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Annual Report 2001 the northern edge of the earlier foundations. The eastern wing also appears to have been rebuilt at this time as a stair tower. The extant large double chimney breast to the west on the the southern façade which appears on engravings, may also be of a similar date to this phase of rebuilding, perhaps serving a kitchen complex. Engravings show that the former gatehouse towers on the southern façade were retained in this later rebuild phase. Claustral buildings Above: floor tiles uncovered in the cloister walk of Leicester Abbey. towers projecting from the southern façade of Cavendish House, flanking the carriageway entrance through the building, and the footings for both of these structures were also revealed. The excavated evidence would suggest that although the northern wall of the medieval gatehouse was probably incorporated into this phase of construction, the southern wall was entirely replaced. By the late 16th century, an east and west wing were added to the northern façade of the medieval gatehouse and evidence suggesting that both wings were cellared was also found. In the early 17th-century, the northern façade of the building with its projecting medieval porch and later flanking wings, seems to have been flattened with the construction of a linking wall. The only evidence for this is from the surviving north wall itself, which respects the line of the foundations of the postulated medieval porch, being built directly against Two trenches were positioned within the eastern part of the Chapter House of the Abbey. The trenches were located in order to clarify the position of the Chapter House walls which had been reconstructed in the 1930s after excavation. This evidence had been uncovered again during the 2000 season of evaluation. One of the trenches revealed a large stone wall footing, not corresponding to any of the reconstructed walls. Two possible robber trenches were also recorded, one corresponding with that seen during the 2000 season. The second trench was excavated in an attempt to uncover the expected continuation of the stone footings, but they were not found. In both trenches it was evident that in places a 1m depth of re-deposited natural gravels existed over what is thought to have been undisturbed ground. A single trench was excavated on the eastern side of the reconstructed wall of the Chapter House, which suggested that the undisturbed natural ground lay directly below the topsoil on this side of the wall. The work within the Chapter House would suggest that the reconstructed walls appear to surround a structure with a reduced floor level. However, the layout of the reconstructed walls remains open to question with nothing of the original medieval evidence used to set them out having survived. 14
University of Leicester Archaeological Services One Man and Two Boats Above: the Tug ‘Birmingham’. The hull has been over-plated at the bow and stern and the cabin is not the original. In early 2001, ULAS were commissioned to carry out an external survey of two historic craft, for British Waterways, using a Reflectorless EDM Theodolite. This equipment permits the swift recording of thousands of points on any surface, be it on iron, brick or wood, and can be operated by one person. The form and visible repairs of the two boats were to be recorded, while out of the water, before restoration work. The vessels will form part of British Waterways’ fleet of boats used for education programmes. The reflectorless survey provided accurate base drawings that were to be augmented with more detailed study. The two vessels represented different aspects of the history of the waterways – one is a Tug and the other is an unpowered carrying boat called a Day Boat or ‘Joey’. The Tug, ‘Birmingham’, built of iron, is 45 feet (13.61m) long with a beam of just under 7 feet (2.09m) and a draught of 4 feet (1.35m) and was built in 1912. It was one of a series of similar tugs built for the Worcester and Birmingham Canal for pulling unpowered boats through tunnels. The shape of the stern was designed for a large propeller to give optimum pulling power. Joeys were 70 feet (21.63m) long, and 7 feet (2.08m) wide, with either open or small closed cabins at the stern. They were built in their thousands making them the most common boats on the canals of the West Midlands. The boat shown here was also of riveted iron construction. Patches have been welded to the outside of the hull, where corrosion behind the internal frames or knees had occurred during its long periods of use. Right: ‘Joey’, BW Asset 80393. This particular boat could only be steered from one end. Others may have had a rudder at either end. 15
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