Carruthers Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, Archaeological Watching Brief

Oxford Archaeology (OA) North was commissioned by Network Space Developments Ltd to undertake an archaeological watching brief of a light industrial development on the site of Carruthers Street, Liverpool, Merseyside. The work was undertaken as a condition of a Planning Application, with a brief being set by the Merseyside Environment Advisory Service (MEAS) and a subsequent Written Scheme of Investigation being produced by WYG Environment. OA North was subsequently commissioned to undertake an archaeological watching brief during cut and fill works, as well as during the excavation of drainage and service trenches. These works took place between the 19th of October 2019 and 25th of November 2019.
Archaeological features were encountered across much of the site, dating primarily to the late nineteenth- and twentieth centuries. These features comprised concrete and brick footings, alongside granite sett and brick floor surfaces. A high degree of truncation was noted within the northern part of the Proposed Development Area, however, the excavations in this part of the site were relatively limited.
Despite not being significant enough to warrant further mitigation, these fragmentary remains related to cartographic and documentary evidence which highlighted coal yards, warehouses and facilities associated with the processing of food and animal by-products. The southern extent of the proposed development area also contained the likely remnants of an ancillary building associated with a twentieth century gas power plant.