Rufford Old Hall, Rufford, Lancashire: Archaeological Watching Brief

The National Trust commissioned Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) to undertake an archaeological watching brief of improvement works at the Cottage and Coach House at Rufford Old Hall, Lancashire (NGR centred SD 463 160). The works comprised the replacing of brick-sets fronting the Cottage. The brief also required the excavation of a trench for a new foul water pipe from the cottage to the main drain but this was not excavated due to the presence of an electricity cable. Monitoring of the groundworks was requested by Lancashire Council Archaeology Service (LCAS) as part of the planning condition: the buildings sit within the curtilage of the Grade I Listed Hall; and study of the early editions of the Ordnance Survey (1848, 1894 and 1910) indicated that the Cottage may have replaced an earlier building on a different footprint to the current structure.