Excavation and a subsequent watching brief by J Robertson of SCAU, for Boots Properties PLC, as part of the construction of a new extension on this site. The earliest features identified on the site were a series of pits filled with late 12th or early 13th century debris, presumably relating to buildings fronting the High Street. In the late 13th or 14th century, buildings were constructed along the then much narrower alley (now known as Swan Lane). The substantial chalk foundations revealed suggest these buildings were well built and of at least two-storeys. These buildings were demolished in the 17th century and the area left open and again used for the deposition of rubbish in pits; it is possible that at this time the area formed part of the yard of the Swan Inn. Swan Lane was widened in the 19th century and at that time buildings were again constructed along it.