107-111 George Leigh Street, Ancoats, Manchester- Desk-based Assessment

In October 2008, the Charles Topham Group Ltd commissioned Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) to undertake an archaeological desk-based assessment of land bounded between George Leigh Street, Radium Street, Poland Street and Silk Street, in the Ancoats area of Manchester (centred on SJ 85060 98855). The study aimed to assess the potential for significant buried archaeological remains on the site, and was required to support and inform a planning application for a redevelopment of the site. The proposed development allows for the partial demolition of two former warehouses that currently occupy the site. An assessment of the standing structure is presented in a separate report, and the present study is concerned solely with any potential buried remains.
Ancoats incorporates some 400 acres on the north-eastern edge of Manchester city centre, which, from the late eighteenth century, became one of the most intensely developed manufacturing centres in the world. The industrial prowess of the area was derived primarily from a large number of closely-packed steam-powered textile mills, although a variety of other industries were also established, together with a dense concentration of workers’ housing. The origins of this industrial townscape can be traced to the 1770s, when a grid-iron pattern of streets was laid out across part of Ancoats, and the intervening plots of land were sold to middlemen for development. The present study is focused on one such plot, a portion of which is subject to a proposal for redevelopment.