This site is in St Owen Street, Hereford. This Street runs from St Peter's Square in Hereford south-east to Ledbury Road and was formerly called Hungry Street. When Hereford's post conquest defences were built in the 12th century, a new gate was built on a site which cut the street in half. A Norman church just outside these defences was dedicated to St Owen and the name, with some variation, became that of church. The south-eastern part of the street would become known St Owen Street without; that is without the gate.

Bell Court was the name of a row of cottages in 19th century Hereford. In order to cram as many houses in as possible such small cottages were constructed as a terrace at right angles to the streets.

Bell Court was a row of one up/one down cottages. The privies, originally earth, were probably connected to the main sewers by the time of this map - the 1886 1st edition 1/500 scale.

Such rows of cottages were common and similar rows existed in Hereford in Commercial Road at Hop Pole and Hop Bine Places and as the Sun Cottages further north-west along St Owen Street.

On this map a covered entrance (conventionally marked by a cross) leads behind Bell Court into a yard. By 1928 the yard and its buildings were the premises of  Messrs Edmunds & Laurence, motor engineers. The site has an association with the motor trade of 90 years.

Another business within the present property in the earlier part of the 20th century was Charles Cook,  builder & contractor.

In 1937 the entry in Kelly's directory reads 'automobile engineers, repairs and overhauls: quick service, distributing agent for Jowett cars & agent for all leading makes & motor car garage, Victory garages, St Owen Street, telephone 2270'.

But the sites association with transport is older than the motor car: in 1867 one of the occupiers, at number 48, was the wheelwright and blacksmith Alfred Morgan. In 1858 J Morgan had been a wheelwright there, and although the precise address is not given, in 1847, Thomas Morris had been the only wheelwright in St Owen Street without.

The Peter Nash Trade Centre. This view looks towards the centre of Hereford. The medieval St Owen's Gate once blocked this road.

Looking in the opposite direction towards the junction of Ledbury Road and St Owens Street where a circular church of the Knights Templar once stood.

Left foreground is the 1950s Hereford Fire Station

The concrete on the site was cut with a disc cutter and the underlying soil removed by a small tracked excavator.

A typical set of 19th and early 20th century features.

This structure was constructed of bricks made by the local Holmer Brick factory

excavating down to the natural gravel outside the brick structure. In the foreground is a back-filled vehicle inspection pit.

After the evaluation the trench was back-filled and concreted over.

Reporting

Unpublished report - 101 - 106 St Owen's Street, Hereford: archaeological evaluation - Huw Sherlock, 2007.
A copy of this report is held in the reference section of Hereford City Library. Cle

This report is available at the Archaeological Data Service site

To view or download the report click here