Further Comments on the Pottery from

Bell Street, Romsey, Hampshire

Ben Jervis Archaeological Report 4
By Ben Jervis MA PIFA

INTRODUCTION
This report adds some additional insights to the interpretation of the pottery excavated at Bell
Street, Romsey in 1981 by Test Valley Archaeological Trust. An archive report on this assemblage by
Dr. Andrew Russel can be found in the site archive. This summarises the pottery by context and
breaks contexts into phases based on pottery spot dates. Using the context sheets, this author has
attempted to check these phases against the stratigraphic sequence, with most contexts remaining
in their original phase. This report also defines the assemblage in terms of the new Romsey fabric
series defined by the author, a concordance between the 2 series can be found as an appendix to
this report. Rather than discussing the pottery by context, this report seeks to characterise the
pottery from each phase. It is intended that this report be used alongside, rather than in place of,
Russel’s report.

The types mentioned here are defined in Jervis, B. Forthcoming “Medieval Pottery from Romsey: An
Overview” and fabric descriptions have been lodged with Hampshire Museum Service.

POTTERY FROM PHASES 1 AND 2

Phases 1 and 2 are deemed to be of Prehistoric and Roman date respectively, on the basis of the
pottery present and the contexts position in the stratigraphic sequence. This pottery will not be
discussed further here, and readers interested in this pottery should refer to Russel’s earlier report.

POTTERY FROM PHASE 3

Russel divided phase 3 into 2, phase 3a and 3b. Both relate to the early medieval period. All contexts
now assigned to phase 3b post-date the contexts from 3b on stratigraphic grounds, but this division
remains something of an interpretive and loose split. Phase 3a relates more to the Saxo-Norman
period (10th-12th centuries), whilst phase 3b relates more to the 12th-14th centuries.

Phase 3a (table 1)
The bulk of the pottery recovered from features assigned to this phase can be dated to the 10 th-12th
centuries. There are 27 residual sherds, all but one prehistoric sherd being of Roman date. The
earliest medieval wares are 7 sherds of Flint Tempered Ware and 13 sherds of Chalk Tempered
Ware. As elsewhere in Romsey, Chalk Tempered rather than Flint Tempered Wares appear to be the
most common Late Saxon ware. Thirteen sherds of glazed sandy ware have been identified as
possible Winchester-type Ware. These wares are not common in Romsey and it is possible that these
are in fact later glazed sandy wares, however if they are Winchester Ware they are a significant find
in Romsey. Flint and Sand Tempered Ware is generally considered to date from the 11th-12th century,
forming an intermediate ware between the Late Saxon Flint Tempered Ware and the Saxo-Norman
Wessex Coarsewares. There are 25 sherds present in the Phase 3a assemblage. As elsewhere in
Romsey, Wessex Coarsewares dominate the Saxo-Norman assemblage. There is a single sherd of
Fine Sandy Ware, possibly of Late Anglo-Saxon date. This is the tradition to which the products of the
Michelmersh kiln belong.

There are a small quantity of wares present which are generally dated to the 13th-14th century. These
may be intrusive in deposits of this phase, or may date from the transition between phases 3a and
3b. There are 2 sherds of Laverstock-type Ware, 15 sherds of South Hampshire Redware and 12
sherds of Southampton-type Sandy Ware. All of these sherds are small. There is also a single, larger
sherd of Local Pink Sandy Ware. Other wares are present in small quantities. The most common is
MQargf1. Possibly a Saxo-Norman Flint and Sand Tempered Ware. Fabric FQ2 may also belong to the
Fine Sandy Ware tradition, whilst FQfeq1 may be related to the Wessex Coarseware tradition.
Elsewhere in Romsey, MQfe2 has been determined as dating to the 13th-14th century, whilst MQ4 is
a later medieval type. Fourteen sherds could not be assigned to these groups as type sherds could
not be located. There are also intrusive post medieval sherds, in the form of single sherds of Border
Ware and Verwood-type Ware. Most of the pottery from these deposits was recovered from
structural features and layers rather than pits, so it is unsurprising that residual and intrusive
material is present.

Ware Name SC SW
Prehistoric 1 19
Roman 26 160
Flint tempered ware 7 43
Chalk tempered ware 13 81
Winchester Ware? 13 64
Flint and sand tempered ware 25 241
Wessex Coarseware 96 755
Fine sandy ware 1 7
Laverstock-type Ware 2 8
South Hampshire Redware 15 69
Southampton Sandy Ware 12 147
Local Pink Sandy Ware 1 18
FQ2 1 4
FQfeq1 1 8
MQargf1 19 94
MQfe2 5 67
MQ4 8 54
Misc. Medieval 14 75
Border Ware? 1 4
Verwood 1 6
Unid. 2 3
Total 264 1927
Table 1: Pottery Recovered from Phase 3a Deposits.

Phase 3b (Table 2)
Only 85 sherds were recovered from deposits dated to Phase 3b. Seven sherds of Roman pottery are
clearly residual. Late Saxon types are still present, represented by 3 sherds of Flint Tempered Ware,
9 sherds of Chalk Tempered Ware and 3 sherds of possible Winchester Ware. All are potentially
residual. There are almost identical quantities of Flint and Sand Tempered Ware and Wessex
Coarseware, both of which can be dated to the Saxo-Norman period. A similar range of 13th-14th
century types are present to phase 3a, 3 sherds each of Laverstock-type and South Hampshire
Redwares and 5 sherds of Southampton-type Sandy Ware. There is no phase 4 pottery, but there are
later sherds of Tudor Green and Verwood present.

Based on the pottery alone it is not really possible to split the phase 3a and 3b assemblages, both
have similar compositions, consisting principally of Saxo-Norman material, with a small number of
sherds of 13th-14th century date. Phase 3 can only be loosely defined as being of 11th-14th century
date, with much of the pottery seemingly being redeposited through building activity, rather than
representing contemporary secondary rubbish deposits.

Ware Name SC SW
Roman 7 38
Flint tempered ware 3 6
Chalk tempered ware 9 91
Winchester Ware? 3 31
Flint and sand tempered ware 16 136
Wessex Coarseware 16 135
Laverstock-type Ware 3 20
South Hampshire Redware 3 39
Southampton Sandy Ware 5 36
FQ2 3 19
FQ5 1 4
MQargf1 6 46
MQfe2 5 14
Misc. Medieval 2 8
Tudor Green 1 2
Verwood 2 35
Total 85 660
Table 2: Pottery from Phase 3b Deposits.

POTTERY FROM PHASE 4 (TABLE 3)

Phase 4 deposits are determined to be of late medieval (late 14th-15th century). Virtually all of the
pottery was recovered from layers overlying the phase 3 deposits and this is reflected in the mixed
nature of the assemblage, which would appear to contain a high proportion of residual material. Of
the wares contemporary with this phase, the most common is MQ4, represented by 4 sherds, whilst
2 small sherds of Tudor Green are also present. The remaining pottery would appear to be
contemporary with phase 3, the most common being Wessex Coarseware. The remaining pottery
consists principally of Saxo-Norman Flint or Chalk Tempered coarsewares and 13th-14th century
glazed wares.
 Ware SC SW
Flint tempered ware 2 12
Chalk tempered ware 1 4
Winchester Ware? 4 15
Flint and sand tempered ware 4 17
Wessex Coarseware 76 272
Laverstock-type Ware 2 4
South Hampshire Redware 1 2
Southampton Sandy Ware 9 59
Southampton-type Sandy
Ware 3 20
FQ5 1 1
MQargf1 1 9
MQ4 4 26
Misc. Medieval 2 7
Tudor Green 2 2
Total 112 450
Table 3: Pottery from Phase 4 Deposits.

POTTERY FROM PHASE 5 DEPOSITS

The vast majority of the pottery from the site was recovered from phase 5 deposits, probably dating
to the 15th-17th centuries. Post medieval types are well represented, with Verwood-type ware being
by far the most common, with smaller quantities of Post Medieval Redware and Brown Glazed Ware
being present. There are also small quantities of Surrey types, Border Ware and Tudor Green. This
reflects the picture in Romsey as a whole. There are also 4 sherds of Tin Glazed Ware, dated to the
17th century. Imports are represented by 10 sherds of Rhenish Stoneware and 2 sherds from Spanish
olive jars. Late medieval sherds (MQ3 and MQ4) are present in some deposits, and these may date
to the earlier part of the period. All of the other wares are residual from earlier phases and it must
be considered that some may have been dumped from elsewhere in the town. As in the earlier
phases, Wessex Coarseware is most common, supplemented by smaller quantities of Flint and Sand
Tempered Ware and 13th-14th century glazed wares. A single, small sherd may be a sherd of Surrey
Whiteware, but all of the other types are represented in the earlier phases. This high level of
residuality can be explained in part by the fact that most of the phase 5 features are either layers or
features related to construction activity, including robber trenches.
 Ware Name SC SW
Roman 3 15
Flint tempered ware 3 10
Chalk tempered ware 4 33
Winchester Ware? 10 67
Flint and sand tempered ware 2 11
Wessex Coarseware 130 1173
Fine sandy ware 2 10
Laverstock-type Ware 12 101
South Hampshire Redware 2 39
Southampton Sandy Ware 15 123
Surrey Whiteware? 1 1
FEQ1 3 10
FQ5 4 42
FQarg1 50 126
FQfeq1 6 70
MQargf1 5 51
MQfe2 36 401
MQ3 1 1
MQ4 31 270
Misc. Medieval 4 23
Border Ware 28 328
Tudor Green 186 556
Rhenish Stoneware 10 143
Spanish Coarseware 2 48
Verwood 264 4764
Post Medieval Redware 17 528
Post Medieval Brown Glazed 1 9
Tin Glazed Ware 4 12
Unid. 7 50
Total 843 9015
Table 4: Pottery from Phase 5 Deposits.

POTTERY FROM PHASE 6 DEPOSITS (TABLE 5)

Phase 6 relates to 18th century activity. The only definitely contemporary wares present are 32
sherds of Verwood-type, a sherd of Post Medieval Redware and 2 sherds of White Salt Glazed
Stoneware. A small sherd of Rhenish stoneware may also be contemporary. The remaining pottery is
residual and is composed of types present in earlier phases.

POTTERY FROM PHASE 7

Seven sherds of Verwood-type were recovered from contexts dating to the 19th century.

POTTERY FROM PHASE 8

Phase 8 principally relates to topsoil. The modern pottery present consists of 1 sherd of Refined
Earthenware and 11 sherds of Verwood-type. There are a small number of residual sherds consisting
of Roman pottery, Wessex Coarseware and Laverstock-type Ware.
 Ware Name SC SW
Roman 1 5
Wessex Coarseware 22 157
Laverstock-type Ware 1 4
Southampton Sandy Ware 1 6
FQ5 2 16
MQfe2 2 26
MQ4 2 30
Tudor Green 47 126
Rhenish Stoneware 1 3
Verwood 32 481
Post Medieval Redware 1 5
White Salt Glazed Stoneware 2 24
Total 114 883
Table 5: Pottery from Phase 6 Deposits.

CHARACTERISATION OF THE ASSEMBLAGE (TABLE 6)

In total 1575 sherds were recovered from the Bell Street excavations. Compared to other sites in
Romsey there is a considerable quantity of Late Saxon pottery, consisting of 27 sherds of Chalk
Tempered Ware and 16 sherds of Flint Tempered ware, reflecting the pattern elsewhere in the town.
The 32 sherds of possible Winchester-type Ware is an unusually high quantity and their attribution
should be checked. Saxo-Norman wares are the most common on the site, the most abundant being
Wessex Coarseware, which is supplemented by smaller quantities of Flint and Sand Tempered Ware.
Again, this reflects the situation elsewhere in the town. Some minority wares may also be
contemporary; FQfeq1, MQargf1 and the Fine Sandy Wares.

There are a small number of 13th-14th century glazed sandy wares. Unusually the most abundant are
Southampton-type Sandy Ware and South Hampshire Redware, rather than Laverstock-type Ware.
This is a reversal of the situation on most sites in Romsey. There are other types represented, a small
sherd of possible Surrey Whiteware, a sherd of Local Pink Sandy Ware and 3 sherds of FEQ1, possibly
a Dorset Whiteware. The most common 14th-15th century ware is MQ4 and this again reflects the
picture at other sites in the town. Verwood-type Ware is the most common post medieval type,
being supplemented by Surrey products and Post Medieval Redware. There are only a small quantity
of finer tablewares.

In general terms, the wares present reflect those common at other sites in Romsey, however the
proportions of some wares is noticeably different, most importantly perhaps, the various 13 th-14th
century sandy glazed wares and the unusually high quantity of possible Winchester Ware. Given the
fact that the assemblage is very fragmented, it is not possible to discuss the range of vessel forms
present with any confidence. Also, as much of the pottery is residual and the site stratigraphy is
poorly understood, the assemblage offers little in terms of fine tuning the pottery sequence in
Romsey. It does however provide a useful assemblage with which to compare others in the town.
 Ware Name SC SW
Prehistoric 23 538
Roman 42 250
Flint tempered ware 16 77
Chalk tempered ware 27 209
Winchester Ware? 32 190
Flint and sand tempered ware 49 416
Wessex Coarseware 370 2884
Fine sandy ware 4 23
Laverstock-type Ware 22 145
South Hampshire Redware 23 153
Southampton Sandy Ware 51 440
Local Pink Sandy Ware 1 18
Surrey Whiteware? 2 27
FEQ1 3 10
FQ2 4 23
FQ5 10 67
FQarg1 50 126
FQfeq1 9 84
MQargf1 35 225
MQfe2 49 518
MQ3 1 1
MQ4 47 394
Misc. Medieval 29 178
Border Ware 30 342
Tudor Green 253 763
Rhenish Stoneware 14 185
Spanish Coarseware 2 48
Verwood 334 5879
Post Medieval Redware 21 612
Post Medieval Brown Glazed 2 10
Tin Glazed Ware 4 12
White Salt Glazed Stoneware 2 24
Refined Earthenware 4 56
Unid. 10 57
Total 1575 14984
Table 6: Quantification of the Entire Bell Street Assemblage.