Site Event/Activity record ECH6567 - High Street, Tarporley: Archaeological Evaluation Report

An archaeological evaluation, comprising a metal detector survey followed by trial trenching, was undertaken in 2018 on land to the west of High Street, Tarporley, in advance of a residential development of 28 dwellings. The site comprised two pasture fields divided by an east-west orientated hedge; historically there were three fields and the former boundary was targeted by one of the trial trenches (trench 1). Tarporley is mentioned in Domesday and also is recorded as a borough in the 14th century, the burgages created as part of this partially survive in the long, narrow tenements that run at right angles to the High Street. It was therefore possible that remains associated with Medieval settlement may have been present within the proposed development area, particularly along the street frontage where buildings are likely to have been located. Six 10 by 2m trial trenches were excavated focussed on the area closest to the street front, however, no archaeological features or deposits of interest were encountered. The metal detecting survey recovered 62 artefacts, including a single sherd of nineteenth century pottery, these were examined by a specialist for identification. The material was largely of nineteenth century or later date consistent with casual loss and the manuring of fields during the post-Medieval period; there was no indication of significant archaeological remains underlying the site. A group of five lead pistol balls may date to the seventeenth century as Tarporley was the scene of a minor Civil War skirmish in 1642. Other identifiable finds included three copper alloy coins, five mass-produced copper alloy buttons, a decorated lead token or seal, and a folded lead disk, potentially a button or fixing. (1)