Cheadle Archaeological dig (September 2010)

  

*DVD now available*

In September 2010, the Cheadle Civic Society helped to arrange and fund a major archaeological dig at the back of Cheadle Green which helped to excavate the foundations of the old Cheadle Hall -a large residential building which had stood at the back of the green for more than 200 years until it was demolished in the late 1950s.  

Cheadle Hall as it appeared in c1910

 

The Society brought together the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit, led by County Archeologist Norman Redhead, the Centre for Applied Archaeology at the University of Salford, the South Manchester Archeaological Research Trust and hundreds of local people in an unprecedented weekend of activities which provided a great insight into the history of Cheadle Hall.

The event was also attended by local councillors, Cheadle MP Mark Hunter and members of Cheadle Gatley Film Makers who are producing a documentary video about the project.

 

 

For further information about the event, please click on the link below.

http://www.scribd.com/mobile/documents/42686951/download?  (Please allow a few seconds for document to download)

 

For a detailed report on the dig by the Centre of Applied Archeaology at the University of Salford, click here

 

To order the DVD of the archeological dig for only £5, click here

 

For a pictoral record of the weekend events, see the images below.

 

Hundreds of local people attended the event and were fascinated by the amount of Cheadle history which was on display

 

 

Manchester County Archaeologist Norman Redhead explains the purpose of the dig to local residents

 

 

Once the layout of the old building was identified, the archaeologists began the excavation process by digging up the topsoil

 

 

One of the archaeologists begins to reveal one of the many internal walls which were discovered

 

 

The archaeologists used a range of dedicated tools to dig up the soil without damaging any of the building below

 

 

One of the main discoveries was the bay window on the side south of Cheadle Hall which overlooked Stockport Road

 

 

Many of the archaeologists gave guided tours of the site to local people explaining the excavation process

 

 

Cheadle Civic Society Chairman Andrew Taylor (left) discusses the dig and other local issues with Cheadle MP Mark Hunter

 

 

Dozens of local children came to the site and many spent several hours having their first experience of real-life archaeology

 

 

A special two-colour archaeological measure denotes the depth the archaeologists managed to dig to during the excavation

 

 

Many types of artefacts were discovered underground, especially old tiles, brickwork and pottery

 

 

Many of the individual historic artefacts which were discovered were then thoroughly cleaned for proper analysis