An archaeological watching brief took place during groundworks for a small residential development on a plot of land between 13 Abbey Gate Street and Southway, Colchester. The contractor’s groundworks involved piling, stripping and trenching. The piling consisted of four piles along the northern edge of the proposed building and four along the southern edge. The stripping involved lowering the ground-level of the site by approximately 400mm. Several narrow trenches were also dug for services approximately 350mm below the stripped level. No significant archaeological remains were uncovered. A thick layer of post-Roman topsoil (‘dark earth’) was revealed during the stripping and trenching, but Roman levels were not reached. A modern east-west brick foundation in the south-western corner of the site probably belonged to the Masonic Hall, which was demolished in the 1970s. <1>