Archaeology at Stanley Bank: Part 2
By Peter Keen

The last two weekends of the Community Archaeology Project at Blackbrook went ahead with the usual enthusiasm and commitment on the part of the volunteers who opened up a number of new trenches in an attempt to find more answers.

Buried in the earth at the base of the southern end of the dam the diggers had previously located was a large diameter ceramic pipe run which curved from the dam towards the south east. (Trench 4) At one end was a stone built sump, leading what must have been a considerable volume of water downwards into the ground from where it must have gone somewhere else, but where? There were no clues on the surface and at the end of the dig no answer had been found. The other end of the pipe lay near the dam wall but there was no sign that there had been a connection through the dam.

Along the same alignment the bases of two plinths had been found. (shaded black) Had these supported some sort of leat or channel leading water from the dam onto the slitting mill site for some purpose? Again there were plenty of theories but few facts.

KEY FOR PLAN

The face of the dam at this point had at some time in the past been rebuilt, destroying clues in the process, but more importantly the rebuild had been done in stone rather than the brick which occurs all over the rest of the site. Why a different material ? Had this been done at a different time to the rest of the dam? Had the dam burst and needed drastic strengthening? A deep trench at the base of the dam revealed no useful information. (Trench 8)

Water from the dam originally turned a water-wheel to provide power to the industry which occupied the site. It is not known at what level the water reached the wheel since the section of dam which might have provided clues has been demolished to allow the water to escape from the valley behind it. An overshot wheel would have been the most efficient but no firm conclusion can be reached.

From the wheel pit the tail race led into the Black Brook which flowed southwards across the site. The race had been enclosed in a culvert which the 1983 workers had located and begun to clear. It was a large brick built structure, tall enough to stand in, approximately one metre wide and with an arched roof. A trench was put in across the course of the culvert to establish its state of repair and to find dating evidence. (Trench 9) One of the more successful trenches, this one revealed that the culvert top was in generally good condition, and the pottery shards gave similar dates to those on the rest of the site.

The small canal which connected Carr Mill with Stanley Mill had been cut into the side of the Black Brook Valley and at the southern terminus the maps show a widened section, almost like the winding hole of the later canals. This seemed a little strange since the documents tell us that there was only one boat used on the canal and that it was double ended so would not have been required to be turned round. It was reasoned that, when the iron ingots reached Stanley Mill, workers would have needed a firm canal bank on which to unload them. Could there be a timber lined revetment hidden below the years of leaf mould and sediments or was there a stone wharf area ? There was only one way to find out.

Two trenches were put in, one on either side of the canal. (Trenches 10 &11) Below the ubiquitous clay layer in both trenches was found a loose sandy surface, very similar to that found elsewhere in the valley, which would have formed the sub floor to support a paved area. This was an acceptable piece of evidence for the western bank where the ingots would have been unloaded, but the eastern bank was the same and this was supposed to have been a wide canal where the expected results should have been a thick deposit of silt which had filled the basin over the years. Again we had unanswered questions but to balance this a great number of pottery shards were found, many of Rainford Black Glazed Ware. The greatest prize was found by Sarah the assistant archaeologist who came across more than half of a large domestic pottery vessel, 30+ cms wide and about the same height, glazed internally and biscuit on the outside. This went, with all the other finds, to Liverpool Museum to be cleaned, classified and recorded.

It would seem that, with all the unanswered questions which have emerged, the project has not been very successful, but this is far from the case. The prime objectives were to gather archaeological information and to promote archaeology in the community by training its members in appropriate techniques.

Without a doubt, both targets were achieved, A great deal more is know about the site than was known before work commenced. It could be that facts which have been accepted for over twenty years will have to be re-evaluated in the light of the work done in 2006. If the present remains are of the Corn Mill rather than the Slitting Mill, then where is the latter? Is it at a lower level and if so which should be preserved? A large number of artefacts were found and after processing these will be used to create a picture of the site's past and the activities of its inhabitants.

The community involvement has been most encouraging with volunteers turning up in all weathers and working with gusto whether it be preliminary digging, slow careful trowelling , surveying or, the last activity of every dig, filling in the trenches. As their experience increased so did their confidence. There were fewer questions about how to do the work, and they had begun to recognise the clay pipes, pottery and other artefacts as they emerged from the ground. There was an excellent working atmosphere and great disappointment as the project drew to a close.

What happens next?

It will be necessary to establish whether there are still remains of the Slitting Mill surviving below the present structures. The practical way of doing this is to survey the site using Gradiometer or Ground Penetrating Radar equipment. If this gives a positive result then decisions will have to be made about the site. Should the present buildings be conserved, with perhaps the rebuilding of the water wheel to become the focal point of a visit to the valley or should this all be swept away to reveal the older site below?

Conserving the present remains would be the most straight forward and could be done with some community involvement. If the decision was made to uncover the lower levels this would be beyond the capabilities of volunteers. The amount of material to be removed from the site would be such that contractors would have to be employed and heavy plant would be used. However an area to the north of the site would be reserved for further community projects and if the 2006 dig is anything to go by there will be no shortage of volunteers.

Whichever course of action is followed funding will be required so the next task will be the laborious and time consuming one of filling in application forms and assembling the mass of supportive paper work which is required by funding bodies. If this is successful then it is hoped that a further phase of investigation will go ahead in the Valley of the Black Brook, the birthplace of St. Helens' industry.

The ceramic pipe the diggers came across in Trench 4 being photographed for the record.

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