The Makerfield Rambler
Excavations at Pine Avenue, Newton-le-Willows, 1992
“In November 1991, the Field Archaeology Section of Liverpool Museum was notified by St Helens Borough Council of a planning application for proposed development of land at Pine Avenue, Wargrave, Newton-le-Willows, centred at NGR SJ 5844 9488 . As the area of the proposed development lay on the course of the Roman road, the developers, Maritime Housing Association Ltd, commissioned an archaeological investigation of the site in advance of the development. An east-west trench was excavated by machine across the supposed line of the road. The trench measured 24.80m long and 1.50m wide, with a maximum depth of about 2.00m. The site lay about 330 m south of the section in Acorn Street. The fieldwork was carried out by Lynn Smith and Steve Membery from 18-20 May 1992...
The pebble layer (9) was interpreted as a road or track. However, the markedly concave base to the pebble deposit, lying in a shallow scoop, gave the feature the appearance of a shallow hollow-way (10). The line of the road at Pine Avenue proved to be approximately 13m to the west of that marked by the Ordnance Survey.
No side ditches were observed in the boulder clay at this point.... The surviving pebble deposit may represent the remains of the compressed and sunken base of the road, or even a later repair or attempted consolidation of the surface by re-laying pebbles. The latter alternative is supported by the presence of a shallow silt deposit over the pebbles, indicating that before it fell out of use and silted up, any original overlying sandstone or gravel road metal had disappeared. Either way little survives of the original construction, and it is uncertain if in its present form the surviving remains represent the Roman road or a later track continuing the same alignment.
The form of the pebble spread at Pine A venue and the absence of side ditches, is very similar to Doggett's section of 1909, east of the Vulcan Engineering Works (NGR SJ 5877 9410)...”
[From “Observations on the Wilderspool to Wigan Roman Road in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, 1985-1995”, Robert Philpott with a contribution by Ron Cowell, in Journal of the Merseyside Archaeological Society Vol 10/2000. *The bracketed numbers -“(9)” etc- refer to the sectional diagram shown right, below. A better-quality illustration is available to view here.]
Taken on 22 May 2018, my photograph looks north-east along Pine Avenue. The start of the “Roman Close” development, construction of which followed the excavations of 1992, can be seen on the left. OS VectorMap Local (2018 version) shows the Roman road crossing the new development at SJ 584 949 and Pine Avenue itself just in front of the camera position at SJ 584 948.
Excavations at Pine Avenue, Newton-le-Willows, 1992
“In November 1991, the Field Archaeology Section of Liverpool Museum was notified by St Helens Borough Council of a planning application for proposed development of land at Pine Avenue, Wargrave, Newton-le-Willows, centred at NGR SJ 5844 9488 . As the area of the proposed development lay on the course of the Roman road, the developers, Maritime Housing Association Ltd, commissioned an archaeological investigation of the site in advance of the development. An east-west trench was excavated by machine across the supposed line of the road. The trench measured 24.80m long and 1.50m wide, with a maximum depth of about 2.00m. The site lay about 330 m south of the section in Acorn Street. The fieldwork was carried out by Lynn Smith and Steve Membery from 18-20 May 1992...
The pebble layer (9) was interpreted as a road or track. However, the markedly concave base to the pebble deposit, lying in a shallow scoop, gave the feature the appearance of a shallow hollow-way (10). The line of the road at Pine Avenue proved to be approximately 13m to the west of that marked by the Ordnance Survey.
No side ditches were observed in the boulder clay at this point.... The surviving pebble deposit may represent the remains of the compressed and sunken base of the road, or even a later repair or attempted consolidation of the surface by re-laying pebbles. The latter alternative is supported by the presence of a shallow silt deposit over the pebbles, indicating that before it fell out of use and silted up, any original overlying sandstone or gravel road metal had disappeared. Either way little survives of the original construction, and it is uncertain if in its present form the surviving remains represent the Roman road or a later track continuing the same alignment.
The form of the pebble spread at Pine A venue and the absence of side ditches, is very similar to Doggett's section of 1909, east of the Vulcan Engineering Works (NGR SJ 5877 9410)...”
[From “Observations on the Wilderspool to Wigan Roman Road in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, 1985-1995”, Robert Philpott with a contribution by Ron Cowell, in Journal of the Merseyside Archaeological Society Vol 10/2000. *The bracketed numbers -“(9)” etc- refer to the sectional diagram shown right, below. A better-quality illustration is available to view here.]
Taken on 22 May 2018, my photograph looks north-east along Pine Avenue. The start of the “Roman Close” development, construction of which followed the excavations of 1992, can be seen on the left. OS VectorMap Local (2018 version) shows the Roman road crossing the new development at SJ 584 949 and Pine Avenue itself just in front of the camera position at SJ 584 948.