Monument record 8332 - Roman rampart building (No 24) at Nicholas Street

A series of archaeological investigations at 11a Nicholas Street (formerly the site of the Carlux Electrical Services Ltd workshop) carried out between 1954 and 1959 identified the remains of the western Roman defences. The first opportunity in investigate arose in 1954 when the Carlux company extended their premises east towards Weaver Street when the work was observed by G Webster of the Grosvenor Museum. The company again extended their premises this time to the south in 1957 with the work observed by F H Thompson. Finally in 1959 a further small area of work was carried out on the site. In all, the works identified an almost complete cross section of the Roman defences identifying the line of the earth rampart (CHER 8213/4), rampart wall (CHER 8214/4) and exterior ditch (CHER 8215/3) as well as evidence of an internal rampart building (CHER 8332) and an interval tower (CHER 8235). (1)

The structural evidence for the rampart building comprised the west exterior wall extending for a length of 14.93m with the north exterior wall and one internal partition wall. The west wall of the rampart building survived to a height of 1.27m, the width of the wall at the base was 0.67m narrowing to 0.55m after two offset courses. The cobble foundations of wall were also encountered at the base. The recovery of a single fragment of Samian ware from the fill of the foundation trench suggests the rampart building was constructed in the early second century. No trace of internal floor surfaces was recorded although the rubble core that probably served as the foundation course was encountered. (2)

The east wall of the rampart building was again uncovered during investigations in 1957 confirming the overall width of the structure at 7.46m (1)

<1> Thompson F.H, 1962, Excavations in Nicholas Street, 1957 (Article in Journal). SCH5869.

<2> Webster, Graham, 1955, A Section Through the Legionary Defences on the West Side of the Fortress (Article in Journal). SCH5738.

<3> Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1911-Present, Journal of Roman Studies, Vol 44 p89 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1519.

<4> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, p158 (Book). SCH3556.

<5> LeQuesne C, 1999, Excavations at Chester: The Roman and Later Defences Part I (Monograph). SCH6156.