Monument record 11479 - Post Medieval Structural Deposits Excavated at the Former BT Exchange building, St. John's Street, Chester

<1> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 2017, Redevelopment at The Former BT Exchange Building, St. John Street, Chester: An Archaeological Excavation, R4033 (Client Report). SCH8268.

Following on from an archaeological evaluation (ECH4135) in 2006, a limited programme of excavation was carried out on land at the former BT Exchange Building, St. John Street, Chester, between December 2006 and January 2007, in advance of a proposed commercial development.

A limited number of structural remains and deposits dating to the late post medieval period were recorded including a stone-lined pit, also walls to a basement that had been truncated by later demolition. The sandstone-lined pit was encountered towards the south-west corner of the excavated area. Only part of the north wall and the truncated remains of the east wall remained, along with the associated construction cut. The surviving dimensions of the pit were 1.70m by 1.80m with a depth of 1.00m. It was lined with small, roughly squared blocks of red sandstone. It was filled with a sequence of three distinct deposits and capped with small blocks of sandstone. Although no finds were recovered, a sherd of Cistercian-type ware or early blackware, dating to the sixteenth or early seventeenth century, was recovered during the earlier evaluation stage of the project.

The stone-lined pit was truncated by the construction of a sandstone walled basement located to the south. The basement extended southwards beyond the limits of the excavated area with exposed dimensions of 1.00m by 3.10m; the backfill material was not excavated so the depth was not established. The truncated remains of a number of courses of brickwork to the walls of the building situated above the basement were also recorded.

A sequence of demolition deposits was formed during or following the demolition of the basement building. These deposits, comprised mixed soils, rubble, and mortar all within a shallow scoop extending some distance to the north of the demolished building. Artefacts recovered comprised sherds of pottery dated c. 1650 and later, and an assemblage of window glazing that included bullseye-type panes, together with a fragment of lead window came (glazing bar). The demolition of the building caused some truncation to the stratigraphically latest soil deposit recorded in detail. This soil, probably a garden soil, produced pottery and other finds dating to the seventeenth century. The garden soil may have been contemporary with the basement building, or perhaps pre-dated its construction, but the relationship could not be established with certainty owing to the truncation caused during the later demolition of the building.