Monument record 8523 - Southern Roman Building, Former Grosvenor Club, Vicar's Lane

During excavations to the rear of the former Grosvenor Club on Vicar’s Lane in 1989, two Roman buildings, separated by an alleyway were recorded; this monument refers to the southernmost of these buildings. In comparison to the northern building (CHER 8453), less of this building has been excavated, but it appears to have had both internal and external masonry walls, and underwent a number of alterations over time (1). In the later second century the building contained a series of large hearths and sandstone flagged floors which suggest a light industrial use, although there were no waste products such as metal working slag to show the precise nature of the activity. Early in the third century the building underwent a major reconstruction. The hearths were buried beneath new floors, and new light timber partitions subdivided the rooms; the excavators suggest that the building now had a purely residential function (1). The full extent of this building or its precise location are not clear with the available published information.

<1> Grosvenor Museum Excavations Newsletter, 1989, Summary of Excavations in Chester (Newsletter). SCH6274.