Site Event/Activity record ECH4149 - Gawsworth New Hall, Repairs to Pool Wall: Report of an Archaeological Watching Brief

During the first week in september an archaeological watching brief was carried out at the site of the repairs to the retaining garden wall on the north side of the pool, forming part of the garden attached to Gawsworth New Hall. The site is part of a Scheduled Ancient Monument, Gawsworth Hall, and its Registered Garden. The repairs were effected under Scheduled Monument Consent and were partly grant aided. It has been established that the wall was built in the latter years of the 20th century, and that the wall is the first version on the site. At some time previously the wall was bounded by a wooden revetment on hte north side, which the wall has replaced. A tunnel has been known for many years to run form Gawsworth New Hall down to the pool. This is a brick-vaulted construction and this excavation has revealed that it has been closed off at the pool edge by a square brick sump during the 19th or early 20th century. The purpose of the tunnel remians a mystery.