Monument record 844/1/2 - Roman Road - East of Morreys Lane (Chester - Manchester Route 7a)

Roman road, Chester to Manchester. A section on the edge of Morrey's Nursery and Nettleford Wood, E of Kelsall, revealed that the gradient of the natural sandstone ridge was eased by cut & fill construction.A band of gravel can be seen across Morrey's Nursery & a map of 1627 shows a road along the same course from near the A54/Yeld lane cross-roads to the rise into Nettleford Wood.At the W edge of the wood the surface consisted of a layer of marl 175-250mm thick, with a surface of sandstone rubble in the N half & cobbles in the S. A wide rut had developed in S half of the surface. A 1.2m wide complex of ditches was cut into the bedrock on the road's S edge. A berm lay between the road & the ditches - poss a cavalry bridle path. Road surface later covered with brown sand, grey podsolised sand & humus, before a layer of rubble was laid over with & a double line of sandstone kerbstones on the S This was poss the road in use in 1627 diverging from the Roman line (1).

<1> Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 1883 -, Transactions of the Lancashire & Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 83/163-165 Waddelove A C & E 1985 (Journal/Periodical). SCH3293.

<2> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, 1/218 1987 (Book). SCH3556.

<3> Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1970-Present, Britannia, 13/ Waddelove A C & E 1982 (Journal/Periodical). SCH445.