Monument record 10291 - 17th century pits at Watergate Street

Archaeological investigations at Crook Street in 1973-4 identified substantial evidence of post medieval industrial activity in the north east corner of the excavated area. The excavations were carried out by Tim Strickland for the Grosvenor Museum, however unfortunately the results have never been published and the site archive remains incomplete.

A thick accumulation of soil was recorded immediately overlying the Roman remains across the majority of the site and although dating evidence was limited it appears to have formed gradually throughout the medieval and post medieval periods. A large number of pits, dated to the 17th century, were encountered in the southern part of the site. The pits were rectangular in form and relatively shallow and appeared to consist of cess pits in the southwest part of the site and rubbish pits to the south east (1)

<1> Chester Archaeology, 1973, Excavation records for Crook Street, Chester (Unpublished Report). SCH6618.

<2> Anon, 1974, September 1974: North West Newsletter. Excavations (Article in Journal). SCH5742.

<3> Cherry, John, 1975, Post-Medieval Britain in 1974 (Article in Journal). SCH6074.

<4> multiple authors, 1974, Excavation Reports and Summaries Sites Observed (Article in Journal). SCH5790.

<5> multiple authors, 1975, Excavation Reports and Sites Observed (Article in Journal). SCH5795.

<6> Grosvenor Museum Excavations Newsletter, 1973, Summary of Excavations in Chester (Newsletter). SCH6228.