Castle Irwell a MEANDER THROUGH TIME Location of Castle Irwell, Including Satellite Imagery from the 2015 Archaeological Excavation © Google FOREWORD
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Greater Manchester’s Past Revealed ∙22∙ Castle Irwell A MEANDER THROUGH TIME Location of Castle Irwell, including satellite imagery from the 2015 archaeological excavation © Google FOREWORD As with other publications in the Greater Contents Manchester’s Past Revealed series, this booklet Introduction .......................................................2 sets out in a readable and well-illustrated style the Life Along the Irwell ..........................................6 key results from recent large-scale archaeological Prehistoric .......................................................10 investigations – in this case at the site of the Romano - British ............................................. 14 Castle Irwell Flood Defence scheme which has Medieval........................................................... 16 transformed a former meander of the river. Funded Post-Medieval / Industrial ..............................18 by the Environment Agency, Salford Archaeology Leisure and Sport Along the Irwell .................22 has carried out a range of archaeological and Fitzgerald’s House ...........................................25 historical work ahead of development ground Castle Irwell .....................................................27 works. A fascinating historical narrative has The Mysterious Linear Feature .......................33 emerged: a possible prehistoric defensive ditch; Manchester’s Early Racecourses .....................39 an early 19th-century mansion sitting on a rocky Return to Castle Irwell ....................................45 knoll, with associated gardens and farming estate Archaeology and Development .......................49 buildings; no less than two historic racecourses, Glossary ........................................................... 51 one of which attracted 20,000 spectators in Further Reading ..............................................52 one day; and fi nal use as University of Salford Acknowledgements ..........................................53 sports fi elds and accommodation. A range of archaeological techniques has been applied to extract as much information as possible from the below-ground remains. But the booklet also puts these into a wider context by providing an account of other important archaeological sites along the river, and by describing the remarkable story of Manchester’s early horse racecourses. The Environment Agency is to be commended for recognising the need to share the results of the archaeological investigations with the local and wider community. This booklet is the product of collaboration with the University of Salford, through Salford Archaeology who are the authors, and the planning system overseen by Salford City Council with support from the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service. It is hoped that this publication is a lasting and appropriate legacy of the project. Heritage Management Director, Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service •1• INTRODUCTION Castle Irwell lies within one of the meanders of the River Irwell, some 2.5km to the north-west of Salford city centre. Th e area, until recently, formed part of the University of Salford’s Castle Irwell Student Village, with student accommodation to the south and a variety of sports pitches just to the north. Land within the northern part of the meander was owned by Salford City Council and consisted of unused scrubland. Th e area was previously home to the Castle Irwell estate, built in 1826, with a mansion house located on a prominent knoll within the fl at and unassuming landscape. Th e site was also home to Manchester’s racecourse on two separate occasions, between 1847 and 1867, and from 1902 to 1963. Although the racecourse was held in other locations during the 19th century across the wider area, its greatest success and popularity was at the Castle Irwell site. Th e Flood Defence Scheme Th ere is also a long history of fl ooding in Salford, with the most severe event in 1946 when over 5000 properties were fl ooded. Th e River Irwell is the primary source of fl ooding, which is a consequence of the large upstream catchments that originate in the Pennines and contribute signifi cant fl ows. Th e fl ood risk in Salford is also a major limiting factor on investment and development opportunities, and the predicted impacts as a result of climate change could also make existing businesses unsustainable. A number of schemes to manage fl ood risk have been put in place since the big fl ood in 1946. Th e main project was the Salford Flood Control Scheme, which was completed in 2005, and consisted of a fl ood storage basin, Plan of the new fl ood basin in the large meander of the river. next to Littleton Road, and linear defences Th e area of archaeological investigation is highlighted in red along both banks of the river. •2• Th is scheme provided vulnerable properties with a 1 in 75 year standard of protection; however this standard was soon reduced when the eff ects of climate change were considered. In response to this ongoing issue the Environment Agency, Salford City Council and the local community have worked in partnership to deliver a new scheme, consisting of a large fl ood storage basin at Castle Irwell. Th e basin is very similar in design and size to the existing one in Lower Kersal with a storage capacity of 650 million litres of water, which is the equivalent of 260 Olympic swimming pools. Th e new scheme in combination with the existing fl ood defences improve the standard of protection to 1900 homes and businesses. Construction began at the start of 2015, and the initial works consisted of lowering the ground levels across the site to win material to build the large fl ood embankments around the perimeter. As part of these initial works, a programme of archaeological investigation was undertaken by Salford Archaeology with the focus on recording any historic features associated with the former mansion house and the racecourse. From the outset of the scheme it was clear that the local community had a keen interest in the site, so a Community Steering Group was set up which allowed them to fully engage in the project. Th eir main aspiration was the creation of a wetland within the basin which would provide a new resource for the surrounding communities. Th is approach to community engagement has been very successful allowing a real sense of trust and understanding to build between all the parties, which has been very benefi cial to the delivery of the scheme. Photograph of the newly created wetland, looking east (taken in May 2017) •3• Archaeological Background Archaeological interests in development N are protected through national planning policy (the National Planning Policy Framework). Th is requires features of heritage interest to be identifi ed at an early stage in the planning process so that their signifi cance is understood and can be dealt with appropriately. Acting on advice from the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service (GMAAS), the Environment Agency commissioned the preparation of an archaeological desk- based assessment to identify the potential archaeological and historical signifi cance of the site. Th e assessment was produced by Salford Archaeology and was coupled with a geophysical survey, carried out by GSB in early 2015, which highlighted several Area of excavation potential archaeological features. Th ese related mainly to the grounds of the Evaluation trench former estate surrounding the base of the Building 0 200 m mound on which the mansion sat, but Linear feature also identifi ed a few buildings, including Plan showing the Castle Irwell excavation superimposed on a Google satellite cottages for estate workers, outbuildings image © Google and a glasshouse. Supported by this information, it was possible for GMAAS to recommend a scheme of works to ensure that the archaeology was recorded prior to its loss to development ground works. GMAAS also highlighted the local and regional interest in the racecourse and its history and specifi ed that a programme of historical research should also be carried out. In the fi rst instance, trial trenching was required to examine the character of below-ground archaeological remains and inform considerations of further, more extensive excavation. In the light of this recommendation, Salford Archaeology was commissioned to carry out the work by the project’s main contractor, Galliford Try, in accordance with an approved written scheme of investigation. •4• Ten trenches were dug in March 2015. Whilst this revealed very little evidence for the racecourse, two of the trenches contained important remains relating to the Castle Irwell estate buildings and N associated features, which warranted an open-area excavation to ensure that all archaeological remains were fully recorded. A second open area focused on the results of four trenches, which identifi ed the sandstone bedrock that had once formed the natural knoll where the mansion was located. A large linear feature was also revealed, which appeared to encircle the base of the knoll. Th is had not been detected on the geophysics, and the trenching exercise failed to fi nd any artefacts or large ecofacts (animal bone, shell, etc). Dr Simon Hutchinson, a senior lecturer in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, was consulted on the origins of the feature. His opinion concurred with the view taken by GMAAS that it was not geological in origin, therefore a second area was opened up to trace the extent of the feature, and implement a