Site Event/Activity record ECH7204 - Observations During Gas Main Renewal and Refurbishment Works on Eaton Road, Handbridge

Trenches cut for works to existing gas main on the eastern side of Eaton Road, Handbridge. Trench 1: Short trench on northern side of the junction with Pinfold Lane. The trench was clearly cut into the backfill of the existing service trench. Trench 2: Short trench on northern side of the junction with Pinfold Lane. The trench was clearly cut into the backfill of the existing service trench. Three blocks of sandstone masonry visible in the spoil heap c.250mm x 250mm x 100-150mm. Relatively roughly shaped blocks with no visible trace of mortar. There was no accompanying pottery or other artefacts in the spoil. Trench 3: A long (c.50m) trench, between Netherleigh House and the junction with Berkley Drive, following the course of the pre-existing gas main. The northern half of this trench appeared to be cut into the backfill of the existing service trench. The southern part of the trench was narrower, and already partially infilled, but here, the excavated material seemed a cleaner and more homogenous topsoil. This is possibly due to the original trench being cut from a lower ground surface and was later covered over, or possibly disturbed by, landscaping associated with the adjacent housing estate built in the 1970s or early 1980s. The spoil heap in this area contained a large amount of sandstone masonry. Some pieces were in the region of 500mm long. Most of the masonry had been cut and shaped, some pieces were in the region of 500mm long, but there was nothing sculptural. At the southern end of the trench was a large rectangular masonry fragment pecked finish sometimes seen on post medieval masonry. A further small (c.250mm x 250mm x 100mm) sandstone block had traces of lime mortar. All the other masonry observed was free of mortar. At the extreme southern end of the trench, at the junction with Berkley Drive, was the remains of a possible sandstone wall. At most three courses seem to survive, directly below the modern path. The masonry was bonded by a lime mortar, and was similar the small sandstone masonry block (with lime mortar) previously mentioned. Trench 4: A small trench observed to the east, outside no.1 Berkley Drive, had a clean topsoil spoil and no masonry. Possible origins of the masonry are as follows: 1) Material associated with the Netherleigh House mausoleum (see CHER 8385/7 & CHER 8385/8) or a nearby Roman grave structure disturbed by the road and/or gas main and redeposited in the service trench. 2) Material associated with a Roman grave structure/s and/or the road surface reported from the Pinfold Lane allotments (see CHER 1700/1/18 & CHER 8385/9) to the east of the road, disturbed by the housing development and redeposited as part of the landscaping. 3) All the masonry appears to occur opposite a break in the stone wall which runs along the western side of Eaton Road. Here, adjacent to Netherleigh House, the boundary wall is built of brick. Could the stone derive from this wall, if so the absence of mortar on most of the masonry is puzzling. 4) The 1872 Metric Ten Foot Scale Town Plan of Chester (see 2), which unfortunately stops just short of Netherleigh House, depicts a sandstone wall running from Appleyards Lane to Pinfold Lane on the east side of the road, bounding the western side of some allotments. The wall survives, though it has been modified in places to accommodate drives etc. An oblique aerial photograph from the Aerofilms Collection (see 3) dating from the 1st November 1931 clearly shows that the wall, and the allotments, continued to the south of Pinfold Lane. The mortared masonry observed in the section at the end of trench 3 is probably the remains of this wall. The other masonry observed in the spoil may also derive from the wall, but the mix of material and absence of mortar on most of the masonry is puzzling in this context. 5) Material recovered from the City centre in the eighteenth or nineteenth century* and brought to the area, only to be unused and later moved/redeposited as with 1) and 2), or reused as in 3) and 4). *This does seem to be something that was happening a lot in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, with material discovered, or robbed from ruins such as the baths, finding its way into the suburbs and beyond. The masonry is either being reused or kept as garden ornament or curiosity. Also, one notable feature about the Roman buildings from within the fortress (and the walls) is the absence of mortar.