CBA NW Spring Conference 27 April Booking Still Open
CBA NW Spring Conference 27 April Booking Still Open
Altrincham Court Leet Duties as Surveyor of Antiquities
It was my pleasure and honour to attend the Altrincham Court Leet Hilary Assizes in my capacity as Surveyor of Antiquities (and freeman) on January 13th 2024. I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this blog that I’m the first person to hold this position for the Court Leet. Whilst its a largely ceremonial office, it does provides…
Seasonal Archaeology: A Bridgewater Canal Conundrum
One of my regular walks takes my into the centre of Sale, Trafford, via Northenden Road and across the road bridge above the Bridgewater Canal and the MetroLink line (formerly the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway). The vistas from the top of this bridge provide views along the Bridgewater to the north and south.…
The Archaeology of Ironbridge Gorge in 20 Digs: My Latest Book
December 2023 sees the publication of my 53rd book, The Archaeology of Ironbridge Gorge in 20 Digs, by Amberley Publishing. It is more than 24 years since the last book on the archaeology of the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, one of the cradles of industrialisation. Since the late 1990s our understanding of the impact of…
Climate Change & Industrial Heritage Sites: The Impact of Storm Babet
My interest in how Climate Change has and is affecting archaeological and heritage sites goes back many years. In the 2000s I was involved in excavating a later prehistoric and Roman village in the Trent Valley, Nottinghamshire, whose existence depended in large measure upon the annual inundation of the surrounding flood plain to refertilise the…
The Architecture of Industry: The 5th East-West Workshop on Industrial Archaeology
Since 2020, the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) has been developing and running jointly with the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology (USTB, China), a series of online industrial archaeology seminars. These are designed to bring together researchers to exchange ideas and knowledge among Western and Eastern colleagues to build a…
Ghosts Signs on Historic Industrial Buildings
As the leaves drop, along with the daytime temperatures of late autumn, so some strange urban vistas in the form of faint letters and pictures are revealed on many urban structures. These reminders of past use, and long lost businesses and industries, are known as ghost signs. So what are ghost signs? Typically they are…
Greater Manchester Archaeology Day 2023
Its that time of year again when archaeology professionals, academics, and volunteers come together to explore and celebrate the latest digs and research from across Greater Manchester, courtesy of GMAAS, the Greater Manchester Archaeology Federation, and the University of Salford. During the three years of the COVID pandemic, community archaeology and voluntary archaeology struggled, whilst…
Permitted Development Rights and the Demolition of the 18th century Broadheath Canal Warehouse
In mid-September 2023 the attention of drivers and pedestrians travelling along Manchester Road (the A56) through the Broadheath area of Altrincham may have been briefly caught by the sight of a digger demolishing an unassuming-looking brick building. This two storey structure stood on the southern side of the Bridgewater Canal behind the Packet House pub.…
New Light on the Landscape of Second World War Altrincham
In the woodland between the northern side of Charcoal Road and southern edge of the Dunham New Park and its golf course in Altrincham, Trafford, can be seen the overgrown remains of brick and concrete foundations for at least three buildings. These are the most visible remains of the Dunham Massey prisoner of war camp…
Seasonal Archaeology: A Goodrich Summer
The Wye Valley is a stunning piece of landscape, even in the rain of a very wet summer in 2023. The dampness of this year has emphasised what a lush landscape is can be, with hedgerow dripping with early ripening bramble fruits, the branches of fruit trees becoming increasingly laden with ripening apples, pears, and…
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