Site Event/Activity record ECH6747 - Archaeological Excavation: Georgian Mills, Park Green, Macclesfield

In 2019 archaeological excavation was undertaken on the site of the former eighteenth century silk mill, 'Park Green Mill', Park Green, Macclesfield, prior to the construction of a residential development which comprised the demolition of standing buildings and considerable earth-moving works impacting on buried remains. Three areas were targeted for excavation to record remains of buried in situ power systems associated with the former mill, including the potential location of a wheel pit, also remains associated with the mill's early conversion to steam power. An underground tailrace was recorded in two of the excavated areas, also an engine bed which lay beyond the footprint of the boiler and engine houses shown on successive OS maps. Although evidence for the mill’s original wheel pit was not definitively identified, evidence from the excavation, combined with historical research has produced an interesting body of evidence that can be compared to other silk mills in Cheshire and the North West region. (1)