Site Event/Activity record ECH7310 - Countess of Chester, Women and Childrens Ward, Chester, Cheshire: Archaeological Watching Brief Report

A watching brief was conducted in 2024 during ground works associated with the construction of the new Women and Children’s Ward, at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Chester, Cheshire (SJ 401 681). Monitoring was undertaken during the excavation of concrete piling and drainage trenches of varying depths. A small quantity of post-medieval archaeological features were recorded which clearly relate to cartographic evidence of aspects of the walled garden of Bache Hall, featured on the 1899 Ordnance Survey map. Many of the features comprised sections of red brick wall forming either garden boundary walls or else associated structures, such as greenhouses, illustrated upon the 1899 map. These were generally found to be poorly preserved within the confines of the observed trenches, usually comprising footings and basal courses only, with little other detail or in situ deposits, the site having been considerably reworked to provide car parking and other facilities for the foundation of the hospital. (1)