Farleigh Hungerford Castle, Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset - Archaeological Supervision & Recording

Archaeological supervision and recording during excavations to repair a water leak. The excavation area is situated behind the toilets within the old granary building. The water pipe leak was narrowed down to an area outside the toilets, in a paved courtyard running between the old granary (which houses the toilets and visitor entrance) and the priests' house, which dates to the 15th to 16th centuries. Buildings in this part of the castle are enclosed by a modern perimeter wall and include the 14th century Chapel of St Leonard along with 17th century additions to the chapel and priests' house. Prior to the repair work, the leak was more accurately pinpointed, immediately north-west of a manhole. The damaged section of pipe was accessed by lifting one large paving slab and removing the underlying modern backfill. This backfill included plastic builder's bags probably associated with installation of the drainage system and subsequent repairs, and upgrading of the electrical supply in 2006 which was subject to archaeological monitoring. This work had recorded two undated horizontal deposits beneath the modern pipe trench, yielding two fragments of human bone which suggested that burials outside the nearby chapel had already been damaged by construction of the old granary. The present work did not encounter any artefacts however the repair pit did not extend beyond modern backfill from the previous incursions.