Site Event/Activity record ECH6190 - Archaeological Evaluation at Baron's Quay Regeneration, Northwich

Report discusses the sites where watching briefs were intended to be carried out in 2015. Site 23 (13 Witton Street), Site 9 (Blacksmith’s workshop), Site 10 (Baron’s Quay salt works) and Site 161 (Rope walk, Leicester Street). However these watching briefs did not take place though the report has not been amended to reflect this. The subject of this report is the trial trenching carried out on Site 11 (site of a warehouse off Weaver Way) and Site 161 (Timber yard off Weaver Way). Three of the trenches demonstrated the presence of late nineteenth century surfaces, including stone setts in Trench 5 and a concrete floor in Trench 3, both of which can be related to individual buildings forming part of the Central Saw Mills depicted on the 1898 Ordnance survey map. A further mortar floor surface was located within Trench 4, which can be related to a structure depicted on the same map. All three of these trenches had subsequently been sealed by up to one metre of ground raising deposits. Trench 1 was also sealed by ground raising deposits and no evidence of archaeological features was found. Trench 2, was abandoned part way through excavation for health and safety reasons, but contained abundant charred timber from the site of the warehouse destroyed by fire. Evidence of any earlier remains appear to have been removed by the large-scale salt mining activity which took place on the site during the nineteenth century. Although indicating survival of buildings from the late nineteenth century, the findings from the investigation suggest large-scale demolition and/or ground raising deposits across the site, which will have removed earlier evidence. After consultation with Mark Leah (CAPAS), it was agreed that since little evidence