Monument record MDO18639 - County Hall; 17th century activity

Two 17th century pits and well were identified during excavations at County Hall in 1988. The two pits (one circular and the other square with stone revetting) contained domestic refuse of late 17th century date. These features may have been associated with the houses fronting on to Glyde Path Road. To the west of the pits was a ditched boundary dating to the early 18th century, which may be associated with Colliton Park. It was cut into by a number of evenly spaced pits, probably tree pits, to form a tree-lined boundary.

A small quantity of post-medieval activity was found during the excavations carried out by Wessex Archaeology in 1988 prior to construction of the New Computer Wing and car parking facilities at County Hall, Dorchester (1) (2). The numbers in square brackets below refer to the context and feature numbers used in the published report (1).

Two 17th century pits and a well of a similar date were found, together with an early 18th century ditch. Pit [15] was circular, 1.2m in diameter and 0.34m in depth. It was filled with rubbish deposits of dark, chalky silty loams and ash, containing material of mid 17th century date. About eight metres to the south, was another pit [7]. This was square, with a dry stone revetment on the upper edges. It measured 1.7m across and was excavated to a depth of 0.85m but not bottomed. Sockets were found in the revetment walling at a depth of 0.5ms,perhaps to hold two parallel joists. A series of post-holes to the north and south of pit [7] did not form an identifiable structure, although some on the edges of the pit were presumed by the excavators to have been associated with it. This pit was filled with domestic rubbish of late 17th century date. A circular well [221] further to the east also dated to the 17th century.

It is unclear what these features were associated with. It is possible that they were linked with the buildings on Glyde Path Road, about 70m to the east. Both pits lay to the east of anearly 18th century ditch [62] which was cut into by a number of evenly spaced pits, probably tree pits, to form a tree-lined boundary, which may be associated with Colliton Park.

Wessex Archaeology, 1988, County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10074.

Smith, R J C, 1988, 'Excavations at County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, 1988' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO9661.

<1> Drew, C D, and Collingwood Selby, K C, 1938, 'The Excavations at Colliton Park, Dorchester: Second Interim report; Excavations carried out in the season of 1938' Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO9765.

<2> Smith, R J C, 1993, Excavations at County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset, 1988 in the North-West Quarter of Durnovaria (Monograph). SDO9660.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:30PM