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Dunbar, 72 High Street, Building To Rear

Backlands (Medieval), Semi Detached House (18th Century)

Site Name Dunbar, 72 High Street, Building To Rear

Classification Backlands (Medieval), Semi Detached House (18th Century)

Canmore ID 215984

Site Number NT67NE 380

NGR NT 67888 78884

Datum OSGB36 - NGR

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/215984

Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved.
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Administrative Areas

  • Council East Lothian
  • Parish Dunbar
  • Former Region Lothian
  • Former District East Lothian
  • Former County East Lothian

Site Management (29 July 1993)

2-storey house, oblong plan. Red sandstone rubble, severely pointed. Abutting rigg wall to S, latter mutual with similar house (now ruinous) in adjoining close. Small-pane sash windows with timber lintels. Piended pantiled roof and mutual gable stack.

Unusual forestair. Forms a semi-detached pair with roofless house in adjoining rigg. (Historic Scotland)

The majority of the buildings on the western side of the High Street, located along the northern end along to number 62 are from the eighteenth century, with a small number dating to the earlier nineteenth century. However, several of the backland structures are likely to be seventeeth-century origin. The rear of these plot are markedly less developed than their counterparts on the opposite section of the High Street where the formation of the harbour in the sixteenth century would have created demand for land in the closest backlands for structures such as warehouses and workshops. (Dennistoun, Stronach & Coleman)

Activities

Archaeological Evaluation (May 2018 - October 2018)

NT 67894 78890 An evaluation programme, incorporating building survey, monitoring and the excavation of test pits was undertaken, May – October 2018, in advance of the rebuilding and refurbishment of a number of partially derelict buildings, plus the construction of two new extensions.

The historic building survey confirmed the initial assessment that the buildings probably dated to the mid-18th – mid-19th century, potentially incorporating earlier 17th-century elements. The earliest datable feature on site was the roll moulding on a blocked doorway on Building 1 on the N side of the close. This type of moulding dates to the 16th century or possibly the early 17th century. As only part of the roll moulding survives it does not appear to be in situ, but was probably reused from an earlier building on or near the site.

Although the buildings are in a ruinous condition, two of the buildings, one on either side of the close, retain many internal features. The buildings appear to have been used as commercial premises on the ground floor with living accommodation above. The cast-iron ranges and fireplaces survive together with some wooden shelving and panelling. There is evidence both physical and anecdotal that the largest building (Building 1) on the N side of the close was used as a butchers shop.

Timber lintels were removed from Building 1 to allow safe access, and on inspection they were found to be reused ships timbers. Further analysis and dating will be carried out as part of the next phase of work.

Nine test pits were excavated in Buildings 1 – 5. These revealed clay bonded wall footings of an earlier building along the N side of Building 1, as well as possible earlier surfaces and a possible gully cut into the natural gravels; Building 2 displayed a similar sequence. Building 3 contained a large amount of 19th- and 20th-century overburden and contained a series of cross walls built directly on top of a compact surface. Below this surface was 1m of medieval and post-medieval midden deposits, containing shell, animal bone and medieval pottery. An E/W boundary ditch was cut into the gravels on the N side of the building, aligned with the present Close wall. Building 4 contained pits cut into a reddish-brown sand, which was directly below the rubble bedding for the concrete floor. These pits also contained midden material and one had traces of clay lining. The present ground level of Building 5 was c0.6m above that of the floor of adjacent Building 4, and much of the deposit exposed was of fairly recent date; the lower deposits consisted of reddish brown sand with charcoal flecks, natural was not reached.

The evaluation has highlighted both the History of the upstanding buildings on site, providing evidence for their foundations and construction, as well as evidence for earlier buildings below them. The test pits have highlighted both the shallow nature of the archaeological deposits below the buildings as well as the extent of those deposits to a depth of >1m at the rear of the plot. The findings demonstrate that any ground disturbance within and to the rear of the buildings will disturb archaeological deposits and therefore a mitigation strategy will be developed.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: The Ridge

Jenni Morrison – Addyman Archaeology

(Source: DES Vol 19)

OASIS ID: addymana1-332438

Excavation (4 March 2019 - 25 July 2019)

NT 67890 78890 Excavation was carried out within Buildings 2 and 3 at Black Bull Close, (Canmore ID: 215984), between 4 March and 25 July 2019, following historic building survey and evaluation (DES 2018, 69-70). The site consists of a series of partially derelict buildings, which are undergoing rebuilding and refurbishment, along with the construction of two new extensions.

The excavations confirmed the results of the evaluation by establishing that earlier activity pre-dating the upstanding buildings survived in both Buildings 2 and 3, underlying the accumulation of 19th century through to modern collapse. Some fragments of white gritty pottery dating from the 12th - 13th century were recovered from the early features. These were sealed by an imported deposit of reddish sand, which had been used to raise the level of the area as seen at similar sites along the High Street.

A large E-W ditch cutting through the imported soil is likely to represent an early plot boundary, maintained until the present. This was infilled by a series of midden dumps, spread across the site and into the ditch. Large amounts of animal bone were recovered from the midden deposit, and pottery recovered suggested a date of 15th–17th century. A later midden deposit covered the whole site and was associated with a series of stone features, including a rubble wall pre-dating Building 3.

Excavations within Building 2 established that the remains of a partition wall had originally extended to the end wall of Building 1 and that the building was used for storage, in particular for coal, rather than for occupation. In Building 3 excavations revealed that it had a window and door opening onto the close and a further window opening to the west, previously thought to be a door. Internally the walls were plastered directly onto the masonry and there was a timber floor. Once the building fell out of use a secondary, smaller stone building was constructed which contained toilets and may have been used as a wash house.

The excavation of the later midden deposits in both buildings produced large numbers of finds dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These were largely domestic items such as broken crockery, tools and buttons and also included a large number of stone ware and glass bottles. These items create a vivid picture of the lives of the people who occupied the buildings in and around Black Bull Close in the recent past. They also illustrate the diverse nature of the economy of Dunbar and the surrounding area, particularly during the 19th century, when many of the things people used and consumed were produced locally.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: The Ridge

Jenni Morrison - Addyman Archaeology

(Source: DES Vol 20)

OASIS ID: addymana1-364226

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