Monument record 8318 - Roman ovens at St Martin’s Fields

Archaeological investigations at St Martin’s Fields in 1964-5 adjacent to what is now the central bus station encountered evidence of a substantial Roman oven cutting into the earth rampart. The structural evidence comprised a primary phase measuring 2.6m by 1.67m with a stoke hole some 3.35m long and an ash pit nearby. The floor of the oven comprised sandstone flags set in clay. The oven was subsequently provided with a roof over the stoke hole and ash pit area comprising two beam slots and several post holes. Traces of a second oven 7.3m south of the first was also encountered although its survival was somewhat poor and it was suggested by the excavator that a third oven may have been located between them (1)

<1> Chester Archaeology, 1963, Linenhall Street Site Record (Unpublished Report). SCH6564.

<2> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, p158 (Book). SCH3556.