{"title":"Books by Richard Heawood","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"hotties-excavation-and-building-survey-at-pilkingtons-no-9-tank-house-st-helens-merseyside","title":"The Hotties: Excavation and Building Survey at Pilkingtons No. 9 Tank House, St Helens Merseyside","description":"\u003cp\u003eBetween 1991 and 1997, Lancaster University Archaeological Unit (now part of Oxford Archaeology) conducted a phased programme of standing building survey, excavation, and oral and documentary research, targeted on the remains of Pilkingtons' No 9 Tank House, on the 'Hotties' site in St Helens. The cone house element of the complex still stands, and is an impressive Grade II Listed building. The tank house was purpose-built by Pilkingtons in 1887 for the manufacture of window glass using the blown cylinder method, and housed a continuous tank furnace, which made use of the regenerative technology patented by the Siemens brothers. The site, which is bounded to the north by the 1757 Sankey Canal, had previously been used as the pit head of a coal mine and, until 1884-5, was occupied by the Bridgewater Chemical Works; thus, the history of this plot of land neatly illustrates the town's industrial progression from coal, through chemicals, to the glass industry, which still dominates the local economy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e By 1991, the area of the former glassworks had been earmarked for urban regeneration. The cone house and its immediate surroundings were acquired by the newly formed Hotties Science and Arts Centre Ltd, later the World of Glass Project, with the aim of recording and consolidating the remains of the glass surface, and eventually opening the site as a visitor centre. In the same year, Lancaster University Archaeological Unit was commissioned to undertake the first four stages of fieldwork, stage 1 involving a survey of the fabric of the cone house building, the planning of adjacent surface remains, and the archaeological recording of a number of geotechnical test pits. The investigations were commissioned and funded in the first instance by the Ravenhead Renaissance consortium, and latterly by English Heritage. A second phase of investigation, from November 1991 to March 1992, involved the removal of chemically contaminated overburden to a depth of 3.50m from all areas around the tank house, with preliminary excavation of the sub-surface tunnel system located beneath the building. A third phase, conducted in 1993, saw the total excavation of the interior of the tank house, including clearance of the numerous underlying tunnels and flues. Between 1995 and 1997, building work to consolidate and repair the tank house remains proceeded; Lancaster University Archaeological Unit was commissioned to monitor these works, and also to carry out further excavation in two limited areas.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The investigations have revealed the surviving base-level remains of a continuous tank furnace, with its regenerator chambers and gas supply flues still largely intact. Though details of the original Siemens tank furnace design are well known owing to the survival of the original patent drawings, excavation of No 9 Tank House has demonstrated that very significant modifications of the standard design were made by Pilkingtons. Most notable was the division of the furnace into two distinct and independently-heated components, the 'melt end' and the 'working end', housed in two adjacent buildings, each with its own dedicated set of regenerators; this arrangement was developed in order to allow the different conditions needed for melting and refining glass, and gathering and working glass, to be achieved with maximum efficiency, cutting costs and increasing quality. As the commercial sensitivity of furnace design ensured that few detailed records were kept, elucidation of the modifications has been largely dependent on the detailed analysis of the surviving elements of the No 9 Tank House. Pilkington's development of standard furnace design was crucial to its commercial success, and the archaeological investigations have thus given a valuable insight into the reasons for the company's dominance of the British window glass trade from the late nineteenth century to the present day.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The No 9 Tank House remains represent a unique survival from an age of rapid technological development within the glass industry, a period characterised by innovative but short-lived design. No comparable continuous tank furnace site is known elsewhere in England; the Cannington Shaw Bottle Shop, also in St Helens, represents a second excellent survival of a late nineteenth century glass furnace, but was built for the manufacture of bottles rather than window glass, and exhibits a lesser degree of technological development. The World of Glass Project has succeeded in ensuring the preservation of a rare industrial monument, and the multi­million pound visitor centre and museum, constructed across the canal, now portrays the technical development and heritage of the glass industry to the public, using the surviving archaeological remains as the pivotal element.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483528995189,"sku":"9780904220322","price":18.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780904220322.jpg?v=1786178703"},{"product_id":"old-abbey-farm-risley-building-survey-and-excavation-at-a-medieval-moated-site","title":"Old Abbey Farm Risley: Building Survey and Excavation at a Medieval Moated Site","description":"\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1990s Lancaster University Archaeological Unit (now part of Oxford Archaeology) carried out a large-scale programme of archaeological investigation on behalf of UK Waste Management Limited, at Old Abbey Farm, Risley, Warrington Borough in the present day county of Cheshire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe farm was the site of a moated platform, thought to be medieval in origin; a Listed seventeenth century brick farmhouse stood on the platform, and a Listed brick barn was sited a short distance to the south-west, beyond the line of the moat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArchaeological investigation of the site began in 1990, following an application to Cheshire County Council to extend the adjacent landfill facility. The fabric of the farmhouse and barn was evaluated, several trial trenches were cut by machine, and the potential of relevant documentary sources was assessed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSubsequently, planning permission for the landfill extension was granted and Listed Building Consent gained for the demolition of the structures, and a programme of archaeological recording was put in place to allow the 'preservation by record' of the site.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe mitigation investigation consisted of two main components, carried out in 1994-5: the controlled demolition and recording of the farmhouse and barn, and the excavation of large open areas both on and off the moated platform.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, multi-disciplinary analysis of the results of the building survey and excavation, and a programme of dendrochronological sampling, has allowed an account of the chronology and development of the site to be constructed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecialist study of re-used timbers dated by dendrochronology has suggested that a late thirteenth or possibly very early fourteenth century open hall formerly stood on the site of Old Abbey Farm. The hall is thought to have been fully aisled, with a steeply-pitched hipped roof, but all the timbers from this phase were found re-used in secondary positions, so that many aspects of the building's form and appearance remain uncertain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the late medieval period it is probable that the aisles were removed, with new timber¬framing built below the arcade-plates. A clay floor found by excavation either relates to the modified hall, or to an earlier structure. The medieval hall stood on a moated platform; the moat and platform could not be independently dated, but appear to be at least as old as the re-used timbers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is not clear how the moat was crossed earlier in the medieval period, but waterlogged timbers were recovered demonstrating that a substantial timber bridge was constructed in the mid fifteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDocumentary sources indicate that the site lay at the centre of the manorial estate of Pesfurlong, created in the mid thirteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA crosswing was added to the medieval hall in the mid sixteenth century; elements of the timber frame were found within the farmhouse, and represent the earliest in situ remains found within the standing structure. The footings of a sandstone bridge may also date to this period. Subsequently, the house was subject to piecemeal underpinning and rebuilding in brick, beginning in the early to mid seventeenth century, and was extended in the mid eighteenth century. The brick Lancashire-type barn was also built at this time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe project provided a rare opportunity to excavate below a standing structure that had been archaeologically recorded. In order to examine the effectiveness and validity of the twin techniques of building survey and excavation, and the inter-relationship between standing structure and buried evidence, a unique research experiment was designed, whereby the two elements of the project were carried out by separate teams of archaeologists, who did not communicate until the completion of the fieldwork stages. The results of the experiment formed the basis of a television documentary compiled for the BBC's 'Countryfile' programme.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483530699125,"sku":"9780904220346","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780904220346.jpg?v=1786178705"},{"product_id":"bewsey-old-hall-warrington-cheshire-excavations-1977-81-and-1983-5","title":"Bewsey Old Hall, Warrington, Cheshire: excavations 1977-81 and 1983-5","description":"\u003cp\u003eBewsey Old Hall has a long and archaeologically well-documented existence. It is a Scheduled Monument , but was effectively derelict in the late 1970s, when plans for sympathetic restoration and redevelopment of this important moated site gave the opportunity for the standing buildings (some dating back to the seventeenth century) to be recorded. The extensive archaeological excavations examined a large part of the moated platform, and were intended to place the house within its physical and chronological context. In addition, this was supplemented by detailed documentary research, which offered an unusual chance to place the site within its regional socio-political context. Excavations took place in 1977-81 and again in 1983-5. Analysis of the large body of data recovered, begun in 1985 but laid aside in 1987, was resumed in 1993 and finally completed in 1996, at which point a draft report was submitted to English Heritage. A revised version of that draft forms the basis of this publication.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBewsey’s origins lay in the thirteenth century, perhaps originating as a hunting lodge in the royal forest of Burtonwood. It became the principal seat of the Butlers, Barons of Warrington, after their original hall, Mote Hill in Warrington, was destroyed by fire in the late thirteenth century. The earliest coherent archaeological evidence from the site suggests that a large timber-built aisled hall and a range of smaller service buildings were erected on the site at about that time, presumably to house the baron and his household. The Butlers were to stay at Bewsey until the sixteenth century, rebuilding their hall on stone foundations in the fourteenth century, after a substantial fire, and modifying it and maintaining it as circumstances required. By the mid-sixteenth century, some of the principal buildings had fallen into disrepair, but a new northern range was built shortly before 1586, when Bewsey changed hands, passing briefly to the Earl of Leicester. When Robert Dudley died in 1588, the house, although probably intended for his illegitimate son, Robert, passed first to his brother Ambrose, earl of Warwick, who died shortly afterwards. For a decade, the ownership of the property was disputed, but in 1597, Robert Dudley sold the estate to the Ireland family, and it remained with them and their successors, the Athertons, until the mid-twentieth century.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBewsey Old Hall has a long and archaeologically well-documented existence. It is a Scheduled Monument , but was effectively derelict in the late 1970s, when plans for sympathetic restoration and redevelopment of this important moated site gave the opportunity for the standing buildings (some dating back to the seventeenth century) to be recorded. The extensive archaeological excavations examined a large part of the moated platform, and were intended to place the house within its physical and chronological context. In addition, this was supplemented by detailed documentary research, which offered an unusual chance to place the site within its regional socio-political context. Excavations took place in 1977-81 and again in 1983-5. Analysis of the large body of data recovered, begun in 1985 but laid aside in 1987, was resumed in 1993 and finally completed in 1996, at which point a draft report was submitted to English Heritage. A revised version of that draft forms the basis of this publication.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Bewsey’s origins lay in the thirteenth century, perhaps originating as a hunting lodge in the royal forest of Burtonwood. It became the principal seat of the Butlers, Barons of Warrington, after their original hall, Mote Hill in Warrington, was destroyed by fire in the late thirteenth century. The earliest coherent archaeological evidence from the site suggests that a large timber-built aisled hall and a range of smaller service buildings were erected on the site at about that time, presumably to house the baron and his household. The Butlers were to stay at Bewsey until the sixteenth century, rebuilding their hall on stone foundations in the fourteenth century, after a substantial fire, and modifying it and maintaining it as circumstances required. By the mid-sixteenth century, some of the principal buildings had fallen into disrepair, but a new northern range was built shortly before 1586, when Bewsey changed hands, passing briefly to the Earl of Leicester. When Robert Dudley died in 1588, the house, although probably intended for his illegitimate son, Robert, passed first to his brother Ambrose, earl of Warwick, who died shortly afterwards. For a decade, the ownership of the property was disputed, but in 1597, Robert Dudley sold the estate to the Ireland family, and it remained with them and their successors, the Athertons, until the mid-twentieth century.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The origins of the fine brick hall still standing on the site probably lay in the early seventeenth century, representing the fashionable aspirations of the new owners, seeking to add comfortable modern accommodation to the extant medieval hall, thereby initiating the piecemeal demolition of the medieval southern range. The appearance of the new house was later much enhanced, by the excavation of a formal terraced garden, decorated by large and impressive terracotta urns and other garden furniture. It did not, however, last long, and the garden had been backfilled and levelled by 1724. The Atherton family often had cause to lease Bewsey to tenants, and on occasion it was left empty for long periods. Indeed, it was not until c 1765 that Elizabeth Atherton and her husband Robert Gwillym moved back to Bewsey, which had almost certainly been empty since 1754. As a fire is thought to have destroyed part of the main range in the 1740s or early 1750s, it is hardly surprising that they initiated a substantial programme of rebuilding, including the demolition of the medieval hall, and the addition of rooms in the Georgian style. A brick-built farmhouse may have been added to the western side of the seventeenth-century hall during this period, but it could equally have been built much later, possibly around 1819. By 1833, the Georgian buildings had been demolished, leaving the hall more or less in the form in which it survives today. In 1863, a ‘New’ Hall was built some 400 m away, and Bewsey Old Hall was left in the hands of a succession of tenants, until, in a state of considerable disrepair, it was acquired by Warrington Development Corporation in 1974.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The large amount of medieval and earlier post-medieval material from the site, particularly the pottery, is of particular significance to local and regional studies. It remains one of the largest collections in the North West outside of urban centres such as Chester and Carlisle.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57490209472885,"sku":"9781907686023","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781907686023.jpg?v=1786442094"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-richard-heawood.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}