Site Event/Activity record ECH6598 - St Peter's Church, Waverton, Cheshire: Archaeological Watching Brief

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust on behalf of the Parochial Church Council of St Peter’s Church, Waverton, Cheshire, during works related to the construction of a new extension.The extension lay to the south of the church tower and to the west of the south aisle of the church; the watching brief was able to record structural details of parts of the building exposed during the construction work. The earliest feature is thought to be the tower, which potentially dates to the 16th century, with much of the rest of the building dating to the following century. This sequence was confirmed though no absolute dating evidence was revealed. Although there must have been an earlier church at Waverton, given that the settlement was already in existence by 1066, no evidence relating to an earlier structure was identified. Most of the soil layers recorded were probably of 19th-century or later date, though a deposit which had been protected beneath the stone slab foundations of the tower buttress and south aisle must be of late medieval origin, if not earlier. Some disarticulated human bone was recovered from the excavations and this was stored for later reburial. (1)