TEXT SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION – STOPFORD’S REPORT NOT INCLUDED HERE

EFH 95 - Forehill, Ely, Cambridgeshire

Ceramic Building Materials

by S Garside-Neville,

with Dr J Stopford,

1.0 METHODOLOGY AND INTRODUCTION

A total of 16.59kg of cbm was retained from the excavation. There are also site records of discarded material. Judging by the measurements recorded on site, much of this was probably medieval or post medieval roof tile. From the retained sample it is evident that there were at least 21 fabrics associated with floor tile, roof tile and other ceramic items. Due to the on-site discard policy, it is only possible to make broad observations about any association of fabrics and forms with phasing.

In general, the sample was quite fragmentary, which means that there are few complete measurements available. The fabric, weight and measurements of the sample submitted to the specialist were recorded on a pro forma. The data was then entered onto a computer database to assist with analysis. Details of the ceramic building material discarded on site were also entered onto the database.

There were two fragments of Roman material (combed box flue in a 15-16th century phase, and imbrex roof tile in a 11-12th century phase), but the bulk of the sample was medieval or post medieval in date. It comprises roof tile, floor tile, brick and specialised items.

2.0 FABRICS

The fabrics of the ceramic building materials were observed and described used a x10 hand lens (Table 1). Twenty-one fabrics were identified, but it is possible that some of the fabrics are actually from the same source and merely variants. Most of the fabrics associated with plain roofing tile appear as early as the 14th century. Several of the fabrics are refined and glazed, and may be associated with the pottery or floor tile industries of the area. In particular, Fabric 19 occurs as peg tile as well as floor tile. The floor tile is a product of the Bawsey kiln in Norfolk (see section 5.0 below).

Fabric No.	Forms	Earliest Date (from phasing)	Description
1	Plain	14-15th	Pink-orange; medium coarse texture; silty bands, frequent oolite; occasional quartz; frequent limestone
2	?Water pipe	15th	Light brown; reduced core; medium texture; occasional quartzite, occasional flint; quartz; occasional limestone; ?pot fabric - similar to Ely pottery of 15th century
3	Ink stand or palette	U/S	Light orange; very fine texture; occasional silty bands; occasional limestone voids; occasional ?grog
4	Plain, Peg (x1 peghole) , Ridge, Stepped Crest, Floor, ?Compartmented tray	15-16th	Orange-red, with reduced core; some times yellow-green or brown glaze; medium texture; limestone, frequent quartz; oolite
5	Floor	15th	Light brown; fine-medium texture; silty bands, occasional shell; quartz; limestone, grog; flint
6	Floor	15th	Brown; reduced core; medium coarse texture; frequent quartz; occasional shell; occasional flint; occasional silty bands; occasional limestone
7	Plain, Peg, Stepped Crest, Ridge	15-e16th	Orange-brown; reduced core; some times dark green glaze; fine-medium texture; occasional mica; quartz; silty bands; grog; occasional limestone voids
8	Hip, Plain	18-19th	Cream-red; reduced core; green-brown glaze; fine, hard texture; frequent limestone voids; occasional oolites
9	Plain, Crested, Ridge, Peg	15th	Orange; reduced core; some times green-brown glaze; fine texture; frequent quartz; occasional oolite; occasional limestone; ?pot fabric - similar to Grimston ware
10	Plain, Peg (x2 pegholes), Ridge, ?Hearth	14-15th	Brown; medium coarse texture; some times yellow glaze; frequent quartz; occasional grog; occasional limestone; frequent oolite voids
11	Plain, Peg (x1 peghole) , Ridge	14-15th	Orange; reduced core; some times green glaze; coarse texture; frequent quartz; occasional grass voids; oolite; grog
12	Plain	14-15th	Light brown-orange; coarse texture; occasional silty bands; frequent quartz; grog; limestone; oolite
13	Plain	14th	Light brown; reduced core; fine texture; occasional large shell; occasional flint; occasional mica; occasional quartz; occasional limestone voids; occasional grass
14	Plain, ?Trough	15-16th	Cream-yellow; fine texture; silty bands; occasional grog; limestone; occasional clay pellets; limestone voids
15	Plain, Ridge,	15-16th	Yellow-pink; fine-medium texture; frequent silty bands; clay pellets; occasional grog; occasional limestone
16	Pan	18-19th	Cream' with occasional red specks; fine texture; occasional quartz; occasional grog
17	Pan	18-19th	Red; fine texture; silty bands; occasional grog; occasional limestone; mica
18	Pan	18-19th	Orange; fine texture; very fine sanding; occasional mica; oolite; grog
19	Plain, Peg (x2 pegholes), Floor	15-16th	Brown-orange; medium texture; occasional silty bands; frequent quartz; occasional limestone. Floor tile comes from Bawsey kiln
20	Plain, Ridge, Floor	14th	Light brown-grey; green-brown glaze; fine texture; frequent well-rounded limestone; quart; ?pot fabric - similar to pot of 13-14th century
21	Plain	14-15th	Brown-orange; brown glaze; medium texture; quartz; occasional limestone; quartzite; occasional grog

Table 1 Ceramic building materials fabric descriptions

David Hall, pottery specialist for the Forehill publication has kindly commented on three fabrics which seem to resemble pottery fabrics: Fabric 2 (?waterpipe) seems to be similar to Ely pottery fabrics of the 15th century; Fabric 20 is similar to Ely pottery fabric of the 13th-14th century; Fabric 9 looks very similar to Grimston Ware from Norfolk. The presence of tile was not recorded at the kiln site at Pott Row, Grimston (Clarke, 1970). However, a fragment of glazed roof finial in a 'reduced Grimston cooking pot fabric' is reported from King's Lynn (Clarke & Carter, 1977, 300). Forms present in Forehill fabric 9 include crested ridge, ridge and peg tile. The amount of fabrics present suggests that tile used at Forehill, and presumably Ely itself was obtained from a variety of sources.

3.0 ROOF TILE

3.1 Plain tile

Plain tile was the major medieval form of roof tile. A flat slab of clay, it could be suspended from the roof structure by either by pegholes (pierced holes in the clay slab) or applied clay lumps, called nibs, or a combination of both. In the case of Forehill, the only type found was peg tile. It took the form of either two circular pegholes placed at one end (fig i) toward the corners, or one central circular peghole (fig ii), again at one end.

Phase	Date	Context	Breadth (mm)	Thickness (mm)	Fabric
9	14TH	1229	186	18	10
9	14/15TH	214	0	14	0
10	14/15TH	935	0	14	0
12	15TH	837	0	15	0
12	15TH	892	0	15	0
12	15TH	1139	151	13	9
12	15TH	1215	0	16	0
13	15TH	730	0	15	0
13	15/E16TH	313	0	13	0
13	15/E16TH	330	0	12	7
13	15/E16TH	718	0	14	0
14	15/16TH	709	0	16	0
14	15/16TH	752	161	13	4
16	16/17TH	314	180	0	0
16	16/17TH	314	0	18	0
16	16/17TH	996	0	16	0
17	16/17TH	1073	160	15	0
19	16/17TH	753	0	14	11
20	17/18TH	418	0	13	0
23	18/19TH	206	0	12	19

Table 2 - Peg tile occurrence and measurements

Peg tile, with either one or two pegholes, first occurs during the 14th century phases on the site (Table 2). As tile can remain on a roof for long periods, it is possible that the peg tile was actually in use during the 13th century before deposition.

An Act was passed in 1477 that regulated the processes of plain tile manufacture . The standard size was set at 10¹/₂ inches (268mm) by 6¹/₄ inches (160mm) by at least ⁵/₈ (15mm) (Salzmann, 1952, 230). The Forehill tiles from 15th century phases more or less conform to these measurements. The tile measurements from the 14th century phase is actually broader than required by the 1477 Act.

Lucas (1993, 157) in his documentary survey of Ely states that the brick and tile industry in Ely appears to date from the 15th century. Plain tiles occur as early as the 14th century phases at Forehill (and may have been in use earlier), but this may mean that roofing tile was being imported into Ely from the surrounding areas. Systematic recording and research into the ceramic building materials from Ely could help illuminate this.

3.2 Ridge tile

Ridge was used to cover the apex of a plain tile roof. At Forehill, the ridge tile was glazed, and has some decorative crests. There are two occurrences of a distinctive stepped crest, which has a dark green or yellow-green glaze (fig. iii). Definite examples of stepped crests appear in the 16-17th century phases at Forehill, though fabric 7, associated with the stepped ridge tile, occurs as early as the 15th to 16th century. Stepped crests may reflect a Flemish influence in domestic architecture of East Anglia, where there are numerous examples of stepped gables, perhaps introduced by immigrant weavers from the Netherlands in the late 16th-17th centuries (Dunning 1968, 220). However, crested ridge tiles begin to appear at Forehill (albeit with missing crests) in the 15th century (Table 3) and may be from a different source. Decorative crests appear all over the country in a variety of forms that differ from region to region.

Other fragments at Forehill are so abraded that the style of crest cannot be seen. There is one unstratified fragment which is not attached to a ridge tile, and has a white slip under a clear glaze. This is different from the stepped crests as it is curved and is of a different fabric. It may have been part of a finial at the end of the ridge (fig iv).

Form	Phase	Date	Context	Thickness (mm)	Comments	Fabric
CRESTED		U/S	0	15	Green glaze; crests missing; v shaped; frost cracked	9
CRESTED