| Title: |
Excavation at Shakespeare North Playhouse |
| Series: |
Centre for Applied Archaeology unpublished report series
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| Downloads: |
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centrefo4-501021_86286.pdf (16 MB)
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Download
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| Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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| DOI |
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| Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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| Abstract: |
Knowsley Council has obtained planning consent for a major development in Prescot
town centre, Merseyside (centred on NGR 346560 392780). The consented scheme
allows for the erection of a four-storey building to accommodate a 350-seat theatre
and multi-use space with ancillary features for the teaching of theatre practices,
professional and community performances and film screenings (Planning Ref:
17/00577/FUL). The development site lies within the historic core of Prescot, and in
an area acknowledged to be of high archaeological interest.
The potential for archaeological remains to survive across the development site was
highlighted in a desk-based assessment that was prepared to support the planning
application, coupled with archaeological monitoring during the excavation of a series
of trial pits that were required for geotechnical purposes. In the light of the
conclusions drawn from these initial studies, Knowsley Council commissioned
Salford Archaeology to devise an execute an appropriate programme of further
archaeological investigation, which allowed for an open-area excavation that aimed to
record any archaeological remains that would be damaged or destroyed during the
delivery of the consented scheme. The agreed programme of excavation was
undertaken between December 2017 and February 2018, and was intended to offset
the harm of development on the site’s archaeological resource, in accordance with the
policy guidance provided by the National Planning Policy Framework. Physical evidence for continuous human occupation of the site between the 16th and
20th centuries was revealed during the eight-week excavation. The earliest activity
appeared to be represented by a rock-cut well that was exposed at in southern part of
the site. The lower part of a second well was also discovered, although this had been
disturbed by stone-quarrying activity that reduced the ground level across part of the
site by approximately 4m before being backfilled with domestic rubbish that included
a large assemblage of pottery with a date range spanning the late 16th to 19th centuries.
Another large and significant assemblage of pottery was recovered from the southeastern corner of the site. This contained numerous fragments of waste pottery and
kiln furniture, indicative of a pottery production centre, which may have produced a
range of utilitarian kitchen wares and a smaller component of finer table wares. This
reinforced the available documentary evidence, which appears to suggest that several
of the late 16th-century properties in the area were engaged in small-scale pottery
production, with at least seven pottery kilns in operation in the town in 1592, two of
which may have been in the study area or its immediate vicinity. Firm evidence for a
kiln structure was not identified during the excavation, although the remains of a
stone-built structure that was revealed beneath the floors of 19th-century houses along
the northern edge of the site may have been associated with pottery production.
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prospero Place, Prescot: Post-excavation Assessment 2
Following completion of the fieldwork, an assessment has been made of the project
archive, with a view to defining the costs of completing an appropriate programme of
post-excavation analysis and publication. This assessment examined the results of the
excavation, and assessed the potential for further analysis of each category of data
with regard to the project’s research aims. The process has been designed to
correspond to the objectives laid out in the guidance document (Management of
Research Projects in the Historic Environment; Historic England 2015).
The results obtained from the assessment have concluded that elements of the dataset
have considerable potential for further analysis, specifically the stratified assemblage
of post-medieval pottery. |
| Author: |
Ian Miller
Mandy Burns
Samantha Rowe
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| Publisher: |
Salford Archaeology
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| Year of Publication: |
2020
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| Locations: |
| County: |
Merseyside |
| Parish: |
Prescot |
| Country: |
England |
| District: |
Knowsley |
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Grid Reference: 346499, 392700 (Easting, Northing)
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| Subjects / Periods: |
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| Identifiers: |
| OASIS Id: |
centrefo4-501021 |
| Report id: |
SA/2018/89 |
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| Note: |
This report was uploaded to the OASIS system by the named Publisher. The report has been transferred into the ADS Library for public access and to facilitate future research.
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| Source: |
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| Created Date: |
20 May 2022 |
