Archaeological evaluation : Vesta Street, New Islington, Ancoats, Manchester

In April 2017, Salford Archaeology was commissioned by the Manchester Life DevelopmentCompany to undertake an archaeological evaluation of a parcel of land in the New Islingtonarea of Ancoats, Manchester (centred on NGR 385370 398310). The evaluation was requiredto determine the presence, extent, depth, state of preservation and significance of thearchaeological resource of the proposed development area to enable informedrecommendations to be made regarding the future treatment of any surviving remains.The archaeological interest in the site was highlighted in a desk-based assessment that wasproduced by Arup to support the planning application for the proposed development. Thisconcluded that the site has high potential to contain buried remains of an iron foundry thatwas occupied in the mid-19thcentury by the eminent engineer William Fairbairn, togetherwith a late 19th- or early 20th-century textile mill.The archaeological evaluation comprised the excavation of a single trench, which was placedalong the footprint of the mid-19th-century iron foundry, and part of the later textile mill.Whilst the evaluation revealed that north-western part of the site had been subject toconsiderable disturbance in the late 20thcentury, with the resultant loss of all buried remains,significant structural elements of the former iron foundry and textile mill were revealedacross the south-eastern part of the trench.Following consultation with the Greater Manchester Archaeological Advisory Service, it isconcluded that further archaeological investigation of the site is merited in advance of thegroundworks required by the proposed development. This further investigation shouldcomprise an open-area excavation, targeted on those elements of the mid-19thcentury ironfoundry that survive in-situ, together with the steam-power plant for the later textile mil