Site Event/Activity record ECH6644 - Roddymoor Mill House, Hassall, Cheshire East: Archaeological Evaluation

An archaeological evaluation was undertaken in April 2018 on land at Roddymoor Mill House, Hassall, formerly the site of Higher Roughwood Mill with associated buildings dating to the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Prior to excavation of the trial trenches, the mill building had been demolished to slab level. Four trenches were excavated across the site of a new building in order to record any archaeological remains associated with Roughwood Mill. They were located to target the mill power systems, the mill dam, the mill leat and the site of a now demolished building to the south of the mill. A flagstone floor and stone walls within the footprint of the mill were identified (trench 1) and are likely synonymous with the original construction of the mill complex, most probably dating to the 18th century. It is noted that the mill has undergone significant changes since its original construction, and no traces of any of the mill’s power mechanisms or machinery were uncovered. One of the most significant changes was the infilling of the mill pond and subsequent landscaping of the grounds surrounding Higher Roughwood Mill and Mill House, evidence of which was seen in the other three trenches. However no relationships could be inferred between features and deposits that were present in different trenches due to the varying nature of the deposits and the truncation caused by later landscaping/demolition of features on the site. (1)