Golden Gates, Warrington, Cheshire Archaeological Watching Brief Report

Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) were commissioned by Hall Conservation Ltd to undertake an archaeological watching brief on groundworks in preparation for repairs to the Golden Gates, Warrington (SJ 60232 88147). The proposed work comprises the repair and conservation of the historic Golden Gates, and these groundworks are to be undertaken to
assess the foundations of the structure.
The Golden Gates form the entrance to the current town hall. The gates were built as a contribution to the London Exhibition of 1862. Bank Hall, as it was formerly known, was built in 1750. Owned by the Patten family, the hall was purchased in 1872 by the borough of Warrington to use as the town hall. The Golden Gates were a late addition to the hall, erected on the site in 1894.
The works undertaken comprised two test pits excavated up against the pillars of the gates in order to assess the foundations before repair work commences. The test pits were
approximately 1m2 (although Test Pit 2 was extended 0.8m to the east), and the pits were excavated to a maximum depth of 0.9m. The work was undertaken on the 2nd November 2018.
The test pits revealed that the foundations for the gates were not substantial. To the west, Test Pit 1 showed that the pillar was resting on a shallow brick foundation, whereas Test Pit 2 showed no structural foundation, instead the pillar was sat on made ground.