Site Event/Activity record ECH4510 - Cranshaw Hall Farm, Bold, Halton, Cheshire; Archaeological Evaluation

An evaluation was carried out by Matrix archaeology on behalf of W. Smith and Sons of the medieval moated site at Cranshaw Hall to the west of Widnes, which is first mentioned in documents in 1270. The site is a Scheduled Monument (SM 13480) and the Evaluation was carried out in connection with proposals to convert the farm buildings to residential use. Trenching confirmed the position of the moat, which had been progressively filled in during the course of the 20th century, and demonstrated that across much of the site modern deposits directly overlay natural boulder clay with no evidence of an artificially raised moat platform. Further expanses of a well-preserved cobbled surface, which covers much of the present farmyard, were exposed in a number of trenches. The results of the evaluation will inform the design of the proposed conversion and the application for scheduled monument consent.