Site Event/Activity record ECH6835 - Archaeological Watching Brief Report for Falcon Rise, Congleton

An Archaeological Watching Brief was undertaken in 2018 and 2019 on land off Falcon Rise, Congleton. The work entailed monitoring of groundworks on the site as part of a condition of planning consent. The site lies to the south-east of Congleton, in fields to the north of the railway line. Historic mapping shows the site has remained as undeveloped fields. The watching brief recorded a Post Medieval sandstone culvert in the north of the site. Constructed of roughly hewn sandstone blocks, the finds associated with this feature suggested that it was Post Medieval in origin. During the removal of the historic hedgerows, associated ditches were identified and recorded. These were, as expected, heavily disturbed by root action from the hedgerows placed above. One of the ditch fills produced pottery dated c.1780+. A homogenous stratigraphy of topsoil and natural subsoil was identified across the site. These layers produced a small but locally significant assemblage of Post Medieval pottery, clay tobacco pipe and glass with a particular emphasis on the late 17th/early 18th century. This material could just represent midden spreading from the local farms but may also suggest short-term domestic occupation in the vicinity at this time. (1)