Archaeological Evaluation & Watching Brief. 27 Bell Street, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire

Two 1m x 1m test pits were initially hand excavated in the rear courtyard area of the property. A watching brief was subsequently carried out on contractor's ground reduction works at the same location. Both test pits demonstrated a c.1m-thick sequence of apparent later 19th/20th-century post-medieval dump deposits, former topsoil and modern hard surfacing. In the test pit located against the rear wall of the property, a fragment of brick wall was identified at the base of the sequence, possibly of earlier post-medieval date. A thin soil layer, also of perceived earlier post-medieval date, was recorded at the base of the other test pit. The subsequent watching brief on ground reduction works revealed that the previously recorded brick masonry was part of a cesspit, with an associated drain also found, all of likely 18th-century date. These appeared to be cut into the buried soil previously identified in one of the test pits. Overlying deposits relating to late post-medieval garden use and modern courtyard use accorded with the sequence recorded in the test pits and was established to extend across the c.6m by 5m extents of the ground reduction works. No archaeological features, deposits or finds of earlier date were identified during these works.