Site Event/Activity record ECH6502 - Church Street, Davenham, Cheshire: Report on a Watching Brief and Metal Detector Survey

An archaeological watching brief and supervised metal detector survey was undertaken at a site on Church Street, Davenham, as a result of a development of 16 houses and associated services and landscaping. The site is located immediately to the south of Church Street on greenfield land and comprises a rectilinear plot of land oriented north-south and measuring approximately 0.72 ha, centred on NGR 366164, 371101. The site lies circa 150m to the south-west of Davenham church (CHER 713/1), one of Cheshire’s ancient parish churches with a documented history extending back to the time of Domesday, although the present building is largely 19th-century. It is reasonable to conclude that early settlement might be expected in the vicinity of the church, with the Church Street frontage likely to have been particularly favoured. The historic Ordnance Survey map sequence indicates that the site remained undeveloped throughout the 20th century, with sparse trees close to the roadside at the northern boundary and a belt of woodland at the southern boundary. The eastern half of the field known as Cutlers Croft was subdivided from the remainder of the area in the early 1900s, resulting in the establishment of the present eastern site boundary. The watching brief was undertaken between 5th December and 13th December 2017, however no archaeological features or deposits were encountered. The metal detector survey, undertaken by registered members of the Crewe and Nantwich Metal Detecting Society, conicided with the fieldwork following the preliminary vegetation strip on 5th December 2017. There was no discrimination in the range of metals sought (i.e. ferrous and non-ferrous metals were detected). The assemblage consisted of a total of 226 items with the vast majority of late 19th to 20th century date. Ceramic finds include two clay tobacco pipe stems of nineteenth century date, also two fragments of slipware plates of seventeenth to eighteenth century date. It is thought likely that their presence represents casual disposal of domestic debris. The metal assemblage (copper alloy, iron, lead) was of fair to poor condition, with many items showing signs of corrosion, this, together with the find of the wooden heel from a nineteenth century child's shoe, indicates at least periodic waterlogging on the site. Potential early finds include two lead weights which could date from the Roman period onwards, a copper alloy key shaft of potential fourteenth century date and a biconical, decorated spindle whorl potentially dating to the sixteenth century. With Other groups of finds include 38 copper alloy coins of nineteenth century and later date, 20 copper alloy buttons and seven musket balls. The finds appear to represent a pattern of casual loss. (1)