Excavations by Canterbury Archaeological Trust in 1996 in the area of the old RFTV Building of Christchurch College revealed the remains of a stone built circular feature immediately to the north of the west end of the Brewhouse & Bakehouse of St. Augustine's Abbey. The circular feature was considered to have been a water tower built in the 13th century, along with the new brewhouse & bakehouse range which were built during the abbacy of Abbot Roger II of Chichester in c. 1267. As such it is thought that the water tower may have been for storage of water associated with the brewing process for the Abbey's Ale supplies.

The buildings were demolished at the Dissolution in 1538.

"Site 17 produced almost as much late medieval pottery as all the other sites put together (677 sherds compared with 715). Much of this comes from an important Dissolution feature (c. 1538), which deserves special consideration. The feature may have been connected with the functions of the Backhouse/Brewhouse, but it is basically a large pit and therefore a more or less closed group.
The drawable pieces comprise three or four complete profiles and numerous featured sherds (rims, handles, bases, etc). The forms present are predominantly 'kitchenware', and are mainly in late medieval Canterbury fine earthenware, Canterbury transitional sandy earthenware and Late Tyler Hill ware. Less usual forms include a profile of a gourd-shaped vessel with incised decoration, which may have had an industrial function (for distillation etc) or perhaps even urinals though none has characteristic urinal deposits. The small number of 'tablewares' present includes a few German Raeren stoneware drinking mugs and part of an imported polychrome tin-glazed dish possibly from southern Spain, perhaps Seville. One sherd is decorated with a stroke of white slip under a clear glaze. This is virtually identified to sherds from a possible sixteenth-century kiln site at North Lane, and provides for the first time important confirmation for the dating of this little understood industry" (2)

"Between 1983 and 1996 seventeen excavations, evaluations and watching/recording briefs were undertaken by Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) within the grounds of Canterbury Christ Church University College… In 1996 CAT produced an interim assessment (Hicks 1996) [3] of the potential of the archive at that date. The remit of the document was to assess the quantity, quality and research potential of all the stratigraphic and finds data recovered by that time. It and included a costed recommendation for the post-excavation analysis and publication of the results of the work. Since then the stratigraphic report on the 1995 excavation has been completed (CCC95) and a major excavation (CCC96) undertaken. The aim of this report is to incorporate the results of the more recent work into the 1996 assessment, and to present the revised document to CCCUC and EH for their consideration." (2)

Houliston, M., 1998, Christ Church College (Article in serial). SKE30333.

<2> Hicks, Martin and Houliston, Mark, 1999, Archaeological Excavations at Canterbury Christ Church College. Assessment report on excavations conducted between 1983-1996 (Unpublished document). SKE31574.

<3> Hicks, Martin, 1996, Archaeological Excavations at Canterbury Christ Church College. Assessment Report on Excavations conducted between 1983-1995 (Unpublished document). SKE31570.