There we was, digging this 'ol...

Sherborne Bridewell

Three teams worked on the Sherborne Bridewell over three weekends looking for any structures that may have been connected to this early workhouse. Originally, the area was dominated by the Sherborne Monastery and the building we were investigating may have been a vicarage or priest's house for the church of St Andrew (long gone). It was turned into a 'Bridewell' which held various vagrants and people that would have been helped before the closing down of the the many religious establishments in the 16th century. The original was built in the parish of St Brides in London. It became a private house in 1794.

We undertook a geophysical survey in the gardens of the buildings (two dwellings) and a small survey in the garden fronting the buildings. Being a small area the results were not that clear. But we decided that two test trenches may bring up something of interest.

The first trench helped us to understand that the area was made up of 600mm of made-up ground and homogenous from top to bottom. The second trench in the next garden was also made-up ground and also 600mm deep. Plenty of small finds of various materials were turning up, but the only artefact of any age was a nice 17th century pipe bowel. The rest were either 19th or 20th century. The material in the second trench did prove to be sitting on a layer with plaster inclusions, but we could not excavate 600mm of dirt in such a small garden; the spoil heap would have been quite large and we did not want to do damage to the rest of the garden. 

As always with archaeology, you never know what is under the grass until you dig it!