Monument record 6964 - Saltern at Puddington

<1> Annakin-Smith A, 2010, Cheshire's Forgotten Saltmakers: Sea Salt Production on the Wirral (Article in Journal). SCH6715.

The possible location of a coastal saltworks. Leland’s Itinery in Wales refers to a ‘salt house cotage’ within two miles of Shotwick. This would place the site within Burton township. Adjacent to the Puddington-Burton township boundary is a field named Salters Croft. An adjoining creek is named Salters Gutter. No buildings or structures are shown on either of the maps accompanying the Enclosure Act or the Tithe Award. No other ‘salt’ field names are evident in either township. A 1727 reference to Salters Hough has been attributed to Puddington township and may be associated with this site. The topography of this site seems to tie in with Leland’s description and the place-name evidence. A circular soil mark visible on aerial photographs may be remains associated with the saltworks, possibly a sleech pit.

<2> RSK ENSR Environment Ltd (Helsby), 2015, Puddington Lane, Geophysical Report, R4213 (Client Report). SCH8537.

A geophysical survey was undertaken in 2015 over the area of 'Salters Croft' . The survey area was circa 3.2 ha in size and comprised arable farmland. A number of anomalies indicative of the presence of potential archaeological interest were identified. A particularly dense area of disturbance may represent salt working activities at the site; this activity may account for a meander in, and avoidance by, the Puddington parish boundary. If present, the salt works are of potential archaeological significance as the only post-medieval site of salt making from sea water in Cheshire.