The trial pit in Sir Thomas Stepney's Study however told a very different story from the re-opened trial pits in the former Great Hall and the south-western range. This trial pit revealed that the under-floor material was a single fill deposit characterised by demolition material of small stones, mortar and soil. An interesting feature exposed in this preliminary trial pit was a narrow north to south aligned stone built cross wall, which was partly supporting the present floor joists. This trial pit reached a depth of approximately . The fact that the fill of this trial pit was all one deposit, suggested that the floor level in this room had been raised only once and raised a considerable height. It also suggested the possible existence of an earlier low basement area in this part of the house.