Monument record 435/0/1 - Wilderspool Roman buildings excavated in 1930-5

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ68NW10, 1961 (Index). SCH2487.

Excavations by Colonel Brereton Fairclough & G.A.Dunlop. In 1930 a building with a hypocaust with tile pillars, sandstone pillars, paving & wall-footings was excavated. Finds of a broken female figurine, an iron spearhead, & marked tiles. In 1935 probing & trenching between the 2 buildings revealed a clay floor & walling. Pottery found including samian & castor ware dating from 1st to late 4th centuries.

<2> Thompson, F.H., 1964, A History of Cheshire. Volume Two: Roman Cheshire, p.18-19+67-87, 1965 (Book). SCH2862.

<3> Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1911-Present, Journal of Roman Studies, Vol 21, p.223 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1519.

<4> Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1911-Present, Journal of Roman Studies, Vol 23, p.196 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1519.

In 1932, 30ft to SW, a small sandstone structure was revealed with a puddled clay floor covered with a carbonised layer 6ins thick, containing much pottery, part of a small clay crucible, animal bones, oolite, a coin of Florian & traces of wall painting suggesting a dwelling later used for industrial purposes.

<5> Grealey S, 1976, The Archaeology of Warrington's Past, p.27-36 (Book). SCH3046.

<6> County Historic Environment Record, 1973-1985, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin, Issue 3, p.58 (Journal/Periodical). SCH565.

Short report in excavations conducted in February and March 1974 by a team from Manchester University. The remains of an agricultural/ industrial settlement dating to the late 1st and 2nd centuries AD were discovered.

<7> Longley D, 1977-1978, Longley Archive, No.555 (Paper Archive). SCH2005.

<8> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 1993, An Archaeological Evaluation at Loushers Lane Special School Warrington., R2042 (Client Report). SCH4149.

Evaluation exercise undertaken in 1993 to determine the nature and location of surviving archaeological remains prior to an extension to the east wing of Loushers Lane Special School, Warrington, situated immediately to the west of the site of the 1930s excavations.

The 1930s work began after a local enthusiast, Colonel B Fairclough, recognised Roman material during Council pipe-laying operations. The excavation of the site occurred intermittently between 1930 and 1935 (Fairclough, unpublished archive). These excavations revealed the remains of a substantial and relatively sophisticated Roman building with one room containing a hypocaust (bath house?). A smaller structure c.5m by 3.6m, constructed of sandstone with a clay floor, lay some 12m to the west. To the north of the building complex, lay a sanstone tank and the remains of a circular sandstone base, both of uncertain function. Painted wall plaster was recovered together with a quantity of industrial waste, suggest that the building was used for both residential and industrial purposes. A brief re-assessment of the pottery collected during the 1930s work, for the purposes of the 1993 evaluation, confirmed a date range from the 2nd to 4th centuries.

The 1993 evalution comprised the excavation of 3 trial trenches each measuring approximately 1m by 2m. The results of Trench 1 were inconclusive, although disturbed Roman deposits were present. Trench 2 revealed no deposits of archaeological significance. However, the excavation of Trench 3, the furthest east of the trenches, revealed a single course of masonry, aligned north-south, and composed of well-dressed, rectangular sandstone blocks. On its east side the wall was associated with a mid-red/brown clay floor containing patches of brownish-yellow, coarse-grained sand, evidently the interior of a Roman structure. Only the east side of the wall, the interior face, was exposed, so its full width was not established. The mixed nature of the sandy loam deposits sealing the wall, together with the conspicuous absence of Roman pottery and tile fragments, suggest that these were re-deposited Roman deposits associated with the 1930s excavations. The wall is tentatively interpreted as the west side of the small, sandstone structure, with puddled clay floor, discovered in 1932, located to the west of the larger Roman building containing the hypocaust.

<9> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 1993, Correspondence concerning Loushers Lane Special School, Warrington: Summary Results of Watching Brief, 08/10/1993 (Written Communication). SCH9726.

A watching brief was undertaken in July 1993 shortly after the excavation of the three trenches (source 8) at Loushers Lane Special School. Levelling operations to the north of the proposed extension associated with creation of additional carparking required rapid recording; specific areas of interest were recorded as sites A to F. In Areas A, B and C, further evidence for Roman buildings was recorded including sandstone rubble foundations along with an alignment of three worked sandstones. The alignment of these structural features accords with that of previous discoveries in the 1930s, with the line of the masonry observed previously in Trench 3 and with masonry observed in a drain run in area F. The features appear to belong to the same building complex.

Further alignments of sandstone rubble foundation material were observed forming the possible south-east angle of a building on a different alignment. The foundation rubble included several worked blocks suggesting re-use of materials from an earlier structure. The remains of a possible surface in Area E may be related. Finds recovered include window glass, ceramic roof tile and clay daub fragments with likely wattle impressions.

<10> Cheshire County Council, 1992-1995, Cheshire Past, Issue 4 (1995) p8-9 (Newsletter). SCH870.

Summary of 1993 archaeological evaluation

<11> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 2012, Proposed Redevelopment at the Horizon Centre, Loushers Lane, Warrington, Cheshire: an Archaeological Evaluation, R3355 (Client Report). SCH6854.

An archaeological evaluation, consisting of the excavation of ten test trenches, was carried out in July 2012 prior to the proposed redevelopment of the school site. Across much of the site there is evidence for widespread disturbance and recent landfill. However, in the undisturbed north-east corner of the site, the masonry remains of a Roman structure were positively identified. The finds retrieved confirm the results of earlier archaeological work in the location and point to the former presence of a well-appointed, high-status Roman building on the site.

<12> L-P Archaeology, 2015, Archaeological Mitigation report at Land at Horizon Centre, Loushers Lane, Warrington, R3743 (Client Report). SCH7793.

A programme of Archaeological investigation was undertaken in 2014 at the Horizon Centre, Loushers Lane, Warrington, during groundworks associated with a housing development.

The work served to both compliment and clarify the results of earlier archaeological work on the site. An east-west aligned ditch located at the northern end of the site appears to represent some form of boundary. A roughly parallel linear feature was identified 5m to the south of the ditch; but had a more structural appearance. These two parallel features could represent the continuation of a Roman trackway found to the east in 1976; perhaps indicating a slight northern deviation to the projected line. Pottery recovered from the fills of the linear features dated to the later 4th century and they may indeed represent a fairly late phase of activity on the site. The late Roman deposits were relatively rich in fragments of building materials (stone, ceramic and glass) which almost certainly originated from the well appointed Roman building identified on the eastern side of the site in the 1930's. This would strongly suggest that the building was in a ruinous state by the mid/late 4th century.

The general character of the later 4th century occupation seems far more in keeping with agricultural/rural domestic occupation. The pottery assemblage included cooking jars, bowls and mortaria. Textile manufacture was indicated by a stone spindle whorl and black smithing is suggested by the presence of hammer-scale in samples from the ditch fills. Furthermore, crop processing might be suggested by charred cereal grains recovered from the ditch fills and a small oven identified during the watching brief.