Pipe Replacement, Swanley Hall,Cheshire, Archaeological Watching Brief Report

Oxford Archaeology (OA) North was commissioned by the british Pipeline Agency (BPA) to monitor works relating to the re-routing of a pipeline; the works comprised removing the current above-ground pipe and replacing it with one below ground (NGR: SJ 61769 52793). This involved a Watching Brief undertaken during the topsoil strip in two areas on either side of the Llangollen Canal.
A desk-based assessment (DBA), undertaken by OA North in 2015, highlighted the possibility of groundworks impacting upon potential archaeological assets surviving in the area. The proposed, but unproven, route of a Roman road between Middlewich and Whitchurch is believed to lie close to the north of the site, while several buildings relating to a mid-nineteenth century smallholding formerly lay on the western side of the canal. Following the submission of the DBA, a condition was imposed on the works by Cheshire
Archaeological Planning Advisory Service. OA North were subsequently commissioned by BPA to produce a written scheme of investigation for the watching brief in 2018. The watching brief fieldwork was undertaken over two
days, 31st October and 6th November 2019.
Two areas either side of the Llangollen Canal measuring 60m long by 20m wide, to the west of the canal, and 30m long by 20m wide, to the east of the canal, were stripped of topsoil. Disturbance from the initial construction of
the pipeline and established hedgerows was prevalent in the working areas and no features or finds of archaeological significance were noted.