Monument record 1563/0/24 - Eighteenth Century Building and Walls

<1> Connel M & Freke D, 1988, Report for Macclesfield Town Hall Car Park Archaeological Excavations (Unpublished Report). SCH2826.

Excavation revealed the eastern end of a building or structure, comprising 0.50m wide two and three course sandstone wall footings, notably on a different alignment to walls associated with the covered market (see CHER 1563/0/23) to the immediate east. The excavators dated these features to the eighteenth century.

<2> Connel M & Freke D, 1987, Interim Report for Macclesfield Town Hall Excavations (Unpublished Report). SCH8541.

Excavation revealed the eastern end of a building or structure, comprising 0.50m wide two and three course sandstone wall footings, notably on a different alignment to walls associated with the covered market (see CHER 1563/0/23) to the immediate east. The excavators dated these features to the eighteenth century.

<3> Unassigned, Unknown, Notes and Tracings from the 1804 Macclesfield Enclosure Award (Manuscript). SCH8542.

The possible building lies within an area located between Market Street and Hawthorn Street owned by Ralph Dean and filled by a jumble of such buildings and structures, many of which still show the influence of the earlier burgage plots. They are described as 'house, warehouse and land'.

<4> See map for surveyor, 1762-1898, Cheshire Enclosure Maps and Awards, QDE 2/10, 09/10/1804 (Maps and Plans). SCH1106.

<5> Cheshire County Council, 2002, Cheshire Historic Towns Survey: Macclesfield Borough Part 1: Archaeological Assessments, p.2 (Report). SCH6978.

'...The earliest structure encountered was perhaps the east end of a building of 16th century date, above which was part of The Shambles..'

<5> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Edwards R, 30/08/2018 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

Although a precise rectification in GIS of the traced copy of 1804 enclosure map (see (3)) is not possible it still raises some question of the interpretation of the walls associated with the Shambles market. A more general rectification of this map enabling comparison with other (rectified) historic maps and modern Ordnance Survey maps suggests that these walls have the potential to be associated with buildings and yard walls (owned by Mr Ralph Dene) depicted on this map (see CHER 1563/0/24). This would also be more consistent with the dating of these features to the eighteenth century. Whether these buildings and walls were demolished to accommodate the 1809-11 market or their earlier demolition afforded the opportunity is unknown.