Site Event/Activity record ECH6026 - Julie Edwards

12/04982/FUL Erection of 2 dwellings Land at Smiths Cottage Village Road Dunham on the Hill Chester Site visit made 10th February 2015 2pm in accordance with access condition. Weather conditions – bright sunshine, no recent rainfall The development consists of the refurbishment of Smith’s Cottage fronting Village Road and the development of adjacent land to the south and east, a hedgerow forms the boundary with the road. The land slopes slightly to the rear of the plot i.e. eastwards. The land to the south of the property fronting Village Road had been stripped to bedrock to form a wide platform. Bedrock lies under 550-600mm of topsoil. Smith’s Cottage sits within a cut into the bedrock. East of the platform of bedrock the rock dips into another large cut or scoop, it was not clear whether this was a natural slope or a cut for another building – no trace of a structure or stratified deposits were observed. The cut continued into the southern boundary of the development where the depth of topsoil and recent overburden was 700mm. Only the western edge of the cut was visible and a large pile of spoil had been placed on the eastern part of the cut. The rear part of the site had been levelled using spoil from the western excavations, car parking is planned for this area and no intrusive work was planned. Pottery observed in the spoil heap and on the disturbed ground surface was predominantly 19th century in date but fragments of late 17th- mid 18th century mottled ware were present. Photographs were taken to show the cut to the south and east. Other than the feature described above no archaeological deposits or features were observed on the site.