Monument record 8458 - Substantial Stone Building, 67 Handbridge

Excavations at 67 Eaton Road (formerly 67 Handbridge, Newstead’s home) were carried out between 1994 and 2000 as part of various improvements to the garden and to the rear building, which Newstead referred to as his ‘den’ (2). Identified in Trench III was a substantial wall, represented by two masonry wall faces and a rubble fill, all slightly disturbed. Seven roughly dressed sandstone blocks were still in situ, on average 0.25 wide, 0.35m long, and 0.16m high (2). The width of this wall is estimated at 1.2m. The rubble core was rich in finds: pottery that included Black Burnished ware dating to the fourth century, plaster fragments, a jet armlet fragment, and iron slag that was mixed with a rubble scatter surrounding the wall (2). Given its dimensions, it is thought that the wall represents a substantial late Roman building.

<1> Chester Archaeological Society, 2004, The Chester Antiquary (Booklet-Leaflet). SCH6491.

<2> Archibald, G and Archibald,Z H, 2008, Treboeth, the Burnt Town: a Preliminary Investigation of early Christian to early Modern Industrial Activity in Handbridge, Chester (Article in Journal). SCH5826.