EDO5040 - Durrant Close, Westbury, Sherborne; Observations during groundworks for a garage

C.E. Bean observed excavations for a garage at Durrant Close, Westbury (ST 63741629) during 1951. A shallow pit was revealed in the underlying gravel, located approximately 7 ft from the NE corner of the Oddfellows’ Hall and close to the N wall of the hall. The northern side of the pit was removed without observation, but C.E. Bean hastily excavated the remainder. It appeared to be circular in plan, 4ft 6 ins diameter and 1 ft 6 ins deep. It had been severely truncated, possibly in the 19th century during the construction of a road to the workhouse. The pit was lined with a 4in thick layer of clay, suggesting that it was designed to hold water. It was filled with clean gravel but had a primary silt layer at the base containing large fragments of 12th-13th century pottery including pans and cook pots with sooted surfaces and sagging bases.