Monument record 1633/2/7 - Feeder Canal, South Pond, Lyme Park

<1> Matrix Archaeology, 2018, Feeder Canal, Slopes Garden, Lyme Park, Cheshire: Archaeological Watching Brief, R4234 (Client Report). SCH8571.

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken in May and October 2017 during repairs to the Feeder Canal, in The Slopes Garden, Lyme Park. The work was the final stage of an ongoing project to repair the Feeder Canal, the initial archaeological investigation for which was undertaken in August 2015 (ECH????).

The Slopes Garden is located in the heart of Lyme Park, almost immediately to the south-west of Lyme Hall. To the south of the Hall is the South Pond, this feature is dammed within what was historically a small valley, now partially infilled. The Slopes Garden is located on the south valley flank, and the Rough Cascade was designed to run down this valley flank. The Feeder Canal delivers a flow of water from the South Pond to the Cascade, and the dam lip of the Canal (i.e. the maximum water level) is located at 241.73m OD. The canal comprises a deep walled trough which extends between the South Pond, and the Rough Cascade. A masonry dam is located at the west end of the canal and leaking water in the vicinity of this necessitated the repair works and allowed for close investigation of a timber box culvert and other water-control features. Additionally, soil heaps were scanned by metal detector; finds recovered included weaponry from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The archaeological work has provided a much improved understanding as to the development and functioning of the Feeder Canal and associated structures. The timber box culvert was fairly accurately dated to the mid nineteenth century, with a similar date attributed to the surrounding puddle clay. The same clay, extending below the dam, meant this structure was also likely to have been built (or re-built) in the mid C19. Indeed, it was possible that the culvert was set in place on the puddle clay, prior to the construction of the dam. The age of the side walls was less certain, but the presence of clay below the footings implied they were potentially contemporary mid C19 features. Further excavation would be required to prove this theory.

The overall conclusion was that the feeder canal, dam, drop board sluice and the box culvert were likely to have been constructed in the mid nineteenth century. They may have been direct replacements for a water course which was already over 100 years old at this point in time. The putative rebuild was perhaps contemporary with the remodelling of the South Pond which occurred in c.1840. The alterations to the pond (and possibly the canal) were evident when comparing Pollitt’s plan of 1824 and the later, c.1850 Tithe map.