A watching brief was undertaken at No 4 Cambridge Road during work for internal alterations, an extension and the construction of a new building. Two internal trenches were opened, one in the main hallway and one in the front room to the south. From a level equivalent to that of the external ground the trenches exposed a substantial layer of dark brown stony sandy loam which extended beyond the bottom of the excavation. At least 750mm in depth, this is possibly a deposit of make up, but equally may be natural, given the gloomy light. In the hallway it was sealed by 19th century rubble but its date was otherwise uncertain. At the extension at the east corner of the main building wall foundations trenches for the greater part of the extension revealed 0.5m dumped material above a dark soil which appeared to be an earlier topsoil. Beneath the latter was a stony sand. On the site of the new building at the eastern corner of the garden foundation trenches 1.1m deep revealed a similar stratigraphy to that in the extension area, with natural sand encountered at a depth of 1m. <1>