Site Event/Activity record ECH6890 - Archaeological Desk Based Assessment: Canal & River Trust, Northwich, Cheshire

A desk-based assessment was produced in 2020 in support of potential proposed development of the offices of the Canal and River Trust, Northwich. Whilst there are no heritage assets are recorded within the Site boundary the Site is located within an Area of Archaeological Potential (106). There is high potential for artefacts, settlement and industrial deposits relating to the Roman and Post-medieval periods to be present on or immediately adjacent to Site. There is also a high potential for buried structural remains associated with previously demolished 19th century buildings to be present on the Site. The Site is located in an area previously used for salt mining and brine pumping. Whilst the mining activities are thought to have taken place between 40 m and 100 m below the surface these workings may have been responsible for historic subsidence recorded at Navigation House in the southern part of the Site. There is potential for historic wells and other currently unknown vertical shafts to be present on the Site which may be associated with access or ventilation to historic underground mines. The DBA was first produced on 23/07/2020, but then revised 27/10/2020. The main revision is the addition of a previously prepared assessment of the built heritage of the site (Grover Lewis, 2013, 'Assessment of heritage significance The Offices, Repair Yard, and Lighterage Yard, Navigation Road, Northwich') as Appendix F. It advised that the 2020 DBA should be read in conjunction with the 2013 assessment. The 2020 version of the report is the one recorded in the Digital Grey Literature Library as R4482. (1)