A watching brief was undertaken during groundworks at High Pavement and Silk Street, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. The watching brief monitored the excavation of foundation trenches for a new residential development. The site lies to the south of the medieval core of the town, which is best represented by the 12th-13th century church of St Mary Magdalene. During the post-medieval period, the town ecame a centre for textile production, with the site used as a hosiery factory until recently. Neolithic stone axes are also known from the vicinity. Prior to the excavation of foundation trenches, topsoil and overburden was removed from the site. Foundation trenches were then excavated to depths of up to 2.2m below the stripped surface. Only four plots were monitored archaeologically. The watching brief revealed a sequence of natural, undated and late post-medieval to modern deposits. A short length of undated recent deposits were associated with former factory buildings at the site and also possible domestic structures. No finds were retrieved during the investigation. Aprt from a short length of undated, perhaps post-medieval wall, most of the deposits encountered during the watching brief are associated with extensive cellaring, both domestic and industrial relating to former buildings on the site. These are likely to date from the late post-medieval period to relatively recently.