Although little dating evidence was recovered, the earliest in-situ archaeology on the site is likely to be two wells, with the former having a wall around its opening. Whether both would have been so dressed originally is now impossible to tell. The first waterworks to supply Mansfield were built on Nottingham Road and began pumping in 1872, being supplemented by Rainworth pumping station in 1895 (Mason 2001). The presence of an early sewer carved into the bedrock, leading north away from an existing manhole in front of the site, suggests that the wells would also predate this, it being unlikely that wells would be sunk so close to a sewer. This sewer was probably installed in response to the Town Sewage Utilisation Bill of 1865, suggesting that the wells were probably sunk in the late 18th or early 19th century and relate to the earliest Inn on the site, for which no exact date can be established although it was certainly built before 1819. Both wells were filled with a similar grey sandy-silt, suggesting that they were contemporaneously in-filled. Unfortunately, the lack of stratigraphic or artefactual evidence from these features makes it impossible to conclude when this infilling occurred.

The last identifiable remnants of the original building on the site are probably the bricks re-used in the corner wall section and ramp. Assessment confirms these to be 16th-18th century, although they were stratigraphically above another wall which has been dated as 19th-20th century, suggesting the re-use of older materials. Further potential for an earlier phase of occupation takes the form of a timber post that has been radiocarbon dated to 1641±34, however, the lack of any other artefactual evidence from this date suggests that the materials were reused from an early structure nearby, but not necessarily within the site. The earliest extant in-situ contexts that can be undisputedly dated are a linear cut and two of its fills which must be 18th or 19th century, with the highest fill containing 19th century Buff Ware pottery. The presence of a row of stones toward the base of suggests that the pit may have lain open for some time before the uppermost context was deposited. Indeed, it is possible that this feature represents the remains of a robbed wall and may relate to a group of sandstone footings observed to the east and the cut feature seen further south east, or to a wall. The fact that the lowest fill of this feature is a naturally accumulated organic silt suggests that it was left open for some time before then being in-filled with natural material from elsewhere in the vicinity. This redeposited natural infilling appears to have incorporated a quantity of rubbish and general waste, with the horn core of a bovid included. This sequence of events suggests that either the original buildings once stood to the south-east of the plot (being later relocated north-west) or that these features relate to outbuildings, as observed on 19th century mapping, although certainly predating those in the 1879 OS town plan.

The only identifiable remnant of this original building in the north of the plot is a small section of wall with an arch beginning to protrude from its northern face, found in the north western area of the site. It seems likely that this represents the vaulting on a cellar that was not retained when the building was rebuilt further to the east, and was subsequently filled with a mixed grey and orange silty rubble.

It is clear from Ordnance Survey mapping that by 1879 the main building fronted Quaker Lane, with outbuildings on the south-east area of the site. It is the location of one wall which dictates its interpretation as belonging to this earlier structure. Whilst another structure is present in this area, it is far less substantial and probably relates to much more recent activity. There are another two walls that are most likely attributable to this period of the buildings history, which appear in the south of the site, themselves truncated by a cut feature that postdates the building of wall, and both it and an out-building wall are constructed of roughly hewn limestone blocks, making it likely that they are contemporary and parts of the original outbuildings connected with this earlier building. It is also likely that the blocks that built these buildings were reused as a floor at a later date.

By 1897 the building had been altered, moving east to front Queen Street. The southern arm of this building, extending south west, was exposed built onto foundations of concrete and sandstone footings. The bricks utilised for this wall are stamped ‘WAINGROVES BUTTERLY', a brickworks that only came into existence in 1890 (unknown 2011). It is possible that the sandstone footings mentioned above represent the southern return wall of this building, although they lack the concrete platform seen under a wall and it is far more likely that they are connected to outhouses that seem to have stood at the southern boundary of the site well into the 20th century. It seems probable that the sandy-loam represents a surface related to this wall, with a line of slates probably separating it from a higher redeposit of the same material, spoil created through the digging out of the cut. This cut reaches down to the very base of the concrete footing for the wall and is filled with a modern soil, suggesting that this was a recent exploratory trench, dug on the walls exterior surface, prior to the buildings destruction. Inside, the building was a layer of redeposited natural sandy-loam covered by gravelly made ground that would have formed the ground floor level of the building.

This later building was probably built shortly after 1887 when the Inn was purchased by the Mansfield Brewery, and was undoubtedly one of the earliest buildings to use Waingroves bricks. It remained on the site until its demolition in 2008 and as such it is perhaps unsurprising that most of the extant structures found on the site relate to this phase. As mentioned, 16th-18th century bricks have been found reused in both a wall and attached ramp, although not in the opposing wall, which the ramp also abuts. This reuse suggests that these structures are from the earliest phase of this buildings construction. The ramp appears to have been a chute, leading to a cellar that was filled with
chalk hardcore and extended beneath the depth of the construction groundworks. It may be that the extant cellar was part of a system that this chute accessed. It would appear that this access was blocked up in the mid to late 20th century as bricks discovered in a wall, which abuts the wall (associated with the ramp), are stamped ‘NATIONAL COAL BOARD ANNESLEY’ and therefore must post-date the nationalisation of the New Hucknall Colliery Company, who owned the Annesley Pit before the formation of the National Coal Board in 1947 (Catford 2011). It seems likely that this wall was connected with rebuilding work undertaken in 1959.

The final contexts of note are two walls, both of which appear to be internal partitions, being made of red brick dated to the 18th-20th centuries, and being c.20-30cms
thick and not built on substantial foundations. It is probable that the latter was connected with the buildings cellars, it being abutted by the chalk rubble which backfilled the barrel chute.

D. Underhill, 2013, Former Queen's Head Public House, Quaker Lane, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire: Scheme of Archaeological Monitoring and Recording (Unpublished document). SNT5985.