Watching brief by A Clark of EH and D Williams of SCC during works to clear parts of the moat revealed only 19th and 20th century finds.

Geophysical survey and evaluation by D Sykes of OA to inform a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the restoration and enhancement of the park landscape. The geophysical work provided generally disappointing and inconclusive results, especially around the area of the priory where it had been hoped that evidence for former monastic structures would be forthcoming, although magnetometry work on the summit of Park Hill did reveal a number of anomalies consistent with the presence of a Bronze Age site that is suspected to exist in the area.

Evaluation by R Lambert of SCAU revealed no features of archaeological interest, but did recover a number of Neolithic/Bronze Age struck flints from the topsoil across the site, and a discrete flint scatter between the topsoil and natural in one of the trenches. A watching brief by J Robertson of SCAU during the excavation of a pipe trench in front of the main doorway of the house revealed the edge of a possible Victorian manhole.

Evaluation by T Malim of GAP encountered extensive remains of 19th century structures relating to gunpowder manufacture on the site, although little evidence for earlier activity was observed

Evaluation by J Pine of TVAS revealed evidence for 13th–15th century layers, with the possibility of a cut feature of medieval date also being discovered, although this could not be confirmed. Evidence of 17th–18th century pitting activity was also revealed, followed by 19th–20th century disturbance in a relatively deep sequence that suggested continuous activity on the site for some considerable time.

Excavation by J Pine of TVAS following evaluation in 2004. The earliest features recorded were a series of 13th–14th century pits containing an array of domestic rubbish. There appeared to be a hiatus in activity following this, with little further activity noted until a 17th century soil/rubbish horizon was revealed. Pitting then continued into the 18th and 19th centuries in a sequence of fairly typical urban backlands activity. A subsequent watching brief was undertaken during the underpinning of a boundary wall.

Investigative test pitting by C Currie of CKCA to obtain information about the construction of the lock behind the early 20th century concrete facing, in advance of restoration works by the NT. Documentary evidence suggested the concrete facing covered a timber structure, although it was thought that the record was incomplete and the sides of the lock were actually of brick. The test pits revealed substantial timber braces and no evidence for brick remains, indicating that the documentary sources were indeed correct.

Evaluation by S Holden of PCA revealed a single feature containing no datable material, and two parallel brick-built walls dated to the late 18th/early 19th centuries, which are likely to correspond to a building shown on the 1870 OS map. Evidence of prehistoric activity, in the form of possible struck flint and pieces of burnt flint, together with sherds of prehistoric, possibly Iron Age, pottery, was found residually across the site with artefacts of medieval and post-medieval date.

Watching brief maintained by G Potter of CA during the excavation of a pipe trench, and associated works, along the line of Speer Road. Two residual struck flints were recovered, but otherwise the only evidence of past activity was represented by occasional 19th and 20th century finds in reworked soils and other disturbed ground.

Watching brief maintained by G Potter of CA during engineering works for a flood alleviation scheme revealed 19th and 20th century finds in reworked soil horizons and disturbed ground, but no features or significant finds of archaeological interest.