Site Event/Activity record ECH5834 - Excavation of Stove House Five, Lion Salt Works, 2013

The Lion Salt Works is the last surviving inland open-pan salt works in England, and the archaeological and historical significance of the site is in its designation as a Scheduled Monument. The works commenced operation in 1856, and remained in commercial use until 1986. The works was subsequently acquired by Vale Royal Borough Council to prevent the demolition and ultimate loss of the site, with an intention that it should become a working museum. In 1993, the management of the site was passed to the Lion Salt Works Trust. However, the buildings have continued to deteriorate, and the site was placed on English Heritage's Buildings at Risk Register. The present scheme will ensure the restoration of the buildings, and the development of the site into an important heritage attraction. A programme of archaeological excavation was commissioned, including the excavation of the footprint of Stove House Five, the above-ground elements of which were dismantled in 2009. The excavation was carried out in January 2013, and was intended to compile a detailed record of any buried remains of archaeological interest prior to the proposed development works. The excavation revealed the well-preserved remains of nineteenth and twentieth century structures. Six distinct phases of activity were identified during the excavation: the initial establishment of the Alliance Works in 1856, the construction of the Alliance Works pan, smithy and associated boiler / engine house in the early 1860s, the development of the Lion Salt Works in 1894 and, specifically, the construction of the fisheries pans and associated chimney and flues, the laying of cast-iron pipes to replace the brine shaft pumping mechanism beneath the brine tank, the construction of Stove House Five in 1965, and activity on site following the closure of the works in 1986.