Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury, Kent

An Archaeological Evaluation (Phase 1)

for the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust

by Clare Challis and Sarah Coles 

Thames Valley Archaeological Services Ltd 

Site Code NFC 01/119

June 2002

Summary

Site name: Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury, Kent Grid reference: TR 1500 5670 Site activity: Field evaluation Date and duration of project: 22nd–30th May 2002 Project manager: Steve Ford Site supervisor: Sarah Coles Site code: NFC 01/119 Area of site: 3.2 ha Summary of results: Two rectangular pits and two ditches of post-medieval/modern date Monuments identified: None Location and reference of archive: The site archive is currently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, 47-49 De Beauvoir Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 5NR but it is anticipated it will be deposited with Canterbury City Museum in due course. This report may be copied for bona fide research or planning purposes without the explicit permission of the copyright holder Report edited/checked by: Steve Ford 13.06.02 Steve Preston 14.06.02

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Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury, Kent An Archaeological Evaluation, Phase 1

by Clare Challis and Sarah Coles

Report 01/119b

Introduction

This report documents the results of an archaeological field evaluation carried out at Nunnery Fields Hospital,

Canterbury, Kent (TR1500 5670) (Fig. 1). The work was commissioned by Mr Adam Ross of Broadway

Malyan, Woburn Hill, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2QA on behalf of the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust, Design

and Construction Services, Ross Way, Shorncliffe, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 3UJ.

Planning permission is to be sought from Canterbury City Council for the construction of new housing and

the refurbishment of existing buildings to provide 84 dwellings, with provision for 30 dwellings in retained

buildings, assuming retention is desirable. This required the implementation of a programme of archaeological

work in accordance with the Department of the Environment’s Planning Policy Guidance, Archaeology and

Planning (PPG16 1990), and the City’s policies on archaeology.

The field investigation was carried out to a specification approved by Mr Richard Cross, of Canterbury

Archaeological Trust Ltd, archaeological adviser to the City The fieldwork was undertaken by Sarah Coles with

the assistance of Julie Cassidy, Andrew Mundin and Jo Pine and the site code is NFC 01/119. The archive is

presently held at Thames Valley Archaeological Services, Reading and will be deposited with Canterbury City

Museum in due course.

The western part of the proposal site was not available for evaluation during the first phase of fieldwork

described below. Further evaluation will form phase 2 of the fieldwork project.

To mitigate the potential impact of the proposed development on archaeological deposits, a desk-based

archaeological assessment and survey of the historic buildings of the site was completed (Preston and Preston

2002). To summarize, the site lies beyond the historic core of the city but does lie within an area from which a

number of archaeological sites and finds have previously been recorded. Finds include an early Roman bronze

figurine to the south-west of the site with evidence of Roman burials to the north and south-east. The site is not

within either the Canterbury World Heritage Site, nor the Areas of Archaeological Interest defined in District

Plans. It does, however, fall within the Conservation Area for Canterbury.

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Location, topography and geology

The site is located on a parcel of land c. 3.2 ha in area, 700m south of Canterbury City Centre, to the south-west

of South Canterbury Road (Fig. 2). Disused hospital buildings and car parks currently occupy the site.

Geological maps (BGS 1993) show the proposal area to be on a boundary between Head brickearth (to the east)

and Upper Chalk (to the west), with an outcrop of Thanet beds possibly also just reaching the site. It lies on land

overlooking the valley of the Great Stour, sloping down from the south (c. 46m above Ordnance Datum), to the

north ( c. 37m above OD).

Archaeological background

Canterbury is rich in archaeological heritage and although the Nunnery Fields site lies outside the designated

archaeological area it does lie within a Conservation Area. It appears that a substantial settlement was

established in Canterbury around the end of the 1st century BC (Arthur 1986). Around AD 270–90 an area

estimated at 53ha was enclosed within stone walls (Millett, 1990). On the north-west, the street grid extended

further than these walls and to the south-west pottery kilns also suggest extra-mural settlement. Extending south

of the defensive circuit, the line of Watling Street, the Roman road to Dover, passes to the north of Nunnery

Fields and isolated occupation may be expected along this route. It is possible, however, that the site is too far

away from this route to have had much impact (Preston and Preston, 2002).

In the Saxon Kingdom Canterbury was a key point, location of a mint and a religious focus from which

Augustine would start the conversion of the country to Christianity. Occupation ignored the Roman layout

except for obvious restrictions imposed by the standing defences, and the street grid seems to have disappeared

(Preston and Preston, 2002). The street layout established by the Saxons has remained largely intact, but it is

unlikely that occupation associated with the town extended as far south as the site at Nunnery Fields.

The most significant archaeological sites of relevance to Nunnery Fields include the find of an early Roman

bronze figurine to the south-west of the site and evidence of Roman burials to both the north and south-east.

Roman cemeteries are known within Canterbury and the site lies equidistant from two Roman burials, one of

which may belong to a cemetery that could encroach onto the site. It might be more likely to expect a spread of

unconnected burials extending some distance south from the town, not forming an integrated cemetery (Preston

and Preston, 2002).

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The site lies beyond the focus of the medieval and post-medieval town. However it may fall into a zone of

rural and service activity.

Objectives and methodology

The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the presence/absence, extent, condition, character, quality and

date of any archaeological deposits within the area of development. These objectives were to be met by digging

29 trenches 2m wide and between 3m–25m long, using a machine fitted with a toothless ditching bucket, under

archaeological supervision. Where archaeological features were certainly or probably present the stripped areas

were cleaned using the appropriate hand tools. Sufficient of the archaeological features or deposits exposed were

excavated to satisfy the aims of the brief. The work was carried out in a manner that would not compromise the

integrity of any archaeological features that might warrant preservation in situ or might better be excavated

under conditions pertaining to full excavation. All spoil heaps were monitored for finds.

A complete list of trenches giving lengths, breadths, depths and a description of sections and geology is

given in Appendix 1.

Results

Twenty-six of the 29 planned trenches were dug across the site as shown on Figure 3. It is expected that the

remaining three trenches will be dug as a part of the second phase of evaluation at the site. The stratigraphy of

the trenches varied little and is described in Appendix 1.

Trench 1

The trench was 1.85m wide, 24.8m long and was excavated to a depth at the south-western end of 0.80m and 1m

at the north-eastern end. The stratigraphy showed a 0.25m depth of topsoil directly overlying a 0.60m thick layer

of made ground onto the natural brickearth. A cut feature (1) rectangular in shape with a flat base and sharp sides

was observed below the made ground and truncated slightly by it (Fig. 4). The cut feature (1) had a grey-yellow

sandy clay fill (50) and contained finds dating from the late 18th/19th century onwards including pottery, bone

and glass (not retained).

Trenches 3–6

3

These trenches were all 2.0m wide but varied in length; 21m, 20m, 20m and 4m respectively. They were

excavated to depths ranging from 0.65m in Trench 3 to 3.0m in Trench 4. All of these trenches had the same

stratigraphy: topsoil overlying made ground, which in each case sealed a number of late post-medieval/modern

pits, (e.g., 3, Fig. 4) ten in total.

Trench 21

This trench was 2m wide, 25.2m long and excavated to a depth of 1.08m at the south-western end and 0.71m at

the north-eastern end. The stratigraphy showed 0.27m topsoil onto 0.36m made ground overlying the natural

brickearth. A cut feature (2), rectangular in shape but shallow with steep sides was observed directly below the

made ground layer. The fill contained clay pipe fragments and pottery dating to the late post-medieval period

(not retained).

Trench 24

This trench was 2m wide, 20.40m long and excavated to a depth of 0.60m. The stratigraphy showed 0.25m

topsoil overlying 0.25m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. Two ditches (4, 5)were observed cutting the subsoil

(Figs 4, 5) containing finds including pottery of late post-medieval date.

Trenches 2, 7–9, 12, 14, 17, 19, 20, 22, and 25 (Fig. 3 and Plate 2)

These trenches were all 2m wide and ranged in length from 3.2m to 25.2m and in depth from 0.4m to 1.1m. The

stratigraphy in each case showed topsoil overlying made ground and/or rubble overlying the natural brickearth.

No archaeology was observed in these trenches. Finds from the spoilheaps were of late post-medieval/modern

date, including some pottery.

Trench 18

This trench was 2m wide, 4.8m long and reached a maximum depth of 1.30m. The stratigraphy showed that the

ground had been truncated and a layer of Tarmac and reinforced concrete directly overlay the natural brickearth

(Fig. 5). No finds or archaeology were observed in this trench.

Trenches 10, 11, 13, 22, and 26

4

These trenches were all 2m wide and ranged in length from 18m to 25m and in depth from 0.4m to 0.9m. The

stratigraphy in these trenches showed topsoil overlying a brown silty clay subsoil directly above the natural

brickearth. No archaeology was observed in these trenches. Finds were recovered from a number of spoilheaps

all dating to the late post-medieval/modern periods.

Conclusion

The first phase of field evaluation at Nunnery Fields has resulted in the discovery of a number of features cutting

the subsoil but all of these are unambiguously of late post-medieval or modern date. Most of the features

comprised pits but with two small ditches present. The remainder of the trenches dug contained no

archaeological finds or features. The majority of the proposal site examined in Phase 1 would therefore appear to

have no archaeological potential.

References Arthur, P, 1986, ‘Roman Amphorae from Canterbury’, Britannia 17, 239–58 BGS, 1993, British Geological Survey, 1:50,000, Sheet 289, Solid and Drift Edition, Keyworth Millett, M, 1990, The Romanization of Britain; An essay in archaeological interpretation, Cambridge PPG16, 1990, Archaeology and Planning, Dept of the Environment Planning Policy Guidance 16, HMSO Preston, J and Preston S, 2002, ‘Nunnery Fields Hospital: an archaeological desk based assessment’, Thames

Valley Archaeological Services report 01/119a, Reading

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APPENDIX 1: Trench details 0m at south or west end

Trench No. Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment 1 24.8 1.85 SW 0.80

NE 1.00 0.00-0.25m topsoil onto 0.60m made ground onto natural brickearth. Cut rectangular feature (1) overlain by the made ground.

2 3.20 2.00 1.00 0.00-0.30m topsoil onto 0.40m made ground onto natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

3 21.00 2.00 SE 0.85 NW 0.65

0.00-0.25m topsoil onto 0.30m made ground which sealed 2 post medieval pits full of brick rubble, cut into natural brickearth, one dating to the 19th and the other to the 20th century.

4 20.00 2.00 SW 3.00 NE 0.80

SW end 0.00-0.30m topsoil onto 1.80m made ground which sealed 4 post medieval pits, three dating to the 19th and one to the 20th century, cut into natural brickearth. NE end 0.00-0.20m topsoil to 0.40m made ground onto natural brickearth.

5 20.00 2.00 SW 2.80 NE 1.10

SW end 0.00-0.30m topsoil onto 2.20m made ground which sealed three post-medieval pit, one dating to the 19th and two to the 20th century, cut into natural brickearth. NE 0.00-0.30m topsoil onto 0.40m made ground onto natural brickearth.

6 4.00 2.00 SW 2.20 NE 2.40

0.00-0.40m topsoil onto 0.70m made ground, sealing a late post-medieval (19th-century) pit (3), cut into natural brickearth.

7 20.00 2.00 SE 0.70 NW 0.90

SE end 0.00-0.35m topsoil overlying 0.30m made ground overlying natural brick earth. NW end 0.00-0.55m topsoil overlying 0.30m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

8 20.20 2.00 S 0.40 N 0.55

S end 0.00-0.20m topsoil overlying 0.10m made ground overlying natural brickearth. N end 0.00-0.20m topsoil overlying 0.25m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

9 4.50 2.00 SE 1.10 NW 0.95

SE end 0.00-0.25m topsoil overlying 0.70m made ground overlying natural brickearth. NW end 0.00-0.30m topsoil overlying 0.40m made ground overlying natural brickearth. Finds but no archaeology.

10 25.00 2.00 SE 0.40 NW 0.70

SE end 0.00-0.10m topsoil overlying 0.25m made ground overlying 0.15m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. NW end 0.00-0.15m topsoil overlying 0.15m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

11 20.00 2.00 S 0.80 N 0.90

S end 0.00-0.35m topsoil overlying 0.15m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. N end 0.00-0.60m topsoil overlying 0.20m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

12 20.00 2.00 SW 0.60 NE 0.50

0.00-0.20m topsoil overlying 0.15m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

13 20.60 2.00 SW 0.60 NE 0.50

0.00-0.20m topsoil overlying 0.20m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

14 21.00 2.00 SW 0.65 NE 0.95

SW end 0.00-0.15m topsoil overlying 0.35m rubble overlying 0.30m subsoil/made ground overlying natural brickearth. NE end 0.00-0.20m topsoil overlying 0.25m subsoil/made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

15 4.50 2.00 SW 1.15 NE 0.30

SW end 0.00-0.20m Tarmac overlying 0.75m made ground overlying natural brickearth. NE end 0.00-0.20m Tarmac overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

16 4.80 2.00 SW 1.60 NE 1.75

0.00-0.25m Tarmac overlying 0.40m chalk and clay overlying 0.85m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

17 20 2.00 SW 0.65 NE 0.60

SW end 0.00-0.10m topsoil overlying 0.40m made ground overlying natural brickearth. NE end 0.00-0.45m topsoil overlying 0.10m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

18 4.80 2.000 SE 0.55 NW 1.30

0.00-0.10m tarmac overlying 0.20m reinforced concrete overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

19 25.2 2.00 SE 0.55 NW 0.60

0.00-0.25m topsoil overlying 0.25m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

20 9.00 2.00 SE 1.30 NW 0.90

SE end 0.00-0.40m topsoil overlying 0.40m made ground overlying natural brickearth. NW end 0.00-0.23m topsoil overlying 0.15m bricks and concrete overlying 0.39m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

21 25.20 2.00 SW 1.08 NE 0.71

SW end 0.00-0.27m topsoil overlying 0.36m made ground overlying natural brickearth. NE end 0.00-0.24m topsoil overlying 0.28m made ground overlying natural brickearth. Cut rectangular feature (2).

22 18.00 2.00 SE 0.90 NW 0.85

0.00-0.30m topsoil overlying 0.40m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

23 20.20 2.00 SE 0.50 NW 0.60

SE end 0.00-0.15m topsoil overlying 0.20m subsoil overlying natural. brickearth. NW end 0.00-0.30m topsoil overlying 0.20m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

24 20.40 2.00 SE 0.60 NW 0.60

SE end 0.00-0.25m topsoil overlying 0.25m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. NW end 0.00-0.30m topsoil overlying 0.10m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. Two late post-medieval ditches (4, 5) lay beneath the topsoil.

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APPENDIX 1: Trench details continued 0m at south or west end

Trench No. Length (m) Breadth (m) Depth (m) Comment 25 20.20 2.00 SE 0.60

NW 0.40 SE end 0.00-0.30m topsoil overlying 0.20m made ground overlying natural brickearth. NW end 0.00-0.30m topsoil overlying 0.10m made ground overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds.

26 20.20 2.00 SW 0.70 NE 0.65

0.00-0.35m topsoil overlying 0.15m subsoil overlying natural brickearth. No archaeology, no finds..

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APPENDIX 2: Feature details

Cut Description Date 1 Rectangular post-medieval pit 19th-20th century 2 Rectangular post-medieval pit 19th-20th century 3 Circular post-medieval pit 19th century 4 Post-medieval ditch 19th-20th century 5 Post-medieval ditch 19th-20th century 6 Circular post-medieval pit 19th-20th century 7 Circular post-medieval pit 20th century` 8 Square post-medieval pit 20th century 9 Circular post-medieval pit 19th-20th century

10 Square post-medievfal pit 19th-20th century 11 Square post-medieval pit 19th-20th century 12 Circular post-medieval pit 19th century 13 Square post-medieval pit 19th-20th century 14 Square post-medieval pit 19th-20th century

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Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury, Kent, 2002Archaeological Evaluation Phase 1

Figure 1. Location of site within Canterbury and Kent

Reproduced from Ordnance Survey Pathfinder 1211 TR05/15 1:25000Ordnance Survey Licence AL52324A0001

55000

56000

57000

58000

59000

TR13000 14000 15000 16000

SITE

NFC01/119

SITE

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Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury, Kent, 2002Archaeological Evaluation phase 1.

Figure 2. Detailed location of site showing location ofphases 1 and 2.

56600

15000 15100TR14900

56700

56800

NFC01/119

SITE

South Canterbury Road

NunneryFields

Phase 1 areaPhase 2 area

N

TR14900 15000 15100

56600

56700

56800

South Canterbury Road

Area of proposedphase 2 evaluation 19

22

20

21

1

2426

14

11

13

25

17

23

15

18

12

10

9

7

3

65

4

2

16

Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury, Kent, 2002 Phase 1

0 200m

NFC01/119Figure 3. Trench location plan

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2m 4m

Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury, Kent, 2002 Phase 1

NFC01/119

2

22m 24m

16m 18m

Trench 1

Trench 21

Trench 6

1

Trench 24

11m 13m 19m

3

5

5m0m

4

Figure 4. Plans of late post-medieval or modern features.

N

N

N

N

Nunnery Fields Hospital, Canterbury, Kent, 2002 Phase 1

NFC01/119

2m0

Trench 24

Topsoil

Brickearth

Subsoil

NW SE

Brickearth Brick rubble

6m 7m

NW SE3m 4m

Topsoil

Made ground

Brickearth

Topsoil

Concrete

Modern ditch (4)Base of trench

Trench 18

Base of trench

NS13m11m

Base of trench

Figure 5. Selected Sections

Trench 3

NFC 01/119

Plate 1: Trench 19 looking north. Scales 2m and 0.5m

Plate 2: Trench 7, looking north-west. Scales 2m and 0.5m

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