Site Event/Activity record ECH7312 - Land off Pochin Way/A54 Holmes Chapel Rd, Middlewich, Cheshire. CW10 0JD: Supervised Metal Detector Survey

A supervised metal detector survey was undertaken in 2024 on land off Pochin Way/A54 Holmes Chapel Rd, Middlewich, Cheshire CW10 0JD as part of the Middlewich Phase II project. A single heavily corroded Roman bronze coin (SF 129) was recovered and is probably a chance loss rather than deliberate deposition or evidence of Roman activity. Only three medieval artefacts (1%) were recovered - a silver King Henry III voided long cross penny (SF 48), a lead undecorated spindle whorl (SF 249), and a lead trade weight or counter (SF 251). This indicates that the land was not extensively worked within the medieval period and perhaps lay east of the main area of agricultural activity immediately surrounding Middlewich. The majority of the finds (81%) are post medieval in date with the majority dating between 1800-1900 AD. The finds appear largely associated with temporal/seasonal agricultural practices. The abundance of Cu alloy buttons adds weight to support this interpretation with old clothes having been used as organic manure on the fields throughout the post-medieval period. There is no suggestion from any of the artefacts recovered or from the distribution field that the site was ever occupied or utilised for anything other than agricultural land, and that this activity did not occur until the post-medieval period. (1)