Site Event/Activity record ECH4178 - Church End Farm, Hale; Report on an Archaeological Watching Brief.

The overlying topsoil was generally 0.4m thick in the main body of the site, and appeared to have been heavily disturbed within the last 150 years given the high quantities of building material and domestic rubbish contained within it. The features identified in the eastern and northern areas of the site are remanants of the farm buildings and associated features which were demolished prior to the current development, and include wall foundations, in-filled drainage channels and possible pits. None of these produced datable artefactual material, but by association are post-medieval in origin. The absence of earlier features suggests that either considerable truncation of the original ground surface has taken place, or that the area was open agricultural land until Church End Farm. It seems likely that any deposits associated with structures fronting onto Church End itself do not extend beyond the existing property boundaries, perhaps with the exception of the greater depth of grey subsoil noted in the southwest corner of the site, which may suggest a build-up of domestic waste at the rear boundary of those properties to the south. (1)