Last month saw our first visit to the Rectory site since last September and surprisingly the trench we left open had survived quite well. This was despite the unusually wet weather we've had over the last 9 months. It didn't take us long to clear the trench of the mud and rotting leaves revealing once again the feature we had detected when we left it last year. You may remember that we had decided to investigate the area under where the water feature had been, as the adjacent area had revealed tantalising evidence of a deep feature. It resembled a filled in ditch and the thought was that this could be the moat that once surrounded the old manor hall in the Middle Ages (and apparently still survived in the early 18th century). At the time we couldn't extend this trench as we were too close to the trees. However opening up the area next to it, would enable us to expand further north. If we could expose more of the feature, it may be enough for us to be able to determine its character and confirm whether or not it is the elusive moat.
Moated manor houses were quite popular in the Middle Age but for only a short period in the mid to late 14th century. This is particularly true around the north west of England where, in the Greater Manchester region alone, over 70 have been recorded - and a good many of these around Wigan and Leigh. This is probably due to the underlying geology which is mainly boulder clay. The manor houses themselves rarely survive as they were built in timber on a cruck-frame structure. However, in the Wigan area, a couple of halls still have their early crucks encased in the later building fabric i.e. Peel Hall and Kirkless Hall (both in Higher Ince on the west bank of the Leeds and Liverpool canal). Also in the Wigan area, two moated sites survive with complete circuits of water i.e. Arley Hall (Wigan Golf Club) and Gidlow Hall in Aspull (however both have lost their original buildings).
Our site visit this month didn't produce much progress - due mainly to the depth of our excavation. We're now about a metre down which means extending just 30cm involves moving quite a lot of material. However we were able to uncover more of the hard compacted layer which overlies the ditch feature. This revealed that on average its thickness is about 20cm and is still producing 18th century pottery. Next time we will remove the hard surface hopefully to expose more of the ditch feature. If we could establish that this was the moat it would be quite a significant discovery. You can follow our progress on our blog site here.
Local Archaeology Society Fair
Bolton Library and Museum Service are once again holding an Archaeology Fair which will be held on Saturday 20th July (10.30am till 4.00pm). It's part of the CBA's Festival of Archaeology which is to run from 13th July to the 28th July. Last year's Fair turned out to be quite a success despite the date clashing with the Iron Man event held in the town centre. They hope to build on this success, avoiding major town centre events to start with, but also by presenting another interesting array of displays and talks from local societies and professional bodies from around the region. Already signed up are Bolton Archaeology and Egyptology Society, Young Archaeologists Club, Centre for Applied Archaeology, The Blackburn Egyptology Society, Halliwell Local History Society and of course our Society will have a display. If you want to know more details contact Ian Trumble on 01204 3322179 or by E-mail ian.trumble@bolton.gov.uk
Next Meeting
Wednesday 3rd July - in the Standish Suite at the Brocket Arms (7.30pm as usual). This month we have another regular, Bill Shannon from Lancashire Archaeological Society. In previous visits he's given us talks on 'Early Depictions of Hadrian's Wall' and 'Maps of Britain before Ordinance Survey'. This time he will be presenting a talk on 'Dispute Maps from Tudor Lancashire'. Bill always gives a great talk so hope to see you there, BA.
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