An archaeological dig in the heart of Chester city centre has uncovered the fascinating remains of buildings associated with the once spectacular Cholmondeley Mansion house.
Archaeologists and students from the University of Chester worked with Cheshire West and Chester’s (CWAC) Historic Environment Team excavating in Chester’s Grosvenor Park last month.
The four-week dig was a training excavation for second year Archaeology students from the University which not only taught them all manner of archaeological skills, but also uncovered remains of buildings associated with the grand mansion which was destroyed when the park was laid out in the 19 th -century.
It was also the site of fierce fighting during the Civil War in the 17 th -century and probably incorporated medieval buildings originally associated with St John the Baptist Church.
Site director, Simon Ward, principal archaeologist with CWaC HET said: “There was little in the way of obvious structural remains, but there were traces of what may have been two parallel walls of a yard or outbuilding.
“There was one particularly curious deposit of natural clay that had been churned up and made all 'lumpy'. We puzzled over this and eventually wondered if it was caused by animals, perhaps forming the site of a pig pen or similar structure.”
There were numerous finds from the excavations including lots of clay tobacco pipe fragments, probably from one of the nearby 18 th -century pipe manufacturers in the area.
Most of the finds are from the time when the mansion house was still in use. Medieval and Roman finds also appeared including a floor tile decorated with a lion’s head and Roman pottery. Chester is known for its Roman archaeology, but this year’s trench may also show that the Roman settlement that grew up outside the fortress did not extend this far.
Meggen Gondek, Programme Leader for Archaeology at the University of Chester, said: “Chester’s Roman past is obviously a very important part of the city’s history. However, it is also important to look into these other less well-known periods. Chester was a key battleground in the Civil War and Cholmondeley’s Mansion played an important role in the fighting here.”
Members of the public had the opportunity to see and handle artefacts from all periods, including musket shot from the Civil War, at the site’s very successful Open Day events. Over 1,000 visitors enjoyed site tours, children’s activities, medieval tile making and handling objects found during the excavations.
This season marked the launch of a new initiative, the Chester Amphitheatre Environs Research (CAER) Project, between CWaC HET and the University of Chester. In future seasons the project hopes to continue investigating the remains of Cholmondeley’s Mansion and look into the evidence for earlier Medieval and Roman activity.
More information about the dig can be found on the site’s blog at http://www.univchester-parkdig.blogspot.com/ .
