An evaluation was undertaken at Plum Orchard in September 2000 by Dover Archaeological Group. It would appear that the medieval settlement of Sandwich never expanded sufficiently to reach the circuit of the town wall on the western side. In fact, a significant area of open land seems to have existed between the main settlement and the landward defences in several parts of the medieval town.

The site of Plum Orchard never seems to have been occupied but instead provided a convenient place to dump domestic refuse, occasionally contained within pits. Over 200 sherds of pottery ranging in date from the late medieval period to the nineteenth century were recovered but the great bulk is of sixteenth-seventeenth century date. The few medieval sherds recovered appear to be strays, presumably derived from the main settlement area (1).

<1> Dover Archaeological Group, 2000, Report on Archaeological Evaluation Trenching at Plum Orchard, Sandwich 2000 (Unpublished document). SKE7459.