Site Event/Activity record ECH6935 - The Bishops' Blue Coat High School, Vaughans Lane, Chester, CH3 5XF: Archaeological Strip, Map and Sample and Archaeological Watcing Brief

An archaeological strip, map & sample excavation and watching brief was undertaken in 2021 on land to the north-east of The Bishops’ Blue Coat School, Vaughans Lane, Great Boughton, Chester CH3 5XF, during construction of a new school building. The strip, map and sample uncovered a limited soil horizon between the subsoil and natural sand which produced five sherds of Roman pottery, one fragment of Roman tile, two sherds of medieval pottery, three sherds of post-medieval pottery, one fragment of post medieval CBM, and two metal objects of uncertain age (a Cu alloy strip and an iron nail). The quantity of post medieval pottery within the assemblage from the soil horizon strongly suggests that the Roman and medieval pottery inclusions were residual in nature, perhaps having been deposited through the disturbance of nearby Roman/medieval activity or indeed via post medieval ploughing. In addition, the subsoil horizon produced a single fragment of Roman roof tile, three sherds of medieval pottery, fourteen sherds of post medieval pottery and a single fragment of clay tobacco pipe. As the majority of the finds from this context consisted of post medieval pottery it is suggested that this context dates to no earlier than the first half of the 19th century and is likely to be a post medieval agricultural soil, predating the construction of the current school site. At the northern end of the site a linear ditch was uncovered running east-west across the area. This ditch produced post medieval pottery and corresponds with a former field boundary shown on the 1849 tithe map of Great Boughton. It also appears on the first edition six inch County Series Ordnance Survey map of 1871 as a field boundary ditch separating two large enclosed fields to the west of Bachelor’s Lane. The field boundary is shown on subsequent maps and aerial photography until the construction of the school buildings in the late 1990s. The recovered ceramic assemblage would suggest that this former field boundary ditch is likely to be of 19th century origin. (1)