BaRAS Publications

A Roman Settlement and Medieval Manor House in South Bristol

Excavations at Inns Court

This report describes the results of excavations carried out in 1997 and 1999 at Inns Court, Bristol, and provides a history of the area. The most substantial Roman remains found were three buildings with stone foundations constructed during the second half of the 3rd century. The Inns Court site is part of a much larger settlement which was first discovered and excavated in 1982, its closest parallel being that at Catsgore in Somerset. The excavations also uncovered part of a 14th century medieval manor house, rebuilt in the early 15th century by Sir John Inyn, a leading figure in King Henry VI’s judiciary. It was demolished in the 19th century, although part of the 15th-century stair turret survives.

Publication available to purchase from BaRAS at :

Bristol & Region Archaeological Services
St Nicholas Church
St Nicholas Street
Bristol
BS1 1UE

Price: £15 plus £3.50 p&p

Excavations at St James's Priory Bristol

Author: Reg Jackson

The Benedictine Priory of St James was established just outside the medieval city of Bristol in 1129AD. Two areas were excavated: Site 1 to the east of the Priory church, and Site 2 to the west. The Priory was largely destroyed during the Dissolution of 1540, but the area around Site 1 remained in use during the 17th and 18th centuries as housing was built there. Site 2 was in use from the late Saxon period to the 20th century. This publication presents the results of excavations carried out at Site 1 from 1989 and 1995, and from Site 2 from 1994 and '95, along with those obtained from a watching brief, kept during landscaping work in 1997. There are also specific chapters on finds and burials. c.203p, 8p col illus (Oxbow Books 2006)

ISBN-13: 978-1-84217-207-0

ISBN-10: 1-84217-207-7

Hardback

This book is available for purchase from the publisher Oxbow Books

The Archaeology of the Medieval Suburb of Broadmead, Bristol

Excavations in Union Street, 2000

by Reg Jackson

This report describes the results of a large-scale excavation carried out by Bristol and Region Archaeological Services on a site between Union Street and Fairfax Street in central Bristol. It proved to be one of the most important excavations undertaken in the city on a site devoted to domestic, rather than ecclesiastical, use. An outstanding sequence of medieval and post-medieval pottery and other finds, including environmental material, was obtained from the archaeological deposits. A history of the site based on extensive documentary research reinforces the results of the archaeological work.

During the medieval period the land, located outside the town and on the north bank of the River Frome, was owned by the Benedictine priory of St James which had been founded in about 1129. The earliest activity on the site was the construction of a wall out into the river during the early to mid 12th century which was almost certainly used by the priory as a quay. An industrial complex was established on the reclaimed land behind the river-wall.

In the late 13th century a substantial stone building, described in later documents as a ‘mansion house’ was constructed. This survived until it was either partly or totally demolished during the Civil War. A courtyard of tenements had been established on the site by 1673 and some of these were demolished to make way for the construction of Union Street, together with houses on the west side of the new street, in the 1770s. From the mid 19th century until the 1930s the factories of J.S. Fry and Sons, chocolate manufacturers, occupied most of the site.

Publication available to purchase from BaRAS at :

Bristol & Region Archaeological Services
St Nicholas Church
St Nicholas Street
Bristol
BS1 1UE

Price: Price: £30 plus £3.50 p&p