Monument record 180/4 - Medieval/early post medieval Salt Works, Second Wood Street

<1> Cheshire County Council, Cheshire Archaeology & Planning Partnership Reports, Crewe and Nantwich. April-September 2001 (Unpublished Report). SCH4538.

An Archaeological Evaluation was carried out on land either side of Second Wood Street, off Welsh Row, Nantwich in September 2001. This encompassed land to the rear of The Cheshire Cat, a 17th-century timber framed building and a part of the street frontage. The site was very wet and organic preservation was exceptional with timber barrels, plank-lined channels, and the remains of timber-framed buildings all recognized. The site sequence appears to extend from the medieval period through to the 18th century, with evidence for both domestic and industrial (salt making) activity.

<2> Cheshire County Council, Cheshire Archaeology & Planning Partnership Reports, Crewe and Nantwich. April-March 2003 (Unpublished Report). SCH4538.

Following the earlier evaluation of the site, excavations were carried out during July and August 2003 in advance of redevelopment. The site proved to contain over 3m of organic deposits, all of which contained fragments of animal bone and medieval pottery. It was, however, the upper part of this deposit which contained the main archaeological remains, which included wood and other organic material due to the waterlogged conditions. These were associated with the salt-making industry and appeared to date to the later medieval and early post-medieval period. The main features included a row of six barrels in a timber channel and, from an earlier phase, a huge hollowed-out log. These were probably used as cisterns for the storage of brine, prior to evaporation. The remains of several timber buildings were also recovered as were collections of pottery, leather, and individual items such as a wooden bowl and a pewter dish.

<3> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 2001, Proposed Redevelopment at Second Wood Street & Rear of the Former "Cheshire Cat", Welsh Row, Nantwich, Cheshire, R2377 (Client Report). SCH3919.

<4> Dodd, L et al, 2009, Second Wood Street, Nantwich, 2003/4: Excavation of a Medieval And Early Post Medieval Salt Works, JCAS, Volume 84, 2010-2014, p.39-110 (Article in Journal). SCH7353.

Detailed published account of the excavations at Second Wood Street, including the finds recovered.
The remains of a series of timber-framed buildings, likely wich houses, (Structures 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b, 5 and 6) dating from the mid-13th to the 17th centuries were recorded. Remains included timber baseplates, wattle panels, stone base pads, areas of cobblestones and timber stakes. Other significant finds comprise a large hollowed-out oak tree trunk, forming a trough known as a ‘ship’; this had been placed within a channel, in order to hold it firmly in place and prevent any rocking. It seems to have been first used in Structure 1 in the 13th century and reused in later structures (2, 3, 4a and 4b) into the 15th century. The remains of the ship were lifted in 2004 for conservation (see source 5).

Also, within structure 4, along its north side, there was a line of eight barrels placed on an east–west alignment, (B1–B8). The barrels were well preserved and varied in size but were all inserted so that the top of each was almost level with the surrounding contemporary ground level. Surrounding the barrels at ground level were a number of thin wooden planks, set on edge, forming a continuous trough-like arrangement. They were braced at intervals with timber cross beams, to prevent inward collapse resulting from the pressure from the surrounding ground and clay packing. Immediately south of the timber trough and barrels were two long timber planks, forming a continuous east–west revetment held in place on its south side by a series of earth-fast timber stakes at the base of the channel cut. One of the revetment planks returned a felling date of 1413–39, which suggests that Structure 4 was erected during the first half of the fifteenth century. The earlier salt ship was exposed for use alongside the barrels. An ovoid pit/hearth, measuring c 1.5m x 2.0m and up to 0.4m deep, lay to the south of the ship and, together with both the ship and the barrels, was located within Structure 4.

<5> York Archaeological Trust, 2007, A Medieval Salt ‘ship’ from Welsh Row/Second Wood Street, Nantwich, Cheshire., R3575 (Client Report). SCH7345.

The salt 'ship' was first revealed during excavations at the corner of Welsh Row and Second Wood Street in the summer of 2003. It was lifted in one piece on the 19th January and then cut into three sections for conservation. One section was to be conserved for display at the museum in Nantwich and the remaining two sections were to be returned to the Cheshire Museum’s store. Owing to the length of the three sections into which the ‘ship’ had been cut, each section was freeze-dried separately; one end was sampled for dendrochronological dating.

A preliminary woodworking technology report (2004) identified that the salt 'ship' is hewn from a single length of very knotty oak (Quercus spp.) log. The overall length is 7.6m with a diameter tapering from 0.9 to 0.65 m. Though generally straight, the trunk has a number of prominent swellings where large side branches were once located. Growth rate is estimated at 5 rings per 10 mm of radius. Most of what survives is heartwood, though some sapwood remains on the lower surface of the log as found. No bark is present. The log was taken from a mature parent tree; the natural taper of the log is that of the tree. It would appear to have been growing in a fairly open environment such as a hedgerow or parkland, or possibly the fringes of open woodland. No traces of the felling method survive, though hewing marks show that the side branches were cut away. The hollow trough cut into the log to turn it into a vessel appears to have been created with axes and adzes. Some fixtures, fittings and features are present which relate to the use of the salt 'ship', including peg holes containing pegs, a thick socket hole and other cut holes.

<6> Jonathan GA Lageard & Ian B Drew, 2011, Salt in Cheshire (UK): Heritage, Recreation & Education (Graphic Material). SCH9656.