| Abstract: |
Following the submission of an outline application for proposed residential development on the former Star Youth Centre site at 34 Tulketh Crescent, Preston, Lancashire, an archaeological evaluation was carried out by Greenlane Archaeology. The evaluation comprised five trial trenches and took place in April 2023. The site includes Tulketh Hall, which was of local importance, as well as an earlier settlement by Savignac monks in 1124, before they moved and established the monastery at Furness in 1127. There may also be some evidence for an earlier Roman occupation here, and various sources describe a substantial ditched enclosure present on the site into the early 19th century. This is still shown on the first Ordnance Survey map of the area, and marked as the site of a monastery. Tulketh Hall is thought to have been first constructed in the 17th century and became the property of the Hesketh family in the 18th century, who modernised it; and it was again modified in the 19th century. The Hall was later used as a school and became a working boys' home, at which point more buildings were added; it was demolished c1960. The evaluation revealed a range of deposits and structures, including walls that clearly represent surviving elements of the former hall, including a backfilled cellar, as well as possible features surviving in the gardens outside. The earliest feature comprised a large ditch, which potentially corresponds with that described in early sources, but the evidence from the evaluation suggests that it was backfilled in the 18th and 19th centuries and no evidence for medieval or earlier activity was discovered. A range of much later activity, including rough brick and stone surfaces and probable garden walls were also present, as well as evidence relating to the demolition of the Hall and later construction of the Youth Centre. All of the finds were of post-medieval date and include a range of pottery, and glass, as well as fragments of moulded plaster from the Hall amongst demolition rubble. Despite no remains pre-dating the post-medieval period being discovered, the evaluation did find a complex range of deposits and structures, some of which clearly belong to the early origins of Tulketh Hall, and which may include the ditch recorded by early sources. Unfortunately, the depth of deposits in Trench 1 and the backfilled cellar in Trench 3 made complete investigation difficult. In addition, the use of redeposited sand and clay in filling the ditch in Trench 1 means that deposits interpreted as geologically ‘natural’ in Trenches 2 and 3 may not actually be natural. There is clearly the potential for more remains of archaeological interest to be found here, particularly those relating to Tulketh Hall. However, the extent of these can only be ascertained through further archaeological investigation, if this was considered necessary depending on the construction methods adopted. |
