The proposed development area lies to the south of Newgate Street and to the north of the existing health centre and library. All machine excavation was undertaken using a 360 degree tracked excavator fitted with a toothless bucket, removing topsoil, subsoil and overlying non-archaeological deposits in spits no greater than 0.1m in depth until the natural geology or the first archaeological horizon was exposed. All further excavaiton was undertaken by hand. The strip, map and record revealed evidence for four phases of activity dating from the Anglo-Saxon to early modern periods. Residual Roman greyware was also found on the site, indicative of limited Roman activity nearby. Anglo-Saxon activity was restricted to a single pit of 5th to 9th century date, with an intensification of activity in the 12th to 14th centuries, evidenced by the laying out of a number of ditched enclosures and pits on the site. The activity was generally of a low density and indicates that the site was on the periphery of the medieval settlement. A small number of further pits and ditches were excavated on the site in the 15th and 16th centuries. Documentary evidence from the late 16th cnetury records the plot as owned by William Beane and occupied by a cottage and a croft. It was much more extensive than the current site boundaries and was still likely to have been peripheral to the village. No evidence was recorded for this 16th century cottage on the site. A number of small irregular pits and hollows were dated to the 18th and 20th centuries, reflecting more recent activity on the site. The 1841 Tithe apportionment records market gardeners occupyin the site, as well as an orchard, and this may account for some of the features attributed to this phase.