At Draft Local Plan Initial Desktop Archaeological Assessment

Lancaster District Development Opportunity Sites (at draft Local Plan stage) Initial Desktop Archaeological Assessment

11 January 2018

Lancashire Archaeological Advisory Service

1 Carr House Lane, Lancaster LA1 1SW Lancashire [email protected]

Introduction and Methodology

Lancaster City Council, as part of the evidence base to support the emerging Local Plan, require an archaeological assessment of a number of sites across the Lancaster District, proposed to be allocated for development.

Lancashire Archaeological Advisory Service has been commissioned to extract a relevant data set from the Lancashire Historic Environment Record, held by Lancashire County Council, and to provide an initial archaeological appraisal of each of the proposed development sites in order to identify any nearby archaeological heritage assets and to assess the potential scale of impact. The boundaries of the sites, names, etc. were provided by Lancaster City Council as ArcGIS shapefiles.

For each site the following information has been requested:

• Identification of known heritage assets (designated and non-designated) within the site;

• Outline assessment of the site's potential to retain unknown buried deposits;

• Identification of designated or non-designated heritage assets nominally within 500m or such other distance as may be appropriate, taking into account the significance of the asset and the circumstances of the site;

• Overall conclusion to establish whether the site is considered to be of no archaeological significance/ of some archaeological significance/ of high archaeological significance and whether any heritage assets are considered to be of negligible/local/regional/national importance;

• Recommendations for future survey, where it is deemed appropriate.

The assessment has been undertaken utilising existing datasets, archaeological reports, publications, etc. held at the Lancashire Historic Environment Record. No further documentary research has been undertaken nor have further sources of information been sought out. Only where specifically stated has a targetted site visit also been conducted.

Limits of this assessment

This assessment work has been undertaken using professional judgement by Peter Iles, BSc MSc MCIfA. No formal system of scoring has been used to assign potential or significance to the proposed development sites, although experience of such procedures and of providing information and advice on archaeological planning matters in Lancashire has contributed to the conclusions drawn. Statements that follow should therefore be taken as an informed professional opinion, rather than fact.

LPSA: 742 Former TDG Site, Warton Road, Carnforth

Located on the north edge of Carnforth, this site was formerly occupied by the Carnforth Ironworks, opened in 1864. Over its life it had a total of six blast furnaces and two Bessemer converters, the latter for steel production. Along with the railway depot the ironworks was one of the main drivers for the development of the present town. Steel production was not a commercial success at Carnforth and that part of the works was dismantled and the equipment sold off in 1895. The remainder of the site continued in operation until it was closed and mainly demolished in 1929, following the exhaustion of the company's iron mines in Furness. Little remains of the works now, the major survival being the offices along Warton Road and, to their north, the massive wall of the former steel plant. As well as these historic remains, the site currently contains a small number of corrugated Nissen-type huts along its south east boundary, each flanked by solid walls. It has been suggested (but not confirmed) that these are remnants of a longer row dating from WWII, with the walls intended as blast protection to the huts. The remainder of the site is covered with modern industrial buildings, access roads and hardstanding. It is very unlikely that any buried remains pre- dating the iron works will survive here.

The western portion of the site, including the former ironworks offices, is included in the Carnforth Conservation Area and development proposals will need to take this into account. The closest Listed building to the development site is the Gd II former signal box on the north end of Carnforth Station platform (c. 20m to the northwest, outside the site boundary) and the Carnforth Junction Signal Box, a little to the west (40m from the development boundary). Further west across the railway lies the extensive former 'Steamtown' railway complex, containing a series of Gd II and II* railway structures. None of these designated heritage assets are likely to be significantly affected by works within the development site, particularly if the extant historic walls forming the development site boundary on this side are retained.

The surviving elements of the iron works are considered to be of high local significance, and the Nissen-type huts of lower local significance. The remainder of the site is of negligible architectural and archaeological significance.

The surviving ironworks remains should be preserved in situ if at all possible. Any planning application which could affect them should be accompanied by a heritage statement including the results of a desk-based assessment and walk-over survey. No intrusive archaeological fieldwork is likely to be required here however. The surviving Nissen-type huts and associated blast walls would merit photographic recording before demolition, but this work can be undertaken as a condition of any planning consent, as would any full recording of the ironworks structures.

LPSA: 722 Galgate Mill

This development site includes the later brick-built blocks of Galgate Silk Mill, opened in 1852 as an extension to the late 18th century stone-built mill on the east side of Chapel Lane. The complex appears to have been steam-powered from the start and incorporated an earlier beam engine house and chimney. This had been erected in 1832 and had a tunnel under the road to provide drive to the earlier mill. A mill pond, probably for supplying and cooling the steam engine rather than providing water-power, lay north of the mill buildings. The mill stopped textile production in 1970 and has since been used for a variety of light industrial, warehouse and retail uses, although proposals have been submitted in recent years for its conversion to residential. The historic mill is Listed Gd II, and

3 it is now accompanied by some later buildings and hardstanding. It is possible that some buried remains, such as the infilled mill pond, will survive under these hardstanding areas.

As noted above the mill is Listed Gd II, as is the older stone-built mill on the east side of Chapel Lane. Ellel House, also Listed Gd II, stands on the site's northern boundary, beyond which is the Gd II Church of St John. To the southwest (66m) the closest Listed Building is 1-3 Chapel Cottages, also Gd II.

By definition the mill and its setting are of national significance, although the later industrial buildings on the site are of negligible significance. Any early buried remains, such as the 1832 power transmission tunnel and fittings, would be of at least county significance, but simple remains of the millpond would probably be of local significance.

Any proposal for new development or physical alterations to the mill should be accompanied by a formal heritage assessment, undertaken by an appropriately-experienced industrial archaeology specialist. Full building recording and/or archaeological investigations (depending on the proposals) may however be undertaken following the grant of planning permission.

LPSA: 285 and 358 Bulk Road and Lawsons Quay, Lancaster (eastern side of site has PP granted)

This is a brownfield development site with a lengthy planning history. The eastern part of the site was formerly occupied by a shoe factory and scrap yard, but has been cleared of buildings and subject to some preparation works. It is possible, but not certain, that the north-eastern frontage of this part was occupied in the medieval period by the Hospital of St Leonard, but the hospital may also have lain on the other side of the road in the area of the present raised terrace. The western portion of the development site is mainly occupied by historic and modern industrial and retail buildings, but demolition has also occurred here recently. This portion is also traversed by Lancaster's medieval mill stream, culverted over in the later 19th century and in use as a sewer. Running over the line of the mill stream is a series of linear buildings, originally constructed as part of a rope walk, extant in 1880, or as infill over its site. On the western frontage is a Listed former marble works of c.1870, built in a style reminiscent of the great cotton-traders' warehouses of Manchester and now operating as a restaurant. To its south is a former block of back-to-back and yard dwellings, known as Dickinsons Buildings in 1849, of which significant traces still stand. To the north of the marble works was the site of the pre-1849 Green Ayre Foundry, much of which survived in other uses until its recent demolition. Most of the remainder of the development site was open timber yards in 1893. The very north end of the development site however overlaps the Gd II* Listed Lancaster 'Bridge Houses', associated with the adjacent Scheduled and Gd II* Skerton Bridge. These buildings have been converted and extended as part of a modern retail park. There is a limited potential for remains of the medieval St Leonards Hospital or its associated cemetery to exist on the eastern part of the development site, but any survival will depend on the level of modern earthmoving. There may also be some buried remains associated with the mill race and of the former back-to-back houses on the western part of the site.

As noted above the western section of the site includes both Gd II and Gd II* buildings, and the Scheduled Skerton Bridge is only 40m from the northwest corner of the site. The damaged remains of the former Crown Inn off St Leonardsgate, also Listed Gd II, lie less than 30m to the south of the eastern site section. The fabric of the designated heritage assets within the site will need consideration during the design of any new development, as will the settings of the assets in the surrounding area.

The western portion of the development site contains building of national significance but also areas and buildings of local and negligible significance. Much of the eastern portion has been scraped back to natural subsoils and hence will be of no significance, but any identified remains of the medieval hospital or its cemetery will be of local to county significance, depending upon their type and extent.

Any development proposals for this site will need to be accompanied by a formal heritage assessment. The eastern portion of the site already has an extant planning permission and a scheme of archaeological works has been required by condition. The western area will require an assessment of the significance of the extant standing and ruined buildings, as well as its potential for buried heritage. A phased scheme of further investigation and mitigation works is likely to be required following any grant of planning permission and may include further documentary research, trial and/or full excavation and building recording.

LPSA: 809 Forrest Hills, Lancaster

This is a fairly extensive area of farmland, a proportion of which has (relatively recently) been converted to a golf course, with conference facilities, etc. These built structures are located not far from the 18th century Banton farmhouse. A prehistoric axe is reported to have been found in the southeast quadrant of the development area and a concentration of medieval pottery sherds was seen near Dam Head. It is possible that the site has been occupied since at least the Bronze Age and the development site is less than 1km from Barker House Farm, where a Romano-British settlement site was excavated in 2003. A site beside the farm entrance near Green Lane is identified as a probable post-medieval settlement and the pottery sherds noted above may point to medieval occupation or perhaps a pottery manufacture site – it may be significant that the OS 1:2,500 mapping of 1891 (sheet Lancashire 34.08) shows an 'old clay pit' near Banton House, although this is some distance from Dam Head. The site is traversed by the North West Ethylene Pipeline and no remains were found here during archaeological investigation associated with its construction. In contrast archaeological works associated with the erection of the nearby Hazelrigg Field Station wind turbine revealed a series of curving ditches which may relate to an early (late prehistoric or Romano- British) settlement. The potential for as-yet unknown buried archaeological remains is, therefore, considered to be low overall, but within that there are sites and areas of much more potential and probable significance.

The closest designated heritage asset is the Listed Gd II Dam Head, Quernmore, c.75m from the development site's eastern boundary. The setting of this site will need to be considered as part of any development here. There are no other designated assets within 500m of the site although a number of other Gd II sites lie further to the north and east and may include the development site in their wider background.

Overall the development site is considered to be of only local archaeological significance, but pockets of higher significance appear to fall within it.

Development proposals should be accompanied by a heritage statement which includes both a desk- based and walk-over archaeological assessment. In the vicinity of known sites or those seen as having a particular probability of preserving buried remains a scheme of field investigation including trial trenching may also be appropriate but otherwise field investigation and mitigation could follow granting of planning permission.

LPSA: 808 Forrest Hills, Lancaster

This site lies immediately to the east of the M6 Motorway and west of Hazelrigg Lane, approximately opposite Lancaster University. Most of the site is farmland but it includes two blocks of woodland and the University's Hazelrigg Field Station, with its meteorological instruments and biological test plots, as well as a wind turbine. A desk-based assessment, followed by a limited scheme of archaeological trenching was undertaken in association with the turbine construction, and a series of curving ditches which may have been (but were not proven to be) part of a later prehistoric or Romano-British settlement site. Towards the south end of the development site a potential early enclosure and what may have been a kiln site were noted within the development area by a geophysical survey, but these features have not been examined by excavation. This end of the site is also only some 740m to the east of the excavated Romano-British settlement at Barker House Farm. There is therefore a high probability that significant buried archaeological deposits will be present.

The closest designated heritage assets to this site are the Listed Gd II Bailrigg Farm and Bailrigg House (230m and 380m west respectively), but these sites lie on the opposite side of the M6 and as such would not be significantly impacted by normal development, even if it were to be visible from them. No other Listed building is within 500m of the site and the development site is unlikely to be considered even the wider setting for more distant Listed buildings.

The development site is considered to be of local to county significance, with the higher levels limited to any early settlement sites.

The southern part of the site benefits from an existing desk-based assessment and a geophysical survey and an area around the wind turbine has been excavated. Whilst the desk-based work would benefit from updating, a heritage statement could be based on the results of that work. The northern section (north of the field station) was not subject to any field investigation and some investigation of this part would be merited as part of any development proposal. Mitigation works such as topographical survey and area excavation are, however, only likely to be necessary following any grant of planning permission.

LPSA: 809 Forrest Hills Development Area, Lancaster (smaller areas within LPSA: 809)

This development site forms the core of site LA37 (above), containing the 18th century Banton House farmstead as well as a series of more modern buildings associated with the golf course and conference centre. The immediate area of the River Conder, north and west of the buildings, has been altered to form a fishing lake and ponds. Archaeological potential here is probably limited, although there may be evidence of earlier farm buildings still extant, dependent upon the levels of later disturbance.

Dam Head, Listed Gd II, lies 375m northeast of the development site probably too far to be impacted by normal development. No other Listed Buildings lie within 1km, although a few sites to the east may include the development site in their wider background.

Overall the development site is considered to be of only local archaeological significance.

Development proposals should be accompanied by a heritage statement which includes both a desk- based and walk-over archaeological assessment. Any archaeological excavation or mitigation could however follow granting of planning permission.

LPSA: 736 and 335 Lune Industrial Estate, New Quay Road, Lancaster

This development site lies within what was formerly the Lancaster Marsh grazing lands, utilised since the medieval period. That grazing use and the site's reclamation from the river estuary could have resulted in the creation of banks and ditches, etc. but early buildings are unlikely to have been erected here. Much of the development site was occupied as part of the later extensions to the Lune Mills linoleum manufacturing site, which had been started in 1871 to the northeast. This complex expanded across the development site in the later 19th and early 20th centuries and had further significant construction in 1949 (the power station) and the 1950s – by which time most of the present development site was occupied. The Lune Mills complex was once the largest manufactory of linoleum products in Europe, and deserves to be better understood and more widely recognised. In particular its importance to the development of Lancaster should be acknowledged and celebrated. Phases of demolition and new construction (without record) have removed many of the linoleum works buildings, some of which have been replaced by more modern sheds and buildings, although a significant number of the original structures still remain. The development site is crossed by the line of the 1883 Lancaster to Glasson branch railway, whose route is now partly occupied by Europa Way. The Historic Environment Record includes entries for a pre-1891 brickworks and clay pit just behind New Quay Road and an oval racecourse is shown here on William Yates' map of 1786, but no buried remains of these or other earlier sites are likely to survive.

The development area lies c. 190m northwest of the Cannon Hill Conservation Area, which contains the Gd II Listed 1-7 Laurel Bank, The Knoll and Westbourne House, off Westbourne Road. Impacts on the setting of these designated assets from development on this site are likely to be low to nil.

The surviving buildings of the linoleum works within the development area could be considered individually to be of only negligible to local significance but, as noted above, the complex as a whole is more important and hence should be treated as of county significance.

Any proposals which would include demolition of further linoleum works buildings should be accompanied by a heritage assessment looking at the structure(s) and placing them in the context of the overall works. Some desk-based work has already been undertaken as part of the Luneside West development and is likely to provide an adequate background, but inspection and informed assessment of the buildings will need to be added. Mitigation in the form of building recording is likely to be required prior to any demolition.

LPSA: 286 Luneside East

This development site has a long planning history as well as extant planning permissions. Several phases of building recording and archaeological excavation have already been undertaken here. The site has now mainly been cleared and contamination remediated, although the nationally-important remains of the 1740s Lancaster Pot House still survive at the site's western end – these will shortly be buried under the foundations of new housing. A large circular pit (currently partly water-filled) at the west end of the site is the foundation of a telescopic gas-holder which formerly stood here and forms the only structural remains of the 1826-2013 gas production and storage site. Two buildings of the former St Georges Works (oilcloth and linoleum, opened 1850 on a mid-18th century quayside site) survived the earlier demolition which cleared the remainder of the site, but a period of neglect and vandalism has meant that these too are scheduled for removal. The southern boundary of the

7 site is marked by the embankment of the 1883 Lancaster – Glasson Dock railway, which is now tree- covered and proposed for retention. It is probable that remains of earlier (perhaps late 18th to early 19th century) quay walls and surfaces will exist buried within the present St Georges Quay (road) and the quay frontage to its north. Away from these and the Pot House site, where floors, foundations and dumps of waste ceramics exist, no significant archaeological deposits will survive.

The eastern side of the site is separated from the Lancaster Conservation Area by the embankment and stonework of the Carlisle Bridge railway viaduct. The Scheduled Monument of Lancaster Roman fort and early medieval religious settlement approaches within 60m of the southern tip of the development site, but it too is separated from it by the railway embankment, and its setting could not be said to extend onto the development site. The Listed Grade I Lancaster Castle and Priory Church are sited high on Castle Hill and overlook the development site, being c. 200m southeast at closest approach. Given the previous type and scale of development, however, impact on their settings is not likely to be considered as critical. The settings of the Gd II* Listed former customs house on St Georges Quay and other Gd II buildings on the Quay and Castle Hill are likewise unlikely to be seriously adversely impacted.

The Lancaster Pot House remains are considered to be of national significance, and arrangements are in place for its remains to be preserved in situ under new housing. Buried remains of earlier quay structures are probably of local to county, rather than national or regional, significance. Architectural stonework recovered from the gasworks entrance has been dismantled and lies on the adjacent quayside awaiting re-erection and is of local significance. The remainder of the site is now of negligible significance.

Development of the former St Georges Works site requires the implementation of the presently agreed mitigation and construction strategy, but no further archaeological intervention. Development of the quay area north of St Georges Quay will require a desk-based assessment and possibly some trial excavation before a planning decision is reached. The need for further archaeological works will depend upon the results of that investigation, but will probably be able to be undertaken following grant of planning permission.

LPSA: 375 Old Filter House, Scotforth Road, Lancaster

An early 20th century waterworks site with later alterations and additions, the buildings here have recently been demolished after some years of neglect and dereliction and only the modern substation building and concrete floor slabs remain. Planning applications for redevelopment with student housing blocks have been submitted, and consent has now been granted. Despite its location near to known archaeological sites, the waterworks development is likely to have removed all earlier buried remains.

The Listed Gd II Burrow Heights Cottages are 450m to the southwest of the development site and their setting will not be impacted by development here. Bailrigg House, also Grade II Listed, lies 650m to the southeast and the development sites lies in the wider vista from the house and its gardens. Some care will need to be taken that the design of new development here does not significantly affect those designed-in views.

The development site is considered to have no archaeological significance.

No archaeological response will be required to any development here.

LPSA:370 Willow Lane/Coronation Field, Lancaster

This site is agricultural land on Lancaster Marsh beyond the limits of the former Lune Mills linoleum works and is likely to have been managed and reclaimed as grazing land from at least the medieval period (see LA39, Lune Industrial Estate, New Quay Road). It is crossed by the 1883 Lancaster to Glasson Dock branch railway and is noted as the site of an oval racecourse shown on William Yates' 1786 mapping. The linear strip of 'Municipal and Freemans Wood' shown on the OS 1848 1:10,560 mapping forms the southern boundary of the site, and is of some local interest although limited archaeological importance. There is a slight but unquantifiable possibility of archaeological remains lying within or under this former saltmarsh.

The development area lies c. 240m west of the Cannon Hill Conservation Area, which contains the Gd II Listed 1-7 Laurel Bank, The Knoll and Westbourne House, off Westbourne Road. Impacts on these designated assets from development on this site are likely to be low to nil.

The site is considered to be of unknown, but probably very low to no archaeological significance.

The football ground closest to Willow Lane is likely to have the highest potential for retaining buried remains and precautionary geophysical survey and trial trenching could be undertaken, but this would be difficult to justify as a formal planning requirement.

LPSA: 408 Former Pontins Holiday Camp, Middleton

The former Pontins Holiday Camp was opened as a private venture in August 1939 and almost immediately requisitioned by the Government. It was operated as a holiday camp after the war, and was taken over by the Pontins company in 1964. It was regarded as Pontins' flagship site for some time and included a large ballroom constructed to look similar to the upper works of an ocean liner, named after and containing relics from the Cunard Line's early 20th century 'SS Berengaria'. The camp closed in 1993 and was almost completely cleared in 2005-7. The survivals are the three Gd II listed buildings within the boundary of the camp – a 17th-18th century farmhouse converted into a pub; an 18th century barn converted into a bar and dancehall; and a 19th century folly tower. Nearby sites of archaeological interest include the findspots of an iron axe and spearhead, possibly of 14th century date, and some WWII anti-aircraft gun and pillbox sites. A little further away is the possible site of a medieval chapel, several other listed farmhouses and the findspot of a Neolithic polished axe. The holiday camp site was subject to a desk-based assessment and some building recording prior to its demolition. The former camp site was intended to become a retirement village, with dwellings and appropriate local shopping, leisure and medical services, although to date only a small number of dwellings have actually been constructed. An Archaeological desk-based assessment and building recording (including the ballroom and two of the three Listed buildings) has been undertaken. The north-eastern corner of the development site lay outside the area developed by the holiday camp and has remained as farmland. It has potential for the survival of as-yet unknown archaeological deposits, most probably prehistoric and/or palaeoenvironmental remains in or adjacent to the former watercourses visible there on aerial photography. The remainder of the site has very little or no potential for buried archaeological remains to survive.

As noted above the site contains three Gd II Listed buildings. These were proposed for alterations and extensions to form part of the retirement village services in 2009, construction has begun on the southern section of the site, but the work has not been completed. Middle Brows Farmhouse and

New Brows Farmhouse, also Listed Gd II, lie 300 and 340m to the south of the development site respectively, but development here is unlikely to affect their setting significantly. No other designated heritage assets will be impacted by the development.

The majority of the development site is of negligible significance. The three Listed buildings are by definition of national significance and the area in the northeast corner outside the camp's built area is of unknown but potentially local to county significance.

Any development on this site will need to take the three Listed buildings within its bounds into account and to provide an appropriate assessment of the impact of proposals on the buildings and their settings as part of any planning application. The area in the northeast corner of the site noted above will require archaeological field investigation and potentially mitigation excavation and analysis, but this work can be undertaken as a condition of any planning consent.

LPSA: 469 Morecambe Festival Market and surrounding area, Morecambe

This site includes the Listed Gd II former Promenade Railway Station building of 1907 and more modern leisure and retail premises, including the Festival Market building itself. The great majority of the remainder of the site is laid out as formal car parking and the dual carriageway of Central Drive. With the single exception of the former Poulton Parsonage, the area was undeveloped farmland until the construction of the railway and associated development of the Stone Jetty and adjacent harbour in 1848. By the 1870s development was spreading west from the original Poulton village centre and was approaching the fringes of the site and by 1891 Northumberland Street and the houses off it had been constructed. By this time the parsonage had been either converted or demolished and redeveloped to form the Ship Inn and its attached bowling green on the east side of the site. The Midland Station had been constructed, probably about 1876, at the southeast corner of the site and a series of rail lines and sidings ran in a curve from it to the Stone Jetty and harbour (a further station at Euston Road, operated by the LNWR, was opened in 1886 and closed 1958). Adjacent to these railway lines but outside the development site to the north was a hotel for travellers built by the Midland Railway, built in a 'Gothic' or style with mansard roofs around 1850, this building was replaced in 1932-3 by the present Gd II* Moderne hotel. In 1907 the old Midland railway station was closed and a new building fronting onto the promenade was opened, with more platforms and many sidings for the large numbers of visitors now attracted to Morecambe. The harbour had lost much business to Heysham and Barrow by this time and was shortly to be converted to a ship dismantling yard. By 1913 the Winter Gardens had reached its present size, with gardens to its rear and an early pleasure ride, the 'switchback railway' erected at their edge alongside the main railway sidings. With the exception of these, the Ship Inn and a laundry (extant from at least 1891) the majority of the site was still occupied by railway tracks. Further entertainment rides were subsequently erected in the triangle of ground between the Winter Gardens and the railway, with the promenade frontage being built up by 1939 with a number of large Moderne and Deco buildings. Declining tourist numbers meant, however, that the station was closed and the lines lifted, the unsurfaced former siding areas subsequently being used for car parking. Regeneration work since that time, spearheaded by the City Council, has led to the erection of the Festival Market building, the re-opening of the former station and the erection of further leisure, eating and retail buildings, the reconstruction and upgrading of Central Drive as well as the laying out and surfacing of the car parks. The majority of the development site is considered to have no potential for buried archaeological remains, although some elements of the now-demolished Ship

Inn (and perhaps the earlier parsonage) may still survive under the car park off Northumberland Road.

The north-eastern frontage of the site, including the former railway station and the land behind Marine Road are included in the Morecambe Conservation Area, as is the covered spur between the shops, formerly a small shopping arcade. The site contains the Listed Gd II former station building and is adjacent to the Gd II* Winter Gardens. Very slightly further away, to the northeast, is the Listed Gd II 217-221 Marine Road and on the opposite side of the road the Gd II war memorial, the Gd II walls to the Midland Hotel and the Gd II* Midland Hotel itself. Whilst development will need to take these sites into account during planning, no other Listed buildings are likely to be impacted by developments here.

The Listed station building is by definition of national significance. The former site of the Ship Inn and parsonage are considered to be of local significance, with the remainder of the site being of no significance.

As noted above development that affects the setting of the Listed buildings or Conservation Area will need to take them into account, and heritage statements should be provided with any planning application. The site of the Ship Inn and parsonage would merit post-permission investigation and recording, if threatened by development. This latter site may be appropriate for a community archaeology project.

LPSA: 343 Canal Corridor North, Lancaster.

This is a site of some 6.69ha between the eastern side of Lancaster's city centre and the Lancaster Canal. It has been subject to a series of 20th and 21st century redevelopment proposals including the failed Eastern Relief Road scheme. This resulted in several areas of compulsory purchase and demolition but did not proceed to construction and the cleared areas have mainly become car parking. There are limited remains of the once-extensive residential occupation of the site but the former Mitchell's Brewery (C18-C20), Moor Lane Mills complex (c.1825 on, but some possible C18 survival) and Heron Chemical Works (C19) still stand, along with the 1782 Grand Theatre, Dukes Theatre (partly occupying a converted chapel of 1796) in the central portion of the site.

The heritage impact of the road scheme works was not considered at the time, but the more recent Canal Corridor development has been subject to significant scrutiny and desk-based assessment and site inspections carried out. The most recent of these (Architectural History Practice, 2009, Assessment of Heritage Potential: Lancaster Canal Corridor North) gives a more detailed assessment of the site than is possible here, but the following period summary is partially derived from it.

The development site is likely to have been occupied since the middle of the prehistoric period; whilst no sites or features of this date are known from within the area itself, Mesolithic to Neolithic remains were recorded in 2006 a short distance to the west, between Dalton Square and Bulk Street. A Bronze Age burial urn and accessory vessel have been reported as being found on Alfred Street on the northern edge of the area in the 19th century, but details are unconfirmed and the remains may have been of later date. The development area lies to the east of the known area of the Roman civilian settlement in Lancaster, but the bounds of the settlement are unknown and may have extended out this far. Stonewell may have been a road junction in the Roman town; the line of Church Street was one of two principal Roman roads in the town, leading up to the fort and Moor

Lane may also have been a Roman Road, leading to the kilns in the Quernmore Valley and perhaps also to the route up the Lune valley. Stonewell, St Leonard’s Gate and Moor Lane were in existence in the medieval period and met at an important junction with Lower Church Street and the now lost St Nicholas Street. These roads attracted development from an early date and there has been a theory that the settlement of Lancaster noted in the Domesday Survey was centred here, with the associated 'Church Lancaster' being on Castle Hill to the west. This theory has not been supported by later writers and it has also been suggested that the two entries merely reflect differing ownerships. The streets are shown as lined with buildings on Speed’s map of 1610 and most are presumably houses with rear gardens and yards. St Leonard’s Gate was named after the leper hospital founded in the late 12th century beyond the north-east of the development area. Moor Lane was the main route to Lancaster Moor with its unenclosed grazing, stone quarries and gallows. Some of the section of the development area south of Moor Lane was inside the precinct of Lancaster's Dominican Friary in the medieval period. Whilst the friary buildings formerly stood around Sulyard Street it is possible that buried remains of the precinct wall will survive within the development area. Stonewell itself takes its name from the stone-lined spring or well in this location, also shown on Speed’s map.

The edge of the urban area was suitable for industrial development and a brewery is shown on Mackreth’s map dated 1778. This may have existed as early as the late 17th century although the earliest building on the site dates from the late 18th century and the rest were built in the late 19th century or early 20th century. The construction of the canal from Preston to Tewitfield in 1797 provided the town with improved transportation and stimulated construction of canalside textile mills. Within the development area Moor Lane Mills may have originated as a late 18th century sailcloth works and a worsted Mill of 1819, both later adapted for cotton and extended. They were taken over by the Storey brothers in 1861 and the adjacent Heron Chemical Works was established in 1860 by Joseph Storey, to produce dyes and chemicals for the textile industry. Other smaller industrial works such as a timber yard, coal yards, rope walks and joiner's workshops were also established in the area from the early 19th century.

Behind street frontages, development was a gradual process and the area was not fully developed until the late 19th century when former open plots and yards were in-filled with dense workers’ housing or workshops. Change also took the form of rebuilding on plots and the adaptation of buildings for different activities; the houses lining the roads were gradually converted to commercial uses or replaced with new business premises. To serve the local community and in some cases the wider town, community buildings were developed in the area, including the Grand Theatre in 1782, St Anne’s Church in 1796 (now part of The Dukes theatre), the Moor Lane Methodist church in the 1850s (rebuilt in 1895), church schools off Brewery Lane in the mid-19th century and a National School to the north of Alfred Street in 1850.

Whilst the majority of the early remains are likely to have been badly impacted by later development, the 2006 work east of Dalton Square noted above shows that areas of early remains can survive. The amount of intrusive archaeological work in the development area has, however been very limited and it is not possible to predict how extensive or how important any such remains may be. Buried remains of later 18th-19th century development are likely to be widespread, as a result field investigation and recording would need to be targetted and some areas will not merit such work.

The development area lies completely within Lancaster's Conservation Area and contains 11 grade II Listed buildings. The closest Grade II* building is St Peter's Cathedral, some 40m to the east of the southern tip of the area; the Town Hall, statue of Queen Victoria in Dalton Square and St John's

Church (North Road) lie slightly further away to the west. There may be some impacts on their settings from development here, but this is likely to be of a minor or negligible level. There are no Listed Gd I buildings, Scheduled Monuments or Registered Parks and Gardens whose settings may be affected by development here.

The Listed buildings are, by definition, of National significance. The unlisted Heron Chemical Works and some of the other unlisted buildings will be of at least local significance, but later structures such as the 20th century portal-frame sheds of the brewery site and the Alfred Street workshops will be of negligible heritage significance. As noted above it is not possible to estimate the significance of any early buried remains, but buried remains of 18th-19th century origin are likely to be of local significance at best.

As noted above a desk-based assessment and site inspection survey has already been carried out for the Canal Corridor North site. Any new proposals for development should be informed by that work but also take into account changes to the scheme and more recent advances in knowledge. A phased scheme of archaeological investigation and recording (of built and buried resources) will be necessary in advance of any development and it would be sensible for at least preliminary investigations to be undertaken prior to the submission of any planning application(s).