Castle Mews, Coach Road, Whitehaven, Cumbria. Archaeological Excavation Report.

Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) was commissioned by Thomas Armstrong (Construction) Ltd to undertake an archaeological excavation between 27th and 31st January 2005 at Castle Mews, Coach Road, Whitehaven, Cumbria (centred NX 9770 1775). The excavation was undertaken at the request of Cumbria County Council Archaeology Service as a condition of the planning consent (Planning Application No 4/04/2413) imposed by Copeland Borough Council. The proposed development area, comprising a triangular plot of land to the south of Whitehaven Castle, covers a total area of c2600m².
The work followed on from an archaeological evaluation of the site comprising a desk-based assessment and evaluation trenching undertaken by OA North in November and December 2004 (OA North 2004). The results of the evaluation showed evidence of structures in the form of the remains of walls and cobbled surfaces. Within the area of impact of the proposed development was the remains of a nineteenth century riding school. Consequently, an open-area excavation was required to record the remains prior to development. It measured 10m by 10m and was positioned in the north-east of the proposed development area, and to the north of the
evaluation trenches wherein the remains were uncovered.