A watching brief carried out in 2003 found a medieval pit that contained two sherds of late 11th or 12th century pottery. The excavators also noted that the foundations of the 19th century house were built of large greensand blocks that may have been robbed from the Castle in the 18th century.

The pit was steep sided, 500 mm across and 650 mm deep. Two sherds of shell-tempered pottery of late 11th/12th century date were recovered from the fill together with a few fragments of animal bone. Most of the pit is believed to lie underneath the main house.

From the archaeological report: "The discovery of a medieval pit within the confines of the medieval walled settlement of Tonbridge is interesting if not unsurprising…Medieval pits are usually for the disposal of rubbish or sewage and tend to be situated in the tenement plot behind the buildings fronting on to the street." The excavator also suggests that the south side of East Street may have contained tenements running down towards the riverbut notes that there is as yet no evidence of this.(1)

Archaeology South-East, 2003, An Archaeological Watching Brief at 13 East Street, Tonbridge (Unpublished document). SKE13395.

Archaeology South-East, 2003, An Archaeological Watching Brief at 13 East Street, Tonbridge (Unpublished document). Ske13395.