers of charcoal and waste pottery, including Sgraffito and domestic rubbish. It seems likely from this evidence that domestic occupation had continued on the Boutport Street frontage, leaving the area closer to Green Lane to industrial uses.

North Devon District Council Rescue Archaeology Unit, 1991, North Devon Archaeological Site Code Index, Site 150 (Report - non-specific). SDV63429.

Weddell, P. J., 1992, Archaeological Assessment of CRS Redevelopment Site at 49-52 High Street, Barnstaple, 3 (Report - Assessment). SDV73610.

Area 3: Central Garage. The site was located to the rear of the tenement plots of the High Street in Barnstaple and was primarily investigated for information relating to town defences. The results were inconclusive in terms of the defensive arrangements in this area. The excavation produced good evidence for post-medieval industrial activity, in particular leatherworking.

Google, 2013, Google Streetview (Website). SDV350787.

The site is now under a multi-storey carpark.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4505 - Archaeological Assessment at 49-52 High Street, Barnstaple (Ref: 92.52)

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