Monument record 8524 - Roman Alleyway and Gullies, 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 (CHER 8453, CHER 8523), separated by an alleyway were recorded; this monument refers to the alleyway. Initially the area between the buildings was levelled and surfaced and provided with eavesdrop gullies for the buildings on either side (1). However, an earlier, linear feature beneath this area, thought to be a ditch or a drain (CHER 8525), into which the northern building (CHER 8453) was slumping, caused the surface to subside and fill with silt. Eventually, the efforts to keep it tidy and usable were abandoned, and from the late second century to the mid-third it was used as a rubbish dump, producing a large quantity of broken pottery, bone and other domestic refuse. In the final phase, a row of pad-stones was set down in the middle of this area to support posts. It appears, therefore to have been roofed over and incorporated into one of the buildings (1). The full extent of this alleyway, 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.