ISSN 1364-324X The Past Uncovered Archaeology, Design and Conservation News February 2007 Saxon cross found in Civil War ditch When archaeologists were excavating in advance of a housing development in , they were in for a few surprises!

Several pieces of decorated stone were uncovered whilst the excavators were digging out a ditch. After some careful study it has been confirmed that they are part of one or more crosses dating to the tenth or early eleventh centu- ry.

EAVILY weathered fragments The head and arms of the cross Hof the head, arms and shaft were found at Tarvin. found. The head has a flat boss in (Photograph: the centre which was probably sur- Earthworks Archaeological rounded by a ring, carved in relief. Services) The arms and shaft have traces of moulding. The fragments were all found together, so they probably all come from one cross. On the other hand, it has not been possible to get Service changes them to join. The cross would have been a substantial monument, with Regular readers of the newsletter an arm span of c 55 cm (21.5") and is will have noticed a slight change larger than those at St John’s Church to our name. in Chester. Towards the end of last year the Tarvin is 5½ miles to the east of Archaeology Service was trans- Chester. The excavated ditch, less ferred from Community Services to than half a mile from Tarvin Church, Development Services within the appears to be associated with the City Council. We have joined a team Civil War. Historical records of Civil called Distinctiveness and Place War period fortifications are known Marketing alongside services such for many villages, includ- The head of a stone cross from Burnsall in as Countryside and Landscape. In ing Tarvin, each being associated North Yorkshire. This is a close parallel to the particular, we will be working more one from Tarvin – the tips of the arms being closely with Building Design and with the siege of Chester. Troops and squared, not pointed. ordnance were moved from the Par- Conservation. A review is currently liamentary garrison at Tarvin in being undertaken to see how best The excavations were carried out by preparation for an assault of Chester we can combine our collective ex- Earthworks Archaeological Services. in September 1645. It is possible that pertise to meet the changing They are most grateful to Professor the cross was destroyed at this time. demands of managing and promot- Richard Bailey, who is preparing a The cross is to be included in the ing Chester’s heritage assets. detailed report on the cross, and national inventory of Anglo Saxon Peter Bowen of Antler Homes, for stone sculpture, administered at the Mike Morris his help and support. University of Durham.

Chester City Council 2 The Past Uncovered Barracks under the bowling green

VIDENCE for a Roman barrack length were used for their E building has been uncovered construction. The core of under the former bowling green to the wall was filled with the south of Hunter Street. red sand and sandstone As part of the large-scale North- fragments. The walls are gate Development scheme in in good condition and Chester, a new department store will survive at a relatively be located in the Princess Street– shallow depth, only 67 Hunter Street area. Archaeological cm below the current excavations in the early twentieth ground surface. century and more recently have con- The results of this firmed the high archaeological work will assist in the potential of this area, which lies in a management of the part of the Roman fortress that was archaeological remains occupied by barracks . The barracks during the forthcoming were long narrow buildings arranged Excavated trench showing the junction of two Roman walls. 1 development. in facing pairs and, in this area, metre scale. (Photograph: L Dodd) Excavations were carried out by aligned east–west. A requirement of One test trench measuring c 1.5 x Earthworks Archaeological Services the new store will be two escalator 1.5 m revealed the junction of two and were commissioned by North- pits so an archaeological evaluation masonry walls. Two faces of rough- gate Limited Partnerships c/o ING was deemed necessary and took ly squared and dressed red sandstone Real Estate Development place in autumn 2006. blocks measuring up to 36 cm in ...... Conservation news reinforcement to the attic. Re-point- whose historic architecture is distinc- ...... ing in lime mortar, re-plastering with tive and a key element of its Conservation in action lath and lime plaster and repair and commercial success. replacement of windows was also ORK on the Listed Building required. Howard Dickenson, Design and W at 8–10 Northgate Row has The whole operation has been Conservation Manager been ongoing for many months but tricky because of the location of the the repairs have now been complet- building and the need to keep at For further details of the work ed and the scaffolding removed. least part of the street open to vehi- carried out contact John Healey on Problems were identified when cles. Close teamwork has produced 01244 402233 the rear of the building was investi- a solution which has involved min- gated and revealed movement in the imum demolition and maximum top of the gable. It was feared that repair in situ which should, when the Conservation Areas the complex roof structure could building is back in full use, result in fail. The City Council’s Building a street scene almost indistinguish- under review Control team moved rapidly to se- able from the way it was before – Central government has decided that cure the building under The truly conservation in action in a city a performance indicator for Building Act and installed structur- Conservation Services is to be based al scaffolding to the exterior of the on the percentage of Conservation building as well as internal prop- Area Appraisals and Management ping. The scaffolding, in a highly Plans reviewed within the last five visible location, was provided with years. decorative hoarding to reduce its There are sixty-one Conservation impact on one of the city’s main Areas within Chester District which shopping streets. will be reviewed over a five-year pe- A Repairs Notice was prepared riod in partnership with Chester with a view to compulsorily purchas- Civic Trust. This updated documen- ing the building and exploratory tation is being produced in line with talks were held with the Chester English Heritage guidance. Starting Building Preservation Trust about from a performance indicator of zero restoring it. In the event, new own- in 2005 (resulting from no reviews ers were found and they have carried within the previous five years) a per- out repairs in accordance with the formance indicator of 20% was agreed plans. achieved in 2006. This figure will Repairs included steel windposts improve by 20% each year (twelve internally, steel rods in the brick- Conservation Areas per year), work on the front elevation and truss Repairs in progress at 8–10 Northgate Row achieving 100% by 2010. Chester City Council The Past Uncovered 3 Last year the Council consulted District news is demonstrating that rural settle- the public on draft management ...... ment did exist in what was once plans for Dunham-on-the-Hill, Camp thought to be a fairly empty land- Horsley Lane, , scape beyond settlement ‘hot spots’ , Stretton and . The N interesting sequence of land such as the Roman fortress. next settlements include Gorstella, A use over many centuries has Mike Morris , Puddington, , been established at Saighton Camp Sheaf and Tilstone Bank. Recom- in Huntington. The archaeological work was carried mendations will be made to protect A large housing development is out by Northern Archaeological the character, appearance, landscape planned for part of the old army Associates. Thanks are due to Taylor and general environment of the areas. camp on the southern outskirts of Woodrow the developers and Councillor Ann Farrell said: ‘Im- the city. Whilst no archaeological consultants Hyder Consulting. proving the way we manage sites or finds were previously known conservation sites will bring posi- from the actual development area, Viking hoard returns to tive benefits to many areas of the extensive trial trenching was under- District. We are committed to con- taken to see if any archaeological the north west sulting people about the features were present. The sequence A group of twenty-two silver arm conservation plans through Parish revealed, prior to the twentieth-cen- bands found in Huxley in 2004 has Councils and Area Committees and tury army camp, eighteenth- and been purchased jointly by the we will be contacting all properties nineteenth-century hedged fields, Grosvenor Museum, National affected by the proposals to make medieval ridge and furrow and an Museums Liverpool and Cheshire sure residents have the opportunity extensive system of ditches and gul- Museums Service, thanks to a to comment’. lies cut into the natural clay sub-soil Heritage Lottery Fund grant. and pre-dating the ridge and furrow. The hoard, found by a member of Charles Meyer, Design and Large areas of the site were a local metal-detecting group, dates Conservation Officer stripped of topsoil to reveal as much from the mid-ninth to mid-tenth cen- ...... as possible of the early ditch sys- tury. The strips of silver are tem. Features were traced over intricately decorated in the Irish Sea University news hundreds of metres and appeared to style of the period, using a distinc- ...... represent large-scale boundaries, tive type of punch work. Fragments Survey of Deanery Field perhaps for stock control rather than of lead sheet were also found with arable fields or plots. There was vir- the silver and may represent the re- Four students from Chester tually no dating information, and no mains of a container within which University, assisted by Simon Ward, indications of nearby settlement. the silver was buried, such as a lead- undertook a survey of the Deanery lined wooden box. Field as part of their Heritage The hoard is currently in the Management module last summer. British Museum and will return to The Deanery Field, occupying the the north-west this year for the north-eastern corner of the area with- Magical History Tour exhibition in the City Walls, was partially opening at the Merseyside Maritime excavated by Professors Newstead Museum in July 2007. and Droop in the first half of the twentieth century, before the area was levelled for playing fields. Ex- tensive remains of Roman barracks Bronze brooch dating to the first century. were found. The purpose of the (Photograph: M Morris) present exercise was to see if the The only find was a Roman brooch Roman stratigraphy has been dam- in the filling of one of the gullies. aged by the levelling. A new level The best current interpretation of survey was carried out and compared the gullies is that they formed an with the levels recorded in the orig- enclosure for cattle, supplied to the inal reports. We concluded that the Roman fortress and surrounding ci- Roman remains probably survive vilian settlement. It is also possible well along the eastern and western that they were part of a prehistoric sides but that there is a strip in the system which only fell out of use in centre where they have been trun- the Roman period. cated. The Roman remains which do This discovery is an important ad- survive in this area must be very dition to the small but growing The hoard of silver armbands from Huxley. close to the modern ground level. number of early sites in and around (Photograph: N Herepath) The results of this survey will Chester District such as Chester Gillian Dunn Business Park, Brook House Farm prove a useful tool in the future man- For more information on the hoard () and Birch Heath agement of the area. see The Past Uncovered February (). Close examination of 2005

Simon Ward ...... development sites in the rural area Chester City Council 4 The Past Uncovered Green open space City behind walls Cheshire Archaeology Children from two Chester schools Senior Archaeologist Simon Ward Day have teamed up with City Council and Building Design and Conserva- officers in schemes to improve green tion Manager Howard Dickenson, Cheshire Archaeology Day 2007 will open spaces. represented Chester recently at a be held on Saturday 21 April at the The challenge for children from congress in Trencín, Slovakia, on the Memorial Hall. The guest Overleigh St Mary’s CE Primary was theme of presenting historic towns speaker will be the archaeologist to explore and improve their knowl- in the context of modern develop- and broadcaster Julian Richards who edge of Grosvenor Park. They did ment. will speak on his work at this through creative writing, inves- Delegates from at least ten Stonehenge.There will be the usual tigating nature and interviewing European countries attended – west- range of displays and bookstalls. users of the park. They also carried ern European countries with well Tickets are £11 each (£9 conces- out archaeological surveying established policies and traditions sions). under the guidance of City as well as those in eastern Europe Archaeologist Mike Morris and which have emerged from the Contact Environmental Planning, Community Archaeology Officer Soviet bloc and are trying to restore Cheshire County Council, Jane Hebblewhite. and develop their heritage. Simon Hall, Backford, Chester CH1 6PZ, Back in school the children and Howard gave a presentation on phone 01244 603175, e-mail worked with artist Dorothy Chester’s place marketing strategy, [email protected] Pickering to create nature-inspired the Culture Park and the amphithe- for a booking form. textile art and enjoyed talks from atre project. They were looked after Cllr Robert Jordan, Environmental most hospitably by the team in Portfolio Holder. The project cul- Trencín with a medieval banquet at minated with an impressive display the castle, presentations by school and presentation in school, combin- children and musical entertainment. ing drama and art. Trencín is a small town on the Pupils from St Thomas of Canter- River Var, close to the border with bury Blue Coat CE Junior School the Czech Republic and the Tatra A large-print version of this worked with landscape, archaeolo- Mountains and is dominated by a gy and heritage staff to look at ways magnificent medieval castle rising newsletter is available. of improving the George Street on a great crag. The road northwards Please phone (01244) ‘pocket park’. The park, next to the to Poland, following the river, had canal and former Delamere Street to pass under this crag. The crag it- 402023 or fax (01244) bus station, provides excellent views self bears a Roman inscription, 347522 of the northern city walls and im- recording the presence of Legion II pressive canal cutting. However, Adiutrix, the founders of Chester. no-one uses it at the moment as it is The original town is very pictur- The Past Uncovered unsafe and has been the target of anti- esque, built around a square and social behaviour. As part of the Open spreading up the hill towards the is produced by the City Council’s Space Investment Strategy the City castle. It has one surviving gateway, Archaeology, Design and Council is keen to develop the area surmounted by a tall clock tower and Conservation Services to keep to make it an accessible and enjoya- several churches. However, it is sur- you in touch with news in ble place to visit. rounded by twentieth-century Chester and the surrounding area. At the end of these two projects development which has generally It appears three times a year, in the children will share their views not been sympathetic to the older February, June and October. with a wider audience including buildings. Copies can be obtained from the councillors, key decision-makers, Grosvenor Museum and other City parents and school governors. Their Simon Ward Council venues or by post direct work will go on display and will be from Chester Archaeology. If you have any comments or questions, used towards public consultation. The congress was supported by or would like to contribute, please European funding Jane Hebblewhite get in touch with Gillian Dunn at Chester Archaeology, 27 Grosvenor Street,Chester CH1 Projects are co-ordinated by the 2DD. (01244) 402023. Sustainable Environmental Education Network to feed into This newsletter is also available open space improvements. To find on the internet at: out more about opportunities to give your views on these schemes http://www.chester.gov.uk/PDF/ contact the Landscape Team on newsl_February07.pdf Printed by Chester City Council 01244 402397, or e-mail Print Unit on [email protected] environmentally friendly paper

Chester City Council