Site Event/Activity record ECH7292 - Protos ERF CC Facility, Marsh Lane, Ince, Cheshire: Archaeological Desk-based Assessment

Desk-based assessment produced in support of a proposed carbon capture plant on Marsh Lane, Ince, Cheshire (centred on NGR 346862 376661). The proposed development area lies in the historic township of Ince, Cheshire. The site is to the east of Ince Village, within an estuarine marsh/ wetland landscape known as Ince Marsh. The development area likely remained as marshland to the south of the River Mersey until at least the late medieval period. Areas of Ince Marsh were drained from the 14th century, protecting the lands from the encroaching water of the overflowing River Mersey, although it is currently unknown if the land within the site was drained during this period. Ince Marsh was subject to planned enclosure in 1749 and historic mapping shows that by the early 19th century the development area comprised fields bordered by drains. A railroad passed through the site in the early 19th century, connecting Ince Pier to a quarry in Helsby. Use of the railroad was short-lived, and it was not shown on mid-19th-century mapping. The proposed development site retained the same character from the early 19th century into the 20th century. Detailed previous investigations have sampled and analysed peat deposits immediately south of the site. The previous paleoenvironmental work identified evidence for two peat formations within the marsh dating from the early glacial to the late Bronze Age. Evidence for changing sea levels, vegetation changes and human activity was also identified within the cores. Detailed previous investigations have identified and analysed peat deposits within the immediate vicinity of the site and the ground within the site has been disturbed, therefore, there may be no further justification for peat sampling. The potential for the site to contain buried archaeological remains is considered to be low. The proposed development site has limited potential to include paleoenvironmental remains, medieval to post-medieval ridge and furrow, field boundaries and drains, a 19th-century railroad and footpath. The sites of potential archaeological interest that have been identified have been subject to redevelopment that will have damaged or destroyed any buried remains, thereby reducing their significance to negligible. (1)