Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens, Didsbury, Greater Manchester Archaeological Watching Brief Report

Oxford Archaeology (OA) North carried out an archaeological watching at Fletcher Moss Botanical Gardens, Didsbury, Greater Manchester, in April 2021. The work was commissioned by Manchester City Council and involved the monitoring of intrusive groundworks associated with the reduction and repair of the retaining wall to St James’ Church and the removal of an impacting tree root.
The intrusive groundworks involved the excavation of a c 3.5m long by c 1.3m wide area parallel with the internal brick retaining wall to the south-west of the
churchyard of St James’ Church. The area was excavated to a depth of c 0.30m; this involved the removal of the tree root impacting the retaining wall and any other exposed roots. The natural deposits were not exposed.
The monitoring of the groundworks revealed a stratigraphic sequence of made ground deposits overlying a subsoil, which in turn overlaid the remains of a flagstone path exposed in the base of the excavated area. The path is considered
to be an earlier iteration of the boundary footpath within the churchyard.
No archaeological remains of pre-modern date were identified during the monitoring works.