Site Event/Activity record ECH4016 - Tilston's Yard. A Record of the Building of William Tilston Ltd. Chester

Archaeological survey of the buildings at Tilston's Yard was undertaken prior to their demolition and the redevelopment of the site for residential use. The earliest evidence of the buildings existence comes from the 1911 OS map, the Tilston family leased the yard from the 1920s onwards first as a boat building site and then for specialist carptentry from the 1930s onwards. The earliest elements of the building are three adjoining sheds constructed with timber frames and clad in weatherboarding and corrugated iron. The gabled roofs of the sheds are supported by collared trusses and covered in corrugated asbestos sheeting. The east elevation of the sheds was truncated during road and bridge works on New Crane Street while newer extensions have also been added in the last few decades. As a result very little of the original layout of the yard and buildings survives.