City Road, Chester
Apr 14, 2010 by Blair Poole
The Premier Inn on City Road is a 120 bedroom hotel situated on the outskirts of Chester City centre. Previous archaeological survey indicated that the site was the location of one of the earliest theatres in Chester, built in the 1800s. Following the results of pre-determination archaeological evaluation the Local Authority placed a condition on the development that full excavation of the site was required prior to construction.
L – P : Archaeology was instructed by Whitbread plc to carry out a series of investigations at this complex urban site, which included an archaeological excavation and watching brief, to clarify past land use in this area of the city.
During excavation the footprint of the 19th century sandstone and timber theatre was uncovered as were the brick footings of the later 19th century replacement theatre. A series of 17th and 18th century tanning waste pits containing a large assemblage of cattle and horse bones were also excavated, these were anaylsed by zooarchaeologists at Nottingham University.
Evidence of Roman agricultural activity was identified at the southern edge of the site. This represented the furthest known extent of Roman activity leading back from the main road into the Roman Fort, now the centre of modern Chester.
L – P : Archaeology’s role in this development enabled the client to secure planning permission for the new hotel and satisfy the conditions imposed by the Local Authority.
| Client: | Whitbread Group |
| Site: | City Road, Chester |
| Development type: | Hotel |
| Archaeological Contract: | 110,000 |