Monument record 1083/3/1 - Gas Works

During the construction of the Gas Works in 1854, a brine pit was excavated c.13 ft below ground surface. It consisted of oak and birch timbers laid in a grid over the source of the brine. The brine issued from a sand vein on the west side where the well was thought to have been. Here piles had been driven to a depth of 3 or 4 ft into marl. Oak logs and planks were recovered. At the time of the excavation, it was thought to be a Roman pit, but the state of preservation of timber suggests the pit was medieval or later. Shafts are recorded from this area, where brine came to the surface (1).

<1> Thompson, P, 1981, Middlewich: The Archaeological Potential of a Town, /8 (Report). SCH2194.