Commercial Gallery
Convent Field, Lewes
An archaeological evaluation and wall survey were undertaken on Convent Field, Lewes in advance of the construction of a new children’s playground. The site lies adjacent to the surviving wall of the Medieval Cluniac Priory of St Pancras and the evaluation comprised 3 trenches with a cumulative length of 38m. A watching brief was also conducted on the site during the grubbing out of a row of tree boles.
During the course of the evaluation four distinct phases of activity were recorded. The earliest two phases were dated from the 12th to the 14th century, and included kilns, structures and deposits contemporary with the upstanding life of the Priory. The third phase comprised a sequence of made ground deposits dating between the 14th and 16th centuries. These are thought to be associated with the robbing out of the Priory during the dissolution. The final phase of activity can be dated to the 19th and 20th centuries, almost certainly relating to buildings known to have been present on the site during this time.