Site Event/Activity record ECH6867 - Archaeological Watching Brief Report for 2-8 Bridge Street, Chester

An Archaeological Watching Brief was carried out in 2020 on a plot of land at 2-8 Bridge Street, 2-8 Bridge Street Row West and 3 Watergate Street, Chester. It monitored the excavation of two geotechnical test pits in the basements of no.s 4 and 6 Bridge Street. The two test pits originally proposed for the basement of no.8 Bridge Street were not excavated due to problems with access. The site lies within the historic core of Chester in character zone 8. During the Roman period the site lay within the Roman fortress walls in an area that was occupied by buildings that would have been scamnum tribunorum (senior officers residences). From the Medieval period onwards the site is located at the junction of Watergate and Bridge Street, at the site of the High Cross, and is part of the extensive ‘Rows’ network. The present building was built in 1889. Archaeological monitoring of the site, exposed natural sandstone bedrock at a depth of between 0.35 and 0.37m below the existing basement floors of no.s 4 and 6 Bridge Street. The overlying material consisting of a modern concrete floor laid on a layer of hardcore consisting of either brick rubble or crushed red sandstone. No dating evidence or artefacts were recovered from the watching brief. (1)