YORK ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST

BUXTON CRESCENT AND SPA,

THE CRESCENT, BUXTON, DERBYSHIRE

STATEMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

by Martin Stockwell Revised by Glyn Davies

REPORT NUMBER 2011/57 REVISED 2014 VERSION 2

YORK ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST

York Archaeological Trust undertakes a wide range of urban and rural archaeological consultancies, surveys, evaluations, assessments and excavations for commercial, academic and charitable clients. It can manage projects, provide professional advice and monitor archaeological works to ensure high quality, cost effective archaeology. Its staff have a considerable depth and variety of professional experience and an international reputation for research, development and maximising the public, educational and commercial benefits of archaeology. Based in York its services are available throughout Britain and beyond.

© 2011 York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited

Registered Office: 47 Aldwark, York, UK, YO1 7BX

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CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 1 2. LOCATION, GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY ...... 3 3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ...... 4 4. CONSTRUCTION AREAS WITH ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL ...... 10 5. THE YELLOW BASEMENT ...... 11 6. THE CRESCENT BUILDING ...... 25 7. THE CRESCENT EXTERIOR FORECOURT ...... 31 8. THE CRESCENT EXTERIOR REAR ...... 44 9 SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 48

FIGURES Cover: The Crescent in its heyday 1. Site location 2. Trench location 3. Test pit locations inside building during enabling works 4. Plan of archaeological features observed externally during the enabling works 5. Plan 60029979/210 6. Plan 60029979/208 7. Trial pit D location 8. Trial pit D section 9. Trial pit E location 10. Trial pit E plan 11. Trial pit E section 12. Trial pit I location 13. Trial pit I plan 14 Plan of archaeological features in the yellow basement excavations 15. 1852 Joseph Paxton plan 16. 1878 OS map 17. Ground floor Plan showing lift pit pair locations inside the building 18. Trial pit G location 19. Trial pit G plan 20. Trial pit G section 21. Trial pit J location 22. Trial pit J plan 23. Trial pit J section facing NW 24. Plan 60029979/401 25. Plan 600299979/411 26. Plan 60029979/412 27. Trial pit Q location 28. Plan 60029979/408 proposed services in front of the crescent 29 Plan 60029979/409 proposed services in front of the crescent 30 Plan 60029979/402 showing location of water management chambers 31 Plan showing the location of the laundry extension 32 Plan 60029979/410 proposed services top the rear of the crescent

Plates 1. Trial pit D 2. Trial pit E 3. Trial pit E 4. Trial pit I 5. Trial pit G 6. Trial pit Q 7. Trial pit Q 8. Trench W 9. Trench W 10. Trench 10

Buxton Crescent and Spa, The Crescent, Buxton, Derbyshire

1. INTRODUCTION

The Crescent in Buxton is a large semi-circular building, built in the late 18 th century and located in the centre of Buxton (NGR SK 0578 7356) (Figure 1), which has been empty for many years. The site is currently undergoing redevelopment and there are two phases of development activities:

• Enabling works

• Construction and refurbishment works

The programme of enabling works has been completed and construction and refurbishment works are now to be undertaken. The site includes: The Crescent, Natural Baths, Pump Room, a part basement of the Old Hall Hotel and land to the rear of The Crescent formerly occupied by single-storey service buildings, now demolished. The nature of the works in each area varies considerably and in cases such as the Old Hall Hotel Basement no excavation below ground level is planned due to the proximity of the Nestle Covered Pool.

This document was originally drafted prior to the enabling works. It was produced to assess the archaeological significance of any remains within the site which might be affected by the development works. Evidence from archaeological evaluation and historical research was used to assess the significance of any archaeological remains and to identify the potential impact of development on these remains. Since this document was originally drafted, there have been changes to the redevelopment scheme. This document has been revised in light of these changes. Revisions are highlighted to aid identification of changes to the document.

The site sites on the interface between two different geological types with a complex of natural springs emerging across the area. This geological context requires a comprehensive understanding of the building, its foundations and the sites archaeological potential and significance. A project design was drawn up in 2007 by the original contractors, the University of Manchester Archaeology Unit (UMAU), for exploratory trenches to be excavated under archaeological conditions. These were designed to answer specific engineering questions and to assess and evaluate any archaeological remains encountered in that process. In addition two evaluation trenches to test for archaeological remains were included in the design which represents Phase 3 of the ground investigations.

Between 26 th May and 24 th June 2009 York Archaeological Trust (YAT) excavated a series of fifteen trial pits and two evaluation trenches (Figure 2). The purpose of the excavations was to investigate the form and nature of the footings of the existing buildings, to determine the presence and significance of any archaeological remains and to facilitate an inspection of the deposits, bedrock and hydrology underlying the footprint of the proposed development.

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Figure 1 Site location

Figure 2 Evaluation trench location

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The buildings in question were The Crescent (Trial pits F,G,J,S,U and V), St Anne’s dining room (Trial pits D and E), The Square (Trial pit R), The Old Courthouse (Trial pit H) and the Natural Baths (Trial pit T). A further trial pit (I) was excavated to investigate the nature and levels of the culverted River Wye (Trial pit I). The location of these excavations, their proposed depths and archaeological potential were informed by previous engineering investigations particularly sets of borehole and probehole data (AECOM 2008) and a geophysical survey (Searle and Ballard 2005). Flooding within the basement required the relocation of Trail pits U and F. In order to investigate the source of this flooding and the footings for the adjacent internal walls two further trial pits (AA and AB) were opened up.

2. LOCATION, GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY

Buxton is located in the Derbyshire Dales at approximately 300m above sea level and falls into two parts; the older town known as Higher Buxton lies on a plateau to the south centred on the market place overlooking the more recent Lower Buxton sited around the curving valley of the River Wye to the north. Surrounding the town beyond the 19 th century plantings are the bleak rolling heather moorlands typical of the area.

The Crescent lies in Lower Buxton on the south side of the river which at that point currently lies within a culvert. To the west lie the Pavilion Gardens, leisure gardens laid out in the 18 th and 19 th century including glass house, ponds, woodland plantings and a serpentine walk. To the south is the Slopes, formerly known as The Terraces, a landscaped park on the steep slope overlooking The Crescent where a geometric design of paths was laid out to display the building to its best advantage. To the east lies spring gardens a shopping street and to the north the rising valley side dominated by the grand stable block and the Grand Hotel. The two core areas are surrounded by 19 th and 20 th century sprawl.

The underlying bedrock geology is formed from steeply sloping Carboniferous Limestone to the South and Millstone Grit Series rocks to the north with the boundary between the two running approximately beneath the site of The Crescent. Overlying the Millstone Grits is a deposit of Namurian shale. Capping the shale and filling the base of the valley is a dark organic alluvial silt which may be the result of a blockage downstream forming a lake to develop (Searle and Ballard 2005, 2). There are at least nine thermal springs rising within the valley along with several cold springs. The thermal water that rises in Buxton as spring water comes from deep within the earths crust and emerges under hydrostatic pressure, geothermally heated to a constant temperature of 27.5 degrees centigrade. The water percolates through the limestone until it hits the harder gritstone, which forces the water to the surface via a fault line at a rate of approximately eleven litres per second in the Natural Baths. It is the presence of this water in these quantities which led to development of Buxton the building of The Crescent in its location.

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3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

There is ample evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area around Buxton dating to the Mesolithic period from about 5,000 BC onwards. However it was not until the arrival of the Romans that there is evidence of human occupation in the vicinity of The Crescent.

3.1 ROMAN

Buxton has been equated to the Roman settlement of Aqua Arnemtiae , based on the reference in the Ravenna Cosmography and there is evidence of significant remains in the town and vicinity of The Crescent. In 1788 a stone structure interpreted as a Roman temple was discovered on the slopes south of The Crescent. A series of possible Roman baths have been discovered over the centuries namely the Red Bath, a wall surrounding St Anne’s Well prior to 1709, the lead bath and great bath both discovered in 1695, the plaster bath and the small bath discovered during the construction of The Crescent and the salt bath discovered in 1883. However the veracity of these is unclear as reports were often published many years after the event, and their location is uncertain. A definite find connecting Rome with the springs was in 1975 when a collection of coins spanning the later 1st century AD to the end of the Roman period was found in a rock crevice adjoining the spring in the Natural Bath. These were votive offerings to the spring and indicate the length of time the baths were operating. The evidence suggests a complex of structures including a temple overlooking a set of baths along a spring line one of which was next to a sacred spring. The attributed Roman name is one of only two sites in Roman Britain to have the name Aqua as part of its name suggesting some significance in the Roman mind.

3.2 MEDIEVAL

Little is known of Buxton in the medieval period. The name Buxton can be dated to about 1100 when Bucstones or Buckestones is first recorded on a foundation charter for land given by William Peveril to found Lenton Abbey in Nottinghamshire. It is known that a settlement called Bawkestones existed in the mid 13 th century and there is a reference to a holy well in 1460 (Walker 1994, 14).

During the Reformation in 1536 the Capella de Buckstones was valued at 40 marks (about £26). As it was a catholic shrine associated with a cult of St Ann the well and chapel were suppressed although it evidently re-opened, minus the relics.

3.3 POST MEDIEVAL

Buxton developed as a spa from 1572 when the Old Hall (then called New Hall) was built by the Earl of Shrewsbury on land including Chapel and chapel yard and croft called Bath Croft also Bath Flatt ... and one dwelling house. In the same year Dr John Jones wrote the first

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medical book on the curative value of the Buxton waters entitled The Benefit of the Auncient Bathes of Buckstones . He describes a chief bath with a warm spring and five other springs nearby. From that time many visitors came to take the waters including notables from the Elizabethan court including Lord Burghley, the Earl of Sussex, and the Earl of Leicester. The spa was centred on a chief or great bath adjacent to the Old Hall built over a hot spring which emerged as a natural source in the exposed limestone rock head. This was to be the focus of the Natural Baths over the years to come and today is the source for commercial operations. In addition to the baths there was also St Anne’s Well which was located to the east of the baths over a separate spring. This was the existing holy well and was intended for drinking the water rather than bathing but nonetheless represents the continuation of the use of sacred waters from the Roman period onwards. A drawing by John Speed of 1610 shows the hall as a tower house with a building marked as St. Anne’s Well to the eastern side.

The baths and Old Hall were to be remodelled on many occasions over the coming years particularly by White in 1695, Barker in 1711 and Taylor in 1726.

In 1709 Sir Thomas Delves re-built the structure over St Anne’s well with a three sided enclosure open to the south containing a central basin. These works apparently revealed remains of an earlier stone structure thought by contemporaries to be Roman.

A 1725 drawing by William Stukley shows the core of the old hall with a range of additional buildings attached to the west and east and St Anne’s well still shown as a separate structure.

Maps and documentary sources show that by 1780 Buxton and the Old Hall was an established spa centre. Gardens had been created to the west with paths, walks and rides laid out around water features and avenues of trees. To the east a former bowling green had been replaced by a grove of trees and a prospect mound which has been suggested may have been created over one of the structures of the Roman bath complex (UMAU 1995, 2) Despite this the baths were neglected and somewhat dilapidated.

3.4 THE CRESCENT

The Dukes of Devonshire were lords of the Manor of Buxton and from the 1770s the Fifth Duke, William Cavendish, embarked on a policy of acquisition as part of a conscious effort to raise the status of the spa and attract wealthy visitors perhaps as a northern rival to the ‘Society’ centre at Bath. John Carr of York was commissioned initially to refurbish the baths with a modest extension to the Old Hall. The scheme went beyond remodelling just the baths and a vast new complex was built based on the Nash and Wood crescents of Bath. The scheme included The Crescent, great stables, refurbished baths and landscaping of the Slopes to the south. Starting in 1780 the initial works involved clearing the grove of trees,

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diverting the Manchester Turnpike, the digging of the foundations and culverting and diverting the River Wye to a course slightly to the north along with a series of soughs to drain the site and provide outflows from The Crescent and manage run off from the springs. In 1782/3 Delves Arch was removed and a new St Anne’s Well house built at the bottom of the Slopes. Water for this was conducted via a grit stone channel from the former Delves well. During the ground works stone and plaster structures identified as Roman baths were found.

3.5 THE BUILDING

The design of The Crescent drew heavily on the recent developments in Bath which set the standard for facilities required to attract aristocratic and genteel visitors to an 18th century spa. The difference in Buxton and what makes it pioneering is that Carr’s design had all the essential ingredients for the ‘season’ under one roof. Semi-circular in plan the east and west wings were occupied by the Great Hotel and St Ann’s Hotel respectively; the former also incorporating a ballroom, card room and coffee room for holding various forms of assembly. Between the hotels were 6 lodging houses whose ground floors held shops, post office, a circulating library all accessed from a covered arcade or piazza which linked all these elements and also allowed for promenading and exercise in wet weather. All this was enclosed along with the Slopes to south, essentially a precursor to the gated all inclusive holiday resorts of today. Whilst The Crescent is a semi circular building it is designed around a complete circle whose southern arc is reflected in a curving path on the Slopes. The building sits on stone footings, the main build is of brick and it is faced with dressed ashlar sandstone blocks.

The two wings and front elevation are unified by common architectural treatment. The ground floor is raised above the forecourt and with the piazza around the entire frontage behind which are round headed door and window openings. The first and second floors have plain window openings separated by pilasters which rise up from the piazza pillars. At the eaves level there is a deep oversailing cornice supporting a balustrade which masks the attics behind. In the centre of the balustrade is an entablature supporting the Devonshire coat of arms and a set of antlers. The rear of the building has a plainer architectural treatment being faced with squared coursed sandstone rubble. Nevertheless there are still a range of architectural details such as string courses and banding. The basement originally had a light well following the rear of the building to allow for access to the service rooms but all these save one are now filled.

Internally the three major forms of use are represented by different plan forms. The Great Hotel was the principal focus of the spa development and was positioned as a counterpoint to the baths to west. It was here that the main public rooms were located and most lavish internal decoration was to be found. The ground floor originally held the coffee room and

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billiard room but it is on the first floor the more spectacular ball room was to be found. This rises through the first and second floor to the attics and is dominated by the Adams style decoration including marble fireplaces, pilaster columns with gilded capitals and a highly decorated coffered ceiling. At the other end of the building St Anne’s Hotel originally occupied the west wing and its principal public rooms were confined to the ground floor with bedrooms on the first and second floors. The services for both were in the basements. The lodging houses were all split level in that there were three bays and three storeys to the front but five bays and four storeys to the front. The ground floor front was given over to shops whilst the prestigious and lofty ceilinged drawing room was on the first floor. The remainder of the building was given over to bedrooms and dressing rooms. Staff accommodation was located in the attics.

The basements of the lodging houses held the service rooms and they all had the same components. These included an access stair to the floor above, two transverse barrel vaulted rooms lit from the rear and a single unlit cellar to the front. The internal stairs led up to a lobby where there was access directly to the rear bridging over the light well. The light wells for the individual lodging houses were separated at the rear by a curving wall. Throughout the basements a range of fittings and fixtures survive attesting to former uses.

3.6 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

Plans were drawn up in 1803 for an ambitious scheme for the rear of The Crescent, but it seems it was not fulfilled. Completed elements included The Square (1806-7), a building attached to the north side of the Old Hall. This contained private dwellings and had a continuous colonnade around the exterior to allow access to the Natural Baths from the north side. In 1804 lodging house 4 was converted into a third hotel, The Centre Hotel, and a large rear extension built, as promenade rooms were added. By the 1820s Buxton had a complex of baths providing hot, cold and tepid baths and by the middle of the century the town re- positioned itself as a medical health resort rather than as a leisure spa. In 1818 the Thermal Baths (also known as mineral baths) were constructed on the east side of The Crescent with direct access from the Great Hotel. The Centre Hotel closed c.1830 and its accommodation distributed amongst the other hotels. The Great Hotel was converted into three boarding houses in the 1840s, reopening as The Crescent Hotel by 1878. In the mid to late 19 th century small two storey flat roofed sanitary annexes were built against the rear wall of The Crescent of which five survive. Throughout this period the Natural Baths went through several phases of alteration and improvement notably in the 1850s by Henry Currey.

There were also additions to the rear of The Crescent. The tithe map of 1847 shows development some of which broadly coincide with the plans drawn up by White in 1803, in particular the open spaces and subdivisions to the rear of the lodging houses. A rectangular

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extension is shown to the north of St Anne’s Hotel with a further set of buildings extending NE to George Street leaving with a yard area to its west. This configuration is repeated on the OS map of 1878 although shown in more detail and presumably by a more accurate survey. An engraving of 1853 shows a single storey building on the corner of the plot which coincides with that shown on the OS map. Paxton’s map of 1852 only shows the rectangular block with no other buildings shown however it development proposal so either the missing buildings were to be removed or were too insignificant to show. The current St Anne’s dining room was added in the late 19 th century on the site of the yard mentioned above incorporating parts of the previous buildings

3.7 TWENTIETH CENTURY

The Great Hotel, which had been renamed The Crescent Hotel, continued in use until 1935 when it became the Buxton Clinic, specialising in the treatment of rheumatic conditions. In the 1940s it became an annexe of the Devonshire Royal Hospital, closing in 1966. Following extensive renovation in 1970-73 it was re-opened as a public library and council offices, but closed c.1990. St Anne’s Hotel meanwhile remained in its original use throughout the century closing in the late 1980s by which time it constituted over half of The Crescent.

There were further works on the Natural Baths through the 20 th century until their closure to the public in 1972. The great bath subsequently became the source for the commercial water supply and the reception area became the Tourist Information Centre.

3.8 PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK

Little archaeological work has been carried out in the area. The earliest known works were the discoveries in the 1780s of putative Roman remains of a temple and baths described above. During the 19th century Roman pottery, fragments of dressed stone and traces of paved road were uncovered during building works at various locations around Buxton. There have been a wide range of tracts, essays and books on various aspects of Buxton and its surroundings published by antiquarians and local historians over the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1994 a desk top study was carried out by Trent and Peak Archaeological Trust which discussed the Post-medieval history of the site and the architectural sequence of the Natural Baths in some detail (Walker et al 1994). In 1996 The Crescent building was subject to a detailed historic survey by RCHME (RCHME 1996). As part of an earlier evaluation of The Crescent site in 2003 five evaluation trenches were excavated by UMAU in and around St Anne’s dining room.

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3.9 ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORKS DURING THE ENABLING WORKS

An archaeological watching brief was carried out to monitor groundworks undertaken during the enabling works. This included geotechnical test pits within the basement and ground floor, which investigated the buildings foundations (Figure 3); the excavation of the ‘yellow basement’ to the rear of the Crescent; and service-related trenches to the front and rear of the Crescent (Figure 4). The watching brief identified wall foundations, the basement of St. Anne's extension and drains. A number of archaeological finds were recovered, including an assemblage of fine ceramics that came from a drain below, and possibly predating, St. Anne's basement.

Figure 3 Test pit locations inside building during enabling works

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Figure 4 Plan of archaeological features observed externally during the enabling works

4. CONSTRUCTION AREAS WITH ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL

The review of the known history and the results of the archaeological evaluation enabled four areas to be defined within the development site that could be impacted by the enabling and development works. These four areas are:

• The Yellow Basement; • The Crescent Building; • The Crescent Exterior Forecourt; • The Crescent Exterior Rear to the north-east.

Each of these areas will be defined and the development works identified. The results from the archaeological trial pits and trial trenches, that provide information on the archaeological

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potential of the different areas, are summarised and a statement of archaeological significance produced for each area. The statements of significance was used to develop the Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) for archaeological works, with area-specific aims and methodologies. The WSI is a separate document that outlines the aims of the archaeological works, the methods to be employed and procedures for reporting the results of the archaeological works.

5. THE YELLOW BASEMENT

The ‘yellow basement’ was excavated during enabling works and no further excavation should take place within this area in relation to the construction phase of the sites development. Although no further ground works are expected in the 'yellow basement', the description has been retained for completeness, as it was discussed in the original version of this Statement of Significance initial and because the evaluation results provide background information on the character of deposits to the rear of the Crescent. The ‘yellow basement’ area of the development is located on the north-west side of The Crescent building and incorporates the existing basement of St. Anne’s Dining Room.

During the evaluation, trial pits D, E and I were excavated in this area.

The footprint for this new basement was excavated to a depth of c. 287.00m AOD. New retaining walls were inserted on the north, west and east sides of the new basement area. Enabling works excavations within the yellow basement were undertaken in four phases to enable the construction of the base slab and retaining walls (Figure 4).

Figures 5 and 6 are engineering drawing showing the proposed location and construction of the 'yellow basement'.

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Figure 5 Plan 60029979/210

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Figure 6 Plan 60029979/208

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5.1 TRIAL PIT D

This was located against the western, outer wall of St Anne’s dining room and the purpose was to determine the nature of the footings of the building. A trench 2.30m N-S by 1.20m E- W was opened up and excavated by machine to the base of the footings, a depth of 3.40m BGL (287.29m AOD). Because of safety issues with the building there was limited access into the trench, all recording was done from the surface and the trench backfilled immediately.

Figure 7 Trial pit D location

All the material removed was found to made ground and comprised a series of deposits of sands and silts at the top of the trench leading to layers rubble towards the bottom. The base of the trench was natural shale. The exposed walling comprised neatly dressed stonework to a depth of 1.00m BGL below which the walling was a rougher build of sandstone blocks. At the base the blocks sat on sandstone fragments sitting directly onto the shale. There was no indication of a construction cut. On the northern part of the exposed wall there was a blocked doorway whose lintel was at ground level. On the opposing side of the trench portions of what appeared to be a stone wall were observed at a depth of 1.65m BGL (OD 288.97m). This comprised three stone blocks in two courses extending N-S. Close examination was not possible.

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Figure 8 Trial pit D section

Plate 1 Trial pit D: blocked doorway facing east

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5.2 TRIAL PIT E

This was located against the north eastern outer wall of St Anne’s dining room and the purpose was to determine the footings of the building. A trench 9m N-S by 2.2m E-W was dug by machine alongside the wall of the dining room (201). The eastern side was determined by a N-S aligned stone wall (202). A stone wall (204) was revealed extending diagonally across the southern part of the trench underlying both 201 and 202. This was recorded and left in situ whilst a smaller deeper trench was dug by machine N of this to a depth of 2.4m BGL (287.65m AOD). This was deeper than the footings in order to investigate the geology and flow of water.

Figure 9 Trial pit E location The area was covered by overburden and demolition debris which was removed by machine. At a depth of 1m BGL the cross wall 204 was encountered and the excavation to reveal the footings was concentrated on a trench 3m x 1.75m. This exposed the footings of St Anne’s dining room (201) at a depth of 2.15m BGL (288.00m AOD). The footings were offset from the main build by up to 0.30m, were 1.15m deep and comprised three rough courses of large sandstone blocks set in a medium hard grey mortar. Directly beneath the footing was the natural shale.

Above the offset there was an angled course of linear blocks dipping down from south to north. At one point there is a blocked in doorway with a threshold lower than the line of blocks however the line is continued by a cement render façade covering the blocking. This dipping line of blocks is significant because the opposing wall (202) is capped by similar blocks with same N-S angle of dip showing they were contemporary in use.

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Wall 202 was exposed for 6.5m in length although the width is unknown as only the west face was exposed. It comprises roughly squared, coursed sandstone blocks set in a friable lime mortar. Above the masonry is a layer of slate flags beneath the capping blocks. At the northern end the blocks give way to a layer of laid clamp bricks thought to be a floor level.

Figure 10 Trial pit E plan

The diagonal cross wall 204 was oriented NE to SW. It comprised 2 courses of squared sandstone blocks and occasional bricks set in a pale white lime mortar. On the north side of 204 there was a surface of rough sandstone flags (207) only the part closest to 204 were recorded. To the south of 204 was a series of make-up deposits 206 which were cut through by 201 and 202 but were built up against 204.

Wall 201 and 202 were clearly contemporary in use at some point. The presence of wall plaster on 201 shows it was an internal face. Its position is shown on the early maps as dating to c.1800 so it is the interior of the building predating the dining room.

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Wall 202 is on the same alignment as a series of walls identified in the UMAU trench to the east and is likely to be one of a series of internal walls. The UMAU work also revealed a wall aligned NW to SE (UMAU context 125) i.e. at right angles to 204. It is possible that this was part of the same structure.

Figure 11 Trial pit E section

Plate 2 Trial pit E: St Anne’s dining room and footings facing NW

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Plate 3 Trial pit E: walls 202 and 204 facing south

5.3 TRIAL PIT I

This was located NE of St Anne’s dining room. The purpose was to expose the outer structure of the culvert carrying the River Wye. An irregular shaped trench a maximum of 6m by 2.5 was opened by machine and hand dug to a depth of 1m BGL (288.82m AOD). In addition to revealing the culvert a sequence of stone walls was also exposed.

The top of the culvert (610) was found at a depth of 1.2m BGL (289.03m AOD). Only the south edge for a length of 0.90m and 0.5om and 2.10m of the top was exposed. It was built of angular blocks of sandstone with a flat face on the top. The top was sealed by a compact mid grey brown gravel mixed with sandy gravel and fragments of rubble and mortar (604) which may have been an outer sealing layer over the culvert. This material and the culvert were overlain by a N-S wall which was built respecting the presence of 210. To the south it was three courses deep (608) but where it crossed over the culvert it was one course deep (602). It was loosely built of roughly squared blocks and sat directly on the natural shale at 288.77m AOD. At the north end 602 was overlain by an E-W wall (601) built of regular stone blocks. Only the S face of this was exposed. At its southern end wall 608 butted against an

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E-W wall (611). The latter was built of regular squared blocks stepped in three courses and 611 butted over the lower two steps. Beneath 611 and 608 was an obliquely oriented wall (613). Only the top of this was exposed and it comprised irregular sandstone blocks set in a hard pinkish mortar. The material to the south of the culvert and east of wall 608 (617) was removed to the top of the natural shale. It was a mixture of silty clay with frequent pieces of rubble mortar and re-deposited shale typical of levelling/backfill.

Figure 12 Trial pit I location

Wall 608/602 post dates the culvert and the relationship with it suggests it was a near contemporary build. At the south end 608 is contemporary with the E-W wall 611 and is probably an internal wall with 611 being a more substantial external wall. They are remains of the buildings shown on the tithe map and OS map of 1878 (figure 45) which depicts a grid of structures corresponding to these features. The two other E-W walls (601) and (605) cut through the N-S wall and represent a later phase of development.

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Figure 13 Trial pit I plan

Plate 4 Trial pit I: south end of trench facing south

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5.4 ENABLING WORKS WATCHING BRIEF

Figure 14 Plan of archaeological features in the yellow basement excavations

Two disused pre-Crescent soughs, originally draining into the River Wye culvert, were thought to run through this new basement area. Removal of the St. Anne’s basement slab exposed a linear stone structure, orientated approximately north-south (Figure 14). The structure initially appeared be a low stone wall 1250, although further investigation established the presence of a second parallel stone wall 0.4m to the west. Both walls shared a common sandstone slab foundation and, together, the three structures formed a channel. The channel was aligned approximately north south and the remains within the yellow basement. The channel was removed within the basement footprint during excavation, although it may extend further north beyond the bounds of the yellow basement. The

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structure was interpreted as a drain, rather than a sough, due to the presence of a consistent silty clay fill 1246. This is more indicative of a drainage feature that carried waste fluid and other organic refuse, as opposed to a sough which would have drained away excess spring water from the area. The vertical truncation of this structure, and the structures with which it was associated, suggest that it may pre-date the construction of St. Anne’s basement and may, in fact, be contemporary with the construction of the Crescent Building (finds analysis pending). A substantial quantity of high status porcelains and other finewares was recovered from the fill of the drain.

5.5 THE YELLOW BASEMENT STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

This area of land has been subject to many developments and alterations since the construction of The Crescent building in the late 18 th century. Initial works, starting in 1780, involved clearing a grove of trees, diverting the Manchester Turnpike, digging of The Crescent foundations and culverting and diverting the River Wye to a course slightly to the north, along with a series of soughs to drain the site and provide outflows from The Crescent and manage run off from the springs. These works would have had a considerable disruptive effect on any earlier surviving archaeological deposits and the evidence from the evaluation is that these earlier deposits were not seen in any of the trenches.

Two pre-Crescent stone lined soughs are thought to run through the yellow basement area, these were truncated by Carr when The Crescent was built and are now thought to be disused. As an earlier form of drainage from the springs it is important that their construction and course is recorded before their destruction.

The wall footings exposed in Trial pits E and I are mostly the remains of buildings shown on maps from the early 19 th century onwards. A plan drawn up by White in 1804 shows a neat arrangement of buildings around the perimeter of the plot to the rear of The Crescent. It is not known whether this was ever fully executed but by 1847 the tithe map depicts a broadly similar arrangement. An illustration of 1853 shows the buildings at the north end to be single story and it is known that those closest to The Crescent had basements (RCHME). The OS map of 1879 (surveyed 1878), shows a range of buildings extending northwards, with open yard areas to the west and east (Figure 12 & 13). Most of these buildings survived until the 1990s when they were demolished and the basement voids filled in.

One major alteration from the early 19 th century layout was the erection of St Anne’s dining room in the 1880s, built on the footings of existing buildings and walls, which with its deep basement has probably removed any earlier archaeological remains. In Trial pit E the lower part of the dining room wall shows that it was originally an internal face with four blocked doorways attesting to alterations over the years.

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Figure 15 1852 Joseph Paxton plan. Pink coloured buildings are proposed.

Figure 16 1878 OS map.

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It is thought that evidence for any earlier archaeological remains has been removed by the considerable disruption caused by the construction of The Crescent building and subsequent additional buildings to the rear, and this is supported by the results of the archaeological evaluation. Recording of these 18 th / 19 th century building remains may be necessary however, in order to understand their sequence of construction.

6. THE CRESCENT BUILDING

Intrusive below ground excavation works within The Crescent building are limited to two lift pit pairs within the basement. All other works within The Crescent building will be above ground, in an effort to keep the natural drainage system undisturbed. Trial pits G and J were excavated within the areas of the proposed lift pits.

Figure 17 Ground floor Plan showing lift pit pair locations inside the building

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During the enabling works, a watching brief was undertaken on six trial pits excavated to investigate the foundations of the Crescent Building (Figure 3). These did not produce any information relating to the proposed lift shafts and are not discussed in this document.

6.1 TRIAL PIT G

This was located against the rear wall in the central part of The Crescent. The purpose was to investigate the footings of the outer wall and also to locate a sough identified from geophysical survey. A trench was opened up across the length of the outer wall but once the sough was located investigations concentrated in that area and a pit 1.5m square was excavated in the western corner of the basement to a depth of 1m BGL (287.10m OD). This revealed the base of the footings and the sough passing through the outer wall with a second sough at right angles extending against the inner face of the wall.

Figure 18 Trial pit G location

The surface was covered in thick concrete which sealed two layers of stone flags. Beneath these was a decayed brick surface (401) lying directly on top of the natural shale. Set within 401 were the two soughs (402, 403). The outer wall (408) had an offset 0.20m wide 0.20m BGL. Below this the wall comprised rough un-coursed limestone masonry set in a hard mortar which obscured much of the stonework. The wall was set in a construction cut 0.45m wide and 0.60m deep. The sough 402 was incorporated into the build of the wall at a formation level of 286.5m OD. Both soughs were built of stone and brick, one with a stone capping and were 0.40m wide and 0.45m deep and each was partly filled by silt.

The internal wall 407 comprised roughly squared sandstone blocks in regular courses sitting directly on the shale.

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Figure 19 Trial pit G plan

Figure 20 Trial pit G section

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Plate 5 Trial pit G: wall footings and sough 402 facing north

6.2 TRIAL PIT J

Trial pit J was located in the angle of a basement corridor below the east wing. The purpose was to investigate the source of flooding from beyond the building footprint and to expose the nature of the footings. A trench 2.30m E-W by 1.5m N-S was opened up and excavated to a maximum depth of 0.80m BGL (287.33m OD). The fill of the trench was found to be mostly alluvium mixed with mortar with a large deposit of packing boulders buttressing the footings. The base of the trench was hard limestone possibly natural rockhead.

The floor was made up of sandstone flags measuring 0.5m square and 0.04m thick. Beneath the flagstones an offset comprising flat stones set in a hard mortar up to 0.5m wide was revealed. This offset continued down for 0.70m in alternating layers of limestone and thick bands of mortar each slightly wider than that above. Adjacent to the wall was a deposit of medium stones increasing in size towards the base where more substantial stones/boulders were bonded into the lower parts of the footings (706). These were sealed by a layer containing pieces of thick wall plaster (705). The trench was subject to rapid flooding of warm water from a source in the footings and excavation was only possible with continual pumping. Below and between some of the large stones were voids and the soil within these was a thick viscous material purple in colour which was the result of oxidation of manganese in the water. This is significant because the temperature of the water and the presence of manganese shows it is spring water. It is not clear whether stones at the bottom of the trench

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represented natural bedrock. The source of the water was clearly exposed in the section as steady stream of water emerged through the mortar.

Figure 21 Trial pit J location

This trench showed that the footings were substantially different from V only some 15m away. The walls were rough and crude in comparison and the presence of large mass of boulders was an attempt to bulwark the footings in a very wet area. The area was close to a spring source and was continually wet so to overcome this problem a number of large stones were introduced to try to create a solid base to support the walls. The voids between the rocks shows that they were thrown in and not carefully laid before the area was back filled. The hard mortar was also an attempt to staunch the flow of water. The plaster found in deposit (706) is thick and unlike any other wall plaster within The Crescent. It may be that this is and the large stones are the remains of an earlier structure, possibly the Great Bath though to be in this vicinity, disturbed during construction work and incorporated into the footings.

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Figure 22 Trial pit J plan

Figure 23 Trial pit J, NW facing section

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6.3 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

In the area of lift pit M, the nearest evaluation trench was trial pit G. This was placed to investigate a stone lined sough which had previously been located by geophysical survey. The sough was found at a height of 287.50m AOD and was built above the natural shale bedrock which occurred at 287.10m AOD, about 1.0m below the basement floor.

It is likely that any remains in the area of lift shaft M would consist of pre-Crescent deposits surviving beneath the floor surface, perhaps heavily disturbed by contemporary building construction and drainage activities. The natural shale bedrock would probably be encountered within the lower half of this lift pit.

In the area of lift pit K, the nearest evaluation trench was trial pit J. This was placed to investigate the source for the flooding which occurs in this part of the building. The trench was found to contain a mixture of alluvium and mortar packed stone boulders, presumably to support the wall foundations, with natural shale bedrock found at c. 0.80m beneath the basement floor at 287.10m AOD. Water was found to emanate from beneath the wall foundation, which may originate back to leakage from the Great Bath Spring within the southern forecourt of the building.

It is likely that any remains in the area of lift shaft M would consist of pre-Crescent deposits surviving beneath the floor surface, perhaps heavily disturbed by contemporary building construction activities, although the 0.3m depth of this lift pit would barely penetrate through the floor foundations.

7. THE CRESCENT EXTERIOR FORECOURT

The exterior forecourt area to the south of The Crescent building will be largely untouched apart from alterations to the existing drainage pipes and cisterns, and the installation of a new 300mm cast pipe running from the Natural Baths in the west to an existing 19 th century upper cistern in the eastern forecourt. Minor alterations to the central fountain and flower beds are also proposed but with minimal intrusive effect.

Evaluation trenches Q and W/X were excavated in the forecourt area and, during the enabling works, a pipe trench and Test Pit/Trenches 10, 11 and 12 were also excavated.

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Figure 24 Plan 60029979/401

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Figure 25 Plan 60029979/411

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Figure 26 Plan 60029979/412

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7.1 TRIAL PIT Q

This was located against the front of The Crescent at the base of the piazza between the two central flights of steps. The purpose was to expose the footings of the wall. A trench 3m by 1.5m was opened and the first 1.5m were dug by machine with hand cleaning. The remainder was dug by machine exposing the footings at a depth of 2.74m BGL (287.17m AOD).

Figure 27 Trial pit Q location

The surface comprised stone blocks measuring 0.6m by 0.3m by 0.25 deep. There were 6 lines of blocks forming a continuous ring adjacent to the front of the building as wide as the steps. Each stone was shaped with a slight curve to follow the radius of The Crescent. The blocks sat on two bedding layers of sand 0.25m deep. Beneath this was a surface of stone flags made of a pinkish granite 0.05m thick. They covered an area of the same width as the blocks above.

Beneath this material as far as the base of the footings was entirely made ground 2.30m thick. The footings themselves comprised 4 courses of dressed 1m deep then a slight offset below which the remainder of the footings was more roughly coursed stone blocks. The footings sat directly on the natural shale.

The made ground (1602) comprised a mix of rubble, gravel, sand and silty clay. Towards the bottom the fill contained substantial amounts of re-deposited shale and the dark grey alluvium. This lower deposit included a block of dressed stone presumably an off cut.

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Plate 6 Trial pit Q: flagstone pavement facing NE

Plate 7 Trial pit Q: exposed footings showing made ground facing north

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7.2 EVALUATION TRENCH W/X

This was located in the forecourt immediately south of The Crescent and was intended to test the archaeological potential of the area. A reverse L trench 9m N-S by 6m E-W was opened up and excavated by machine to the natural shale. All the material encountered was made ground over alluvium and shale with the only archaeological feature being a drainage sough.

The made ground was a sequence of deposits comprising a mix of rubble, sands and gravels a layer of crushed brick and further rubble deposits before the alluvium (1601) was encountered at between 1.10m and 1.15m BGL. The depth of alluvium varied along the trench. At the western end it was 0.90m thick shallowing to approximately 0.50m by the eastern end. At the northern end of the N-S arm of the trench the alluvium dropped away sharply to accommodate the construction terrace for The Crescent. The sough extended NW across the SE angle of the trench (1602). It comprised a stone lined channel 0.50m wide by 0.23m deep covered by stone flags. The gradient was away from the building. The sough was to drain rainwater from the roof of The Crescent via a down pipe encased within one of the pillars.

Trench W/X to the front of The Crescent revealed the alluvium across the trench 0.75m below ground level with no evidence of archaeological remains being observed within or beneath that material. The material sealing the alluvium was all made ground with no evidence of soil horizons or intervening deposits. Given the amount of landscaping that had taken place in the area of the forecourt all deposits above the alluvium, and an unknown thickness of that material itself had been removed. The made ground comprised layers of sandstone rubble, building debris and a deposit of crushed and compacted brick. This last contained complete but wholly degraded bricks which seem to have been laid as a deposit and then disintegrated through pressure and water but still maintained their position. It is thought that this represents the construction levels when The Crescent was being built. The sough 1602 which overlies this deposit was part of the later building phases of The Crescent when the upper stories were complete.

In trial pit Q to the north of the trench the sandstone pavement revealed 0.30m below ground level follows the surface layer of stone blocks and respects the curve of The Crescent façade. Its original function is currently unclear. It is not thought to be related an earlier forecourt level as all the contemporary illustrations show the same number of steps as relate to the existing ground level. Also the sections in trench W/X showed that the tarmac surface sat on a base of hard core and was not built up on top of the former gravel surface,. It is unlikely that there was a wholesale unrecorded raising of the level right across the forecourt, particularly as this would impact on other structures such as St Anne’s Well. The pavement

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802 is also only 0.20m above the sough 1602 meaning that if the pavement were an original forecourt surface the sough would only have been some 0.20m below ground level. The forecourt was levelled and gravelled in 1786 (Walker 1994, 32).

Plate 8 Trench W: sough, facing south

Plate 9 Trench W: section showing made ground over alluvium and shale, facing south

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7.3 TEST PIT 10 During the enabling works, a test pit was excavated in the road outside the Natural Spring Baths. This was excavated to investigate the source of a pipe coming from St. Anne’s Well. While it was only possible to make archaeological observations of this test pit following its excavation, the nature of the deposits suggest that this did not result in the loss of any archaeologically-significant data.

The road was covered with Tarmac and, below this, was a wall, pipes and extensive made ground deposits. The wall ran roughly north-south and had white tiles on its interior western surface ( Plate 10 ). A pipe ran roughly north-south on the western interior side of the wall, while a second pipe cut through the wall, running north-east to south-west. The wall pipes and fill deposits around them all appear to have been modern, possibly 20 th -century in date.

Plate 10 Trench 10, view facing east

7.4 FORECOURT PIPE WORKS

During the enabling works, a pipe trench was excavated between an existing cistern and the south wing of the Crescent building. The purpose of the works was to install a bypass overflow system to drain excess water from the forecourt cistern, through the Crescent Building basement and into the Natural Spring Baths. This scheme of works entailed the excavation of a pipe trench form the cistern to the Crescent Building, and two hand- excavated pits, Trenches 11 and 12, discussed below.

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The pipe trench measured 20m in length and was excavated to a depth of between 1.2m and 1.4m below ground level (289.585m AOD). The stratigraphy exposed by excavation comprised a tarmac surface overlying a clean layer of limestone hardcore which, in turn, overlay a mixed rubble deposit and sandstone rubble. The sandstone rubble overlay a solid clay natural. This stratigraphic sequence was consistent along the length of the trench. The only interruptions to this sequence were due to modern services and Georgian or post- Georgian drains.

Limited evidence of the pre-construction environment was exposed in the form of in situ tree stumps embedded into clay deposit 1306. The stumps had been truncated to a level equivalent to that of the surrounding clay deposit. This was interpreted as evidence of ground clearance and levelling immediately in advance of the construction of the Crescent Building. A sample of one of the tree stumps was taken for dendrochronological analysis. This showed the tree to be a fast-growing species which was no older than 30 years at the time of felling and could not provide a dendrochronological date.

7.5 TRENCHES 11 AND 12

The course of the pipe through the basement of the Crescent Building required wider trenches to be excavated at the pipe ingress and egress points for placement of machinery to allow the pipe to be jacked into place. The proximity of these trenches to the building necessitated excavation by hand. The trenches were located within the colonnade of the Crescent Building.

Trench 11, located on the east side of the Crescent Building, exposed unremarkable deposits of coarse rubble silt clay deposits beneath the flagstones of the colonnade pavement. These deposits included backfill material deposited immediately after the construction of the Crescent Building and associated colonnade foundation.

Trench 12 was located on the opposite side of the Crescent Building, within the enclosed alleyway between the Crescent Building and the Natural Spring Baths. Hand-excavation of this test pit exposed a small light-well, which had been partially backfilled and covered with paving slabs. The light-well was interpreted as contemporary to the original construction date of the Crescent Building and was probably rendered ineffective by the construction of the adjacent Natural Spring Baths. The only other structure within Trench 12 was a linear soak- away structure, which ran in line with the alleyway and, ultimately, into the Natural Spring Baths basement. The soak-away was constructed from red brick and stone, with a sandstone slab capping. The structure had no base slab, leading to its interpretation as a soak-away for excess groundwater rather than a drain or sough.

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7.6 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

It is clear from the deposits seen in Trial Pits Q and W, and in the enabling works’ pipe trench and test pits, that the area of The Crescent forecourt consists of a sequence of modern made ground deposits, comprising a mix of rubble, sands and gravels a layer of crushed brick with further rubble deposits. These seal a layer of probably alluvial clay, which was encountered at between 0.75m and 1.15m BGL. This clay, which itself may have been truncated by modern landscaping, covered the natural shale bedrock.

The presence of a stone-lined sough and drains attests to the arrangements for the drainage of surface water from the newly-constructed Crescent Building.

It is likely that works in the forecourt area will encounter a similar sequence to that described above, with the possible exception of encountering further soughs or drainage channels handling the drainage from St. Anne’s well and possibly pre-dating The Crescent arrangements. The modern made ground deposits are of little interest, except where they contain construction materials thought to originate from The Crescent buildings.

The service trenches in front of the crescent are shown in Figures 28 and 29 (engineering drawings 60029979/408 and 60029979/409)

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Figure 28 Plan 60029979/408 proposed services in front of the crescent

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Figure 29 Plan 60029979/409 proposed services in front of the crescent

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8. THE CRESCENT EXTERIOR REAR

Figure 30 Plan 60029979/402 showing location of water management chambers

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Following the completion of the enabling works, the major changes to the development relate to constructions that will take place to the rear of the Crescent, mainly to the north-east. These changes relate to water-management and a delivery and laundry extension. The water management features include three circular plan chambers, a main pump chamber, a stilling chamber and a temporary foul storage tank (Figure 25). Associated with these chambers will be connecting service pipes in service trenches. The delivery and laundry extension, with an associated bin store, will be located at the rear of the Crescent, at its northern end. The extension will partly overlie the large water pump chamber. The foundations for the extension will therefore be, at least in part, within the area disturbed by the excavation of the water pump chamber. Locating the laundry extension over the pump chamber will minimise the impact on previously undisturbed ground.

Two trial trenches, Y and Z , that were joined into one L-shaped trench, were located in this area.

Figure 31 Plan showing location of the laundry extension

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8.1 EVALUATION TRENCH Y/Z

This was located in the courtyard to the rear of the east pavilion of The Crescent and was intended to test the archaeological potential of the area. An irregular L-shaped trench, measuring 8m north-south by 8m east-west, was opened up and excvavated by machine. The entire area was found to be a rubble-filled modern basement, to a depth of 2.10m BGL (287.9m OD).

The basement was filled with modern building rubble, namely broken bricks and concrete rubble. At the base of the basement was a concrete floor slab, beneath which was approximately 0.25m of alluvium over the natutal shale at 287.65 OD. In the southern face, a stone wall was visible which was part of The Crescent basements known to have existed in this area.

8.3 STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The evidence from Trench Y/Z suggests that the archaeological potential within this area has been compromised by the presence of backfilled modern basements. The full extent of these basements is not known and a ground radar survey is planned to identify the extent and positions of the backfilled basements in this area. The results of this survey will enable this area’s archaeological potential to be better assessed. Based on current knowledge, however, it appears that the modern basements are extensive and, where they have been constructed, have removed all deposits down to alluvium.

The alluvium could contain material from much earlier periods but, based on the results of all the works undertaken on the site to date, this appears unlikely. The potential for such remains is therefore considered to be low, although any such deposits and finds would be archaeologically significant.

There is the potential for archaeological remains and deposits pre-dating or related to the construction of the Crescent. These could survive outside the basements but it is as yet uncertain whether the water management chambers will impact on such deposits. The most likely feature to do so appears to be the temporary foul storage tank. Any archaeological remains pre-dating the Crescent or related to its construction would be of archaeologically significance.

Beyond the footprint of the water chambers and the former basements there is the potential to disturb archaeological remains in service trenches and drainage ditches that will be located to the rear of the building the location of these features is shown in Figures 32 (60029979/410) , 25 (60029979/411) and 26 (60029997/412).

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Figure 32 Plan 60029979/410 proposed services to the rear of the crescent

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9 SOURCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

AECOM 2008, Phase 2 Investigation – Factual Report Brassington pers. comm., 2009 Gregory R (2003), An Archaeological Evaluation at The Crescent Natural Baths and Pump Room, Buxton, UMAU RCHME (1996) The Crescent, Buxton, Derbyshire , RCHME. Searle and Ballard (2005), Geophysical assessment of subsurface arrangement, Report 2314-Rev A Shepherd B 2005, Buxton Roman Baths Excavation, unpublished manuscript Thornes R and Leach J, 1991. ‘Buxton Old Hall: The Earl of Shrewsbury’s Tower House Rediscovered’, The Archaeological Journal 148, 256-268 Walker et al, (1994), Buxton: The Natural Baths, Trent and Peak Archaeological Trust Wragg B (2000), The Life and Works of John Carr of York , York, Oblong.

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