Site Event/Activity record ECH6568 - Archaeological Desk Based Assessment: The King's School, Westminster Road, Macclesfield

Desk based assessment of proposed development site. Cartographic sources show that the study area was until the mid-19th Century relatively rural comprising of agricultural land surrounded by small pockets of housing. During this period the study area is shown as being owned by the Governors of Macclesfield Grammar School (Figure 2). During the mid-19th Century the study area underwent its first phase of development, through the construction of the Grammar School which moved to the study area, (Area B) during the 1850’s to inhabit its Cumberland Street location where it still stands, this is first seen in the 1882 map (Figure 3), and this is now the site of the boys division. The site includes the King’s School original block (Site 2) and the lodge (Site 3), in addition to other more modern buildings and the schools cricket ground. Area A remained relatively unaltered during this period and throughout most of the 20th Century when it appears to have been used as school playing fields, until it was developed during 2007 to house the Sixth Form division of the school, in addition to playing fields and astro turf pitches.