Series: University of Manchester Archaeological Unit unpublished report series

The work initially comprised excavation of eighteen evaluation trenches across the site in order to determine the potential, presence, extent, depth, state of preservation and importance of any potential archaeological remains identified from UMAU's Desk Based Assessment of 2005 and in accordance with the brief issued by the Assistant County Archaeologist. The evaluation led to the open area excavation of the area between Clowes Street and Barlow's Croft. The evaluation revealed that across most of the uncellared areas of the site an intact late Medieval/early post-Medieval ploughsoil survived with the remains of 18th and 19th century buildings cut into it. Within the open area excavation an early post-Medieval garden soil overlay the Medieval ploughsoils. This contained a large amount of diagnostic early post-Medieval pottery. Two burgage ditches were cut through the plough soils representing continuous use of the original Medieval property boundaries throughout the Medieval and post-Medieval periods along with a stone wall which may be the original boundary of Medieval Salford. A series of late 18th century workers houses had been built above this with what appeared to be a small late 18th century workshop for some kind of cottage industry. Alongside this was a late 18th/early 19th century small factory which is later described as a gum and starch factory. Two basements of 19th century tenements were uncovered alongside the 18th century workers houses.

Three trenches covering 45sqm of the proposed development area were excavated as an evaluation. Trench I revealed a very shallow and badly disturbed gully cut into the surrounding boulder clay which produced solely Roman material. Due to the state of preservation of this feature it could not be further defined. Two further features, a post hole revealed in Trench II and a field drain revealed in Trench III, were both cut through the subsoil and were dated to the late post-medieval period. The largest assemblage of artefacts from the evaluation was Roman building material and roof tiles recovered from the topsoil which was uncommon in a rural context such as this. [Au(abr)]

The University of Manchester Archaeological Unit (UMAU) was commissioned by Lloyd Evans Pritchard Ltd to undertake an archaeological watching brief at Rivington Parish Church, Horrobin Lane, Rivington, Chorley. The work was undertaken in response to a brief issued by Douglas Moir, Planning Officer (Archaeology), Lancashire County Archaeology Service. The watching brief was conducted during the ground disturbance phase of a programme of works to build an extension to the west of the church and within the churchyard of Rivington Parish Church. The watching brief was implemented in order to record the positions and movement of the headstones within the affected area and to identify and record any structural remains or artefacts in situ that may have been uncovered by the excavations. The excavations to the west of the church uncovered no archaeological remains, either structural or artefactual. The headstones were photographed and their inscriptions and new locations recorded.

Evaluation and excavation of 18th and 19th century remains of workers housing, a public house and a factory within Manchester City Centre.