The recent Dig Greater Manchester project at the site of Wood Hall in Reddish was a great success. With research (and assistance from a lady in her nineties, who remembers playing in the hall as a child) the archaeologists were able to pinpoint the location of the buildings. Carefully removing soil and rubble, they gradually uncovered stone steps leading down into the cellar, where they found these beautiful tiles. They were made by Mintons of Stoke-on-Trent around 1850.
The paving was a mixture of cobble stones (large pebbles from the river - cheap and locally available); granite setts and cream sandstone flagstones. The changes reveal increasing investment in the property.
Many more items were discovered including shoes; a porcelain egg (placed in nests to encourage chickens to lay); bottles; coins and part of a marble fireplace. There were finds from a wide range of dates showing changes in use over the years.
Wood Hall was built in a strategic position - a woodland clearing on high land near the river. Because of this, the team believe the site could have been in use as far back as the Stone Age (around 10,000 BC). There are potentially many more, older relics to be found.
A longer article about the dig can be found on the Stockport Council Heritage Blog.
Interested in getting involved in local archaeology? Contact SMART (South Manchester Archaeological Research Team).
For now, the project is over but the team will be back next year and on the lookout for new projects. Do you know of a site which has the potential for a future dig? Email David.
