Monument record 11465 - 18th century property boundaries, 27 Grosvenor Park Road

<1> Gifford and Partners, 2002, Report on an Archaeological Excavation at Deva Garage, 27 Grosvenor Park Road, Chester, R3957 (Client Report). SCH8166.

Excavation in 2001 at 27 Grosvenor Park Road uncovered several 18th century property boundaries in the form of ditches, walls and culverts. Pits and occupation deposits, mainly relating to the disposal of domestic waste, were also recorded. Some industrial processes were represented in the form of iron-smelting and possibly tanning, although the latter could be residual from an earlier phase (see record 7887).

The property boundaries first occur as ditches aligned both north-south and east-west, these then developed into boundaries using a mixture of timber fence lines and sandstone walls. In this phase, a large piece of timber was discarded. This appears to be part of large cog, with a diameter of approximately 2m, potentially forming part of a winding mechanism in a sluice gate for use in the tanning industry. Another development was the construction of both brick and sandstone culverts/drains that appear to have been sited along the edges of adjoining properties; rough external surfaces constructed from both water worn pebbles/cobbles and brick fragments were also laid at this time. Notably, the archaeological deposits which formed after the construction of the culverts produced no organic preservation or indication of water logged conditions, indicating the purpose of the culverts to help manage excess ground water. Once the culverts had been established the area was subject to intermittent pitting associated with the disposal of domestic rubbish. One of the deposits recovered was part of a furnace base which still had roasted iron ore adhering to it, indicating small scale iron smelting being done near by.