D H Evans - Böcker

The Austin Friary at Hull was founded in 1316/17 as a daughter-house of the York friary. It would be the very last of the Order to surrender to the Crown, on 10 March 1539. This monastic house was located in the heart of the medieval Old Town, next to its market place. It was excavated in 1994 and 1999 prior to re-development of the site. The results are being published in three parts, this being the first one. The excavations recovered substantial elements of the built friary and the layout of over 70% of the entire precinct can now be reconstructed.Anaerobic waterlogged conditions favoured the survival of organic remains and structures. Some 260 articulated burials were recovered, associated with important sepulchral remains, including 44 oak coffins, a significant assemblage of textile remains and a wealth of dress-accessories. Almost all the coffins, which can be closely dated, were made of imported Baltic oak, making this the largest assemblage of medieval Baltic oak to have been found in England.At the Dissolution, the friary seems to have escaped major damage to its fabric, and within a year much of it had been converted into a large secular holding. Some of its buildings would still be standing to their full height as late as the 1790s, albeit with substantial modifications and changes of use. Later activity on this site includes the development and use of three public houses, the construction of a Georgian Butchers’ Shambles and a Victorian Market Hall. In 1941 the whole area was extensively bombed and largely razed to the ground during the Hull Blitz.

The Austin Friary at Hull was founded in 1316/17 as a daughter-house of the York friary. It would be the very last of the Order to surrender to the Crown, on 10 March 1539. This monastic house was located in the heart of the medieval Old Town, next to its market place. It was excavated in 1994 and 1999 prior to re-development of the site. The results are being published in three parts, this being the first one. The excavations recovered substantial elements of the built friary and the layout of over 70% of the entire precinct can now be reconstructed.Anaerobic waterlogged conditions favoured the survival of organic remains and structures. Some 260 articulated burials were recovered, associated with important sepulchral remains, including 44 oak coffins, a significant assemblage of textile remains and a wealth of dress-accessories. Almost all the coffins, which can be closely dated, were made of imported Baltic oak, making this the largest assemblage of medieval Baltic oak to have been found in England.At the Dissolution, the friary seems to have escaped major damage to its fabric, and within a year much of it had been converted into a large secular holding. Some of its buildings would still be standing to their full height as late as the 1790s, albeit with substantial modifications and changes of use. Later activity on this site includes the development and use of three public houses, the construction of a Georgian Butchers’ Shambles and a Victorian Market Hall. In 1941 the whole area was extensively bombed and largely razed to the ground during the Hull Blitz.

Excavations at the Austin Friary, Hull, Yorkshire, 1994 and 1999, Part 2, details the excavations of the Austin Friary in Hull, a house founded in 1316/17 and surrendered to the Crown in 1539.This volume concentrates on the material culture recovered during the excavations. The site yielded a nationally significant group of medieval coffins, all but one of which were made of imported Baltic oak – the largest assemblage of such timber from the whole of Britain. There were also significant collections of well preserved textiles, leather, wood and dress-accessories. In addition, some of the burials were accompanied by carefully placed wooden rods, an under-reported burial tradition which can be found on either side of the North Sea. Many of the monastic buildings were reused after the Dissolution in 1539; partly in consequence, a large assemblage of masonry and ceramic building materials was recovered from this site. There were also significant collections of floor tiles (both plain and decorated), and window-glass, whilst other finds include rare finds of musical instrument components. Cumulatively, this volume sheds significant light upon a whole range of aspects of life and death within this northern religious house for a period of over two centuries, as well as offering yet more valuable evidence about Hull’s extensive medieval trading-links, as one of England’s leading ports.This book is for researchers and archaeologists interested in the archaeology of medieval Britain as well as the role of Christianity in the Middle Ages.