Speke Hall Hedge Maze, Merseyside: Archaeological Watching Brief

In September 2010 the National Trust commissioned Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) to undertake a desk-based assessment as part of a planning application for a hedge maze at Speke Hall, Merseyside (NGR SJ 4209 8244). The Speke estate pre-dates the Norman Conquest and there are heritage assets dating to the prehistoric, Romano-British, medieval, and post-medieval periods in the near vicinity of the proposed development area. Following the results of the desk-based assessment and accompanying geophysical survey the National Trust provided a detailed brief and requested that OA North prepare a project design for an archaeological watching brief during ground works associated with the establishment of the maze. OA North were subsequently commissioned to undertake the watching brief. This work was intended to mitigate potential negative impacts upon four sites identified within the development area during the desk-based assessment. These were a field boundary of Lower Orchard (Site 25), an agricultural building in Lower Orchard (Site 26), the Home Farm trackway (Site 27), and a field boundary of Higher Orchard (Site 28). The potential for prehistoric remains, and medieval remains relating to the use of the area as demesne farmland for the hall, was also identified.