Site Event/Activity record ECH5855 - Excavations at the Lion Salt Works, 1993 - 1995

A series of excavations were undertaken between 1993 and 1995 in the eastern part of the site outside the Scheduled Monument Boundary in what was the Alliance Works. Observations had indicated that there were lines visible in the ash and cinder surface of the area to the east of the Pump House in what would have been the southern area of the yard of the Alliance Salt Works. Initial excavation was carried out in 1993 and funding was secured through the Vale Royal Education and Industry Committee to establish a training excavation fro local schools during the summer of 1994, with some additional work carried out in 1995. The excavations were summarised and was used as part of the assessment by EH as to the value of the site as part of designation as a Scheduled Monument, the Conservation Management Plan and desk-based assessment. In 1993 a number of test pits were excavated to locate the southern group of open salt pans, external to the Scheduled Monument boundary, as shown on the Calvert Plan of 1915. No physical evidence was located for these salt pans within the pits. Localised excavations in 1993 shows that wall footings of demolished buildings did survive and that in places solid brick work was only just below the then current ground surface. These buildings located in the south western area of the Alliance Salt Works, c 10m west of the standing Pump House) were investigated in greater detail in 1994 and 1995. The best available plan of all the trench locations comes from Figure 13 in Appendix E of the Conservation Management Plan (Donald Install 2008) that indicates four trenches labelled A to D. The surviving site records, plans and sections, number the trenches I, II, III, IV and it is assumed that A = I, etc. (1-2)