Archaeology, Heritage and Art

The Cuppin Street rescue excavation in Chester one lunchtime, 1986 or 87. My photo.

To make the site more navigable I have add links below in roughly chronological order, from prehistory to the present, to act as a table of contents for the heritage posts on the blog, so that those interested in particular time periods will be able to follow the story in a relatively logical  sequence.

The heritage posts on the blog cover topics from early prehistory to the present day.  Most of these posts will be straightforward attempts to accurately represent different aspects of the area’s prehistory and history using primary and/or secondary data.   There is a hyperlinked list of the blog’s heritage posts at the end of this page, as well as links to the short Cheshire Proverbs series.

Sites, monuments and buildings of all types and ages will all find their way onto the blog. Visits to exhibitions, museums and art galleries, and attendance at lectures will also be added from time to time.

 

Heritage posts in roughly chronological order (by historical date)

Prehistory

Pleistocene zoology and Neolithic burials at Gop Hill near Prestatyn (series of 3):

#1 – The Pleistocene history at Gop Cave  – woolly mammoths and hungry hyaenas, as well as a small microlith site at the entrance.
#2 – The Neolithic burials at Gop Cave
#3 – The gigantic cairn (Neolithic?) on Gop HIll

The Earlier Prehistory at Beeston Castle

“Landscape of Neolithic Axes” – A hugely enjoyable afternoon of talks at Penmaenmawr about axehead production in the Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan areas

Who was Brymbo Man, what is the Mold Cape, and why do they matter? Early Bronze Age of northeast Wales (series of 4):

#1 – Introduction to the region, its sites, and the excavations of Bryn y Ffynnon and Bryn yr Ellyllon
#2 – What do we know about Bryn y Ffynnon and Brymbo Man?
#3 – What do we know about Bryn yr Ellyllon and the Mold Cape?
#4 – Pulling together some of the threads 

Open Day of the Clwydian Range Archaeology Group excavations at Bryneglwys, Llantysilio Mountain – Earlier Bronze Age

The prehistoric copper mines at the Great Orme’s Head

The Cheshire log boats in context, from prehistory through the early  medieval period

Dramatic archaeology and splendid views at Caer Drewyn Iron Age hillfort above Corwen

Double ramparts and great views at the Iron Age hillfort Maiden Castle via the Sandstone Trail at Bickerton Hill on the mid-Cheshire Sandstone Ridge.

Roman

An impressive permanent exhibit of decorated Roman tombstones in Chester’s Grosvenor Museum

A Touch of Rome #1:  Background to Roman Chester and the Roman road network
A Touch of Rome #2:  A walk along Watling Street West, the Roman road from Chester passing through Aldford and just east of Churton en route to Whitchurch

The Rossett Roman Villa #1:  What is a Roman villa and who lived in them? 
The Rossett Roman Villa #2:  Background to the Rossett Roman villa excavation
The Rossett Roman Villa #3:   The 2021 excavation’s excellent  Open Day

Exhibition overview: Hidden Holt – The Story of a Roman Site.  An exhibition at Wrexham Museum about the Roman tile and pottery works at Holt by the river Dee

The 1991 discovery of an important Roman inscription at the Holt tileworks

The Roman bath-house at Prestatyn in north Wales – an unexpected site at the edge of an industrial zone probably based on the export of lead

“Gladiators of Britain” – Write up of an exhibition at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester featuring items from Colchester and Ipswich Museums, the British Museum and the Grosvenor Museum, Chester.  Preceded by a discussion of the Chester amphitheatre

Medieval

The central theme of this misericord is a two-bodied monster with a single head. The supporters are also monsters.

A 6th-7th century Egyptian pilgrim vase found at Meols on the Wirral.

The Cheshire log boats in context, from prehistory through the early  medieval period

The Shocklach motte-and-bailey castles at Castleton, southeast of Farndon dating to c.1100.

Chester St Werburgh’s Abbey and Cathedral

A day trip to the impressive and elaborate 1082 Cluniac Wenlock priory in Much Wenlock, not far from Shrewsbury and Telford.

A visit to the 12th century Basingwerk Abbey, Greenfield Valley Park, Holywell

A visit to the 12th century Birkenhead Priory of St Mary and St James
Birkenhead Priory – A 2-Minute Video

A day trip to the 1135 Augustinian Priory of Haughmond near Shrewsbury

Medieval ambition and musket ball holes at the Church of St Chad’s in Holt (Grade 1 listed)

Medieval Misericords in the Chester-Wrexham area

Valle Crucis Abbey

Beeston Castle #1 – Ranulf III’s 1220 castle: Who was Ranulf?
Beeston Castle #2  – The walk, the castle, the visit

Event by Chester University:  Telling Stories from Handling Medieval and Early Modern Historic Objects

Ewloe Castle, c.1257, in Wepre Park, near Connah’s Quay

Castell Dinas Brân, Castle of Crows above Llangollen, c.1260s – Medieval ruins and stunning views

The historical background to Edward 1’s castles in northeast Wales

Edward I’s Flint Castle founded in 1277: Edward I’s first permanent foothold in northeast Wales

Edward I’s Rhuddlan Castle, founded in 1277, and the Statute of Wales

A visit to Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s 1278 castle at Caergwrle in northeast Wales

Edward I’s 1282 Denbigh Castle and Town Walls

The late 15th/early 16th century St Winefride’s Well in Holywell, with its holy spring, fan-vaulted lower chapel and sculpted ceiling bosses.

The 15th century misericords and other choir carvings at St Bartholemew’s Church, Tong, near Telford

The splendid Grade-1 listed Llangar Church near Corwen, founded in the 13th century and abandoned in 1856 with painted walls, box pews and a lovely churchyard

Tudor and Stuart

The Talbot hound in Churton-by-Aldford, first appearing on the  Grosvenor family coat of arms in 1597

Uplifting colours and designs at the 17th century Rhug Chapel, Corwen

18th – 19th Centuries

The Bishop Bennet Way: Who was Bishop Bennet and why do we travel his Way? (18th Century)

The 1715 “Old Dock” – The earliest of Liverpool’s commercial docks, preserved beneath the Liverpool ONE shopping centre

A visit to the lovely Georgian St Deiniol’s Parish Church, Worthenbury, built 1735-39

Plas Newydd, an extravaganza of the decorative arts in Llangollen:

#1 – Introduction: An extravaganza of the decorative arts
#2 – Splendid stained glass patchworks
#3 – More decorative arts at Plas Newydd – Delftware tiles, gilt leather wall hangings and intricate plaster ceilings
#4 The Gorsedd Stone Circle for the Eisteddfod of 1907-8

The magnificent 1781 Iron Bridge and the Ironbridge Gorge on the river Severn near Telford

A visit to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct near Llangollen – Thomas Telford’s 1805 iron trough 126ft over the Dee

Thomas Telford and William Hazledine’s Eaton Hall Estate “Iron Bridge” at Aldford, 1824

The Cheshire Lunatic Asylum in Chester 1829 – 1870, part 1 and part 2

The 1854 turnpike from Chester to Worthenbury via Churton, with a branch to Farndon – Part 1, Background
The 1854 turnpike from Chester to Worthenbury via Churton, with a branch to Farndon – Part 2, The Turnpike

Exhibition: Tales from Terracottapolis at Ty Pawb, Wrexham (exhibition about the terracotta manufacturing heritage of Wrexham).

A late 19th Century bottle found in my garden:  The Chester Lion Brewery Co., 1846-1902

Another late 19th Century bottle from my garden:  J.F. Edisbury and Co,, Pharmacy.

Fragment of a late 19th Century Codd-neck bottle found in my garden

The 1858 Barnston Memorial to Roger Barnston, who died in the Indian Mutiny of 1857

A guided walk by Chantal Bradburn to learn about the distinctive architectural creativity of John Douglas in Chester

S.S. Great Eastern,16th February 1867 – The world’s biggest ship under refit on the Mersey. An introduction to the great ship and her relationship with the river Mersey

The 1898 mileposts between Farndon, Churton, Aldford and Huntington
Two more of the 1898 mileposts located

Churton commercial residents listed in the late 19th and early 20th Century Postal Directories, with relevant gravestones in Farndon and Aldford churchyard cemeteries

A marvellous visit to the Jackfield Tile Museum in Jackfield, near Ironbridge, Shropshire

20th – 21st Centuries

The iconic Spitfire MK1, the oldest surviving example

Comparing an early 1900s Churton postcard with a 1911 map and a modern photograph.  Spot the difference 🙂

Willow pattern china from my garden, 19th-20th century, with a history of the design

Visiting and very much enjoying the remarkable RAF Museum at Cosford, near Telford, featuring aircraft and related objects from the First World War to the 21st Century.

A revealing talk and guided tour: The Churchill Building and the Western Command 1937 – Today

“Cheshire’s Archives: A Story Shared.” Great to learn about the new Cheshire Archives, opening in late summer 2026

 

Art exhibitions and events

Exhibition: Tales from Terracottapolis at Ty Pawb, Wrexham (rich exhibition about the terracotta manufacturing heritage of Wrexham, including Antony Gormley’s Brick Man)

Exhibition: The luxuriant Blanket Coverage at Ty Pawb, Wrexham (exhibition about modern woven blankets, both hand-woven and produced on jacquard looms – sensational!) July 2nd – September 24th

Exhibition: The Tailor’s Tale at Tŷ Pawb gallery, Wrexham (super exhibition about the 1852 magnificent Tailor’s Quilt on loan from St Fagan’s Museum, and the influences it has had on modern design and textile art) July 2nd – September 24th

Exhibition: Trena Cox: Reflections 100 in Chester Cathedral, 7th October to 8th November

A Chester Local List Workshop – what is local listing all about?

Exhibitions: Two Chester artists at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester:  The Romance of Ruins – The Etchings of George Cuitt (20 July 2024 – 12 January 2025) and Louise Rayner – Victorian Watercolours (21 September 2024 – 9 February 2025)

A marvellous visit to the Jackfield Tile Museum in Jackfield, near Ironbridge, Shropshire

Lord Leverhulme’s multifarious collections at the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight, Wirral


Object Histories from the Garden series

(in order of discovery, not in chronological order)

#1 – A late 19th Century bottle found in my garden:  The Chester Lion Brewery Co., 1846-1902

#2 – Another late 19th Century bottle from my garden:  J.F. Edisbury and Co,, Pharmacy.

#3 – The head of a small curly-headed top-hatted figurine

#4 – A Dinky Toy Sepcat Jaguar in my garden, late 1970s

#5 – Fragment of a late 19th Century Codd-neck bottle found in my garden

#6 – A piece of a 19th century / early 20th century  Hamilton / Torpedo bottle in my garden

#7 – Willow pattern china from my garden, probably early-mid 20th Century, with a history of the design

#8 – Pieces of 19th century clay tobacco pipe

#9 – A Golliwog on a child’s cup

#10 – 19th century mocha and annular ware sherds

#11 – A fragment of a bisque ware doll’s head

#12 – A Potter’s mark on a piece of flow blue ware by S.W. Dean, Burslem, Staffordshire

#13 – Fragments of spongeware pottery

#14 – A small sherd with a big name – a section of text from the Anglesey placename Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch


Cheshire Proverbs Series

A link to the entire series, as it develops.  Alternatively, here is a complete list of the proverbs one by one (ongoing):

 

 

Leave a comment