Hutton Hall Bakery, Benson Row, Penrith, Cumbria- Evaluation

CgMs Consulting Ltd commissioned Oxford Archaeology North (OA North) to undertake an archaeological evaluation within the service yard of the former Hutton Hall Bakery, Benson Row, Penrith, Cumbria (centred NGR NY 517 302). Planning permission is being sought for a residential development, specifically the construction of apartments for the elderly, with associated landscaping and car parking. A desk-based assessment was undertaken by CgMs Consulting Ltd in February 2011 to support the planning application, as the site is positioned within the Penrith Archaeological Hazard Area, an area of high archaeological sensitivity recorded in Cumbria County Council’s Historic Environment Record. The potential for medieval and post-medieval below ground remains to survive was assessed as moderate. However, this is mainly within the central and southern portions of the outlined development area, within the car and lorry park, where it was understood that there had been limited disturbance from previous building groundworks.
The desk-based assessment had recommended that trial trenching should target these areas to investigate the potential remains in order that any requirements for mitigation during the construction groundworks be understood, in accordance with PPS 5 (Planning Policy Statement: Planning for the Historic Environment 2010). To this end, CgMs Consulting Ltd, in consultation with the local planning authority, Eden District Council, and Cumbria County Council’s Historic Environment Service (CCCHES), proposed that a 20m x 2m trench be excavated in the central southern half of the site.