Historic Building Assessment
There is sometimes a perception that archaeologists focus mainly on what can be found under the ground.
That is obviously an important component of our work, but surface remains and, in particular, above-ground structures are an integral part of the same resource. Fortunately we never forget that. Historic building assessment, recording and analysis are a major area of endeavour and expertise for us, hardly surprisingly given that we are the appointed consultants for some of our finest historic buildings. We have carried out numerous archaeological building recording projects at Christ Church, Rochester and Salisbury Cathedrals, but we also provide these services for all kinds of clients, including private property owners.
16 - 17 Turl Street
At 16-17 Turl Street, Oxford, we carried out a detailed programme of recording on a pair of Grade II listed buildings, straddling the line of the Saxon and medieval city wall. The properties had been in use as a private club until recently, and were to be converted into a hub for the city's student community. The work involved stripping away areas of modern plasterboard and similar detritus, much of it only inserted in 2004. Victorian fireplaces were exposed in several rooms (and will remain on view). Elsewhere, areas of much earlier stonework were revealed, causing us to question the late 18th-century date for these properties. We now think No 16 at least is 100 years or more earlier than this.
- The front of No 17 is now features a fine picture window with a semi-circular top. When we looked carefully on the inside, however, we noticed that the decorative coving turned towards the street. This suggests that there had been a bay window here before the current one was inserted.
- Initial investigation revealed this fine Victorian fireplace behind yet more modern plasterboard. The grate and mantel surround are shown fully exposed here.
- The masonry here had been hidden behind modern plasterboard on No 16, and had been badly damaged at some point in the past. Despite this enough survives to suggest that it formed one side of an opening on the battlements of the medieval city wall.
