Monument record 8424 - Roman east-west alley north of the centurion’s house at the Grosvenor Centre

A series of archaeological investigations carried out as part of the construction of the Grosvenor Shopping Centre between 1963 and 1965 comprised three evaluation trenches cut to the rear of No 14-22 Newgate Street along with subsequent observations of the construction work. The work was carried out by Mr Petch of the Grosvenor Museum, however the excavations have never been published in full. (1)

Traces of an east-west aligned alley was encountered in trench 9 between the centurion’s house (CHER 8442) and the adjacent barrack block (CHER 8425) indicating the two structures remained separate for much of the Roman period. It was not until the early third century that the alley was blocked up by the construction of a wall joining the two buildings. (1)

<1> Chester Archaeology, 1962-64, Excavation Archive: Newgate Street-Pepper Street, Chester (Unpublished Report). SCH6728.

<2> Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1911-Present, Journal of Roman Studies, Wilson D R 1964 54/156 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1519.

<3> Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1911-Present, Journal of Roman Studies, Wilson D R 1965 55/204-5 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1519.

<4> Royal Archaeological Institute, 1845-Present, Archaeological Journal, 43/289 (Journal/Periodical). SCH338.

<5> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 39/53 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

<6> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, 1/156 Petch D F 1987 (Book). SCH3556.

<7> Anon, 1965, Abstract of Proceedings, p50 (Article in Journal). SCH5881.