Site Event/Activity record ECH4193 - Arpley Meadows, Warrington, Cheshire: Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment.

An archaeological desk-based assessment, also a site visit (May 2005), was undertaken in 2005 for an area of land on either side of the River Mersey, the eastern half being in Arpley Meadows, to the south-west of Warrington town centre. The assessment produced prior to proposed development of the site for retail and residential use. The site lies on the River Mersey floodplain and is very flat; it has been recently ploughed and appears to have been freshly sown with grass. The study demonstrated that there was the potential for prehistoric remains surviving on the site within buried floodplain deposits, and there was also the possibility of stray finds having been brought to the surface through ploughing. The focus for Roman activity in the area was at Wilderspool, but it was possible that remains of activity of this date could have been preserved on the site. The discovery of five early medieval logboats within the study area to the south-east and west demonstrates that there was considerable activity in the vicinity during this period. From the late medieval period onwards the western half of the site was water meadows attached to the settlement at Lower Walton, and the eastern half was part of Arpley Meadows, which were the town fields of Warrington. The water meadows became physically detached from the settlement of Lower Walton in the early eighteenth century with the construction of the Mersey and Irwell Canal. In the mid nineteenth century, the western part of Arpley Meadows became physically detached from Warrington with the construction of the London and North-West railway. The map regression identified several sites of archaeological interest within the proposed development area. In the western half, these comprised a possible ford, a possible boundary stone, two buildings, an occupation road, and two possible former settlement sites. In the eastern half, two possible dagger and hammerstone findspots, thought to be of prehistoric origin, were identified. Recommendations for further archaeological work were made, comprising archaeological evaluation trenching and fieldwalking, and the examination of any available borehole data to determine the extent and survival of buried floodplain deposits. It was also recommended that English Heritage be consulted regarding thedisused transporter bridge to the north of the proposed development area. This bridge is a Scheduled Monument, and it is believed to be in a fragile condition, and may be adversely affected by noise and vibration from the proposed development. (1)