Newsletter 152

GMAU - End of an Era

After 32 years service the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit is to close at the end of March. The announcement came earlier this month and at present there are no plans to replace it. This is very sad news as the Unit has provided fantastic service over the years in its role as archaeological curator for the Borough. In Wigan alone, it was responsible for the discovery of the very first Roman remains in the town centre (the Wiend excavations in the early 1980's provided the very first evidence on the ground that Wigan was indeed a Roman settlement). Also, in 2005, pressure from the Unit ensured that the Roman bathhouse, discovered in Millgate was properly excavated. The closure of the Unit has come about because of the University of Manchester's unwillingness to host them. This has been compounded by cutbacks in the funding from the Borough Council, which means a new home has been difficult to find.

As I understand it, under PPS5 the Borough Council has a statuary obligation to maintain the HER (Heritage Environment Record) and a duty to provide protection to its heritage assets. It will, therefore, have to provide some sort of planning advisory service in the future. What form this will take is uncertain, but it would be a travesty if Norman Redhead and his team were not involved.

Arley Valley Revisited

A misty Sunday morning greeted members of our Society last month as we ventured deep into the Arley woods - to visit the mill sites we once investigated nearly 15 years ago. The visit was instigated by Alison Plummer, who is proposing a joint project with us. This will expand our early investigations to include more of the complex industrial activity that has gone on along the Douglas valley over the years. A dozen water mills at one time or another operated on the river between Wigan and Adlington. Our study in the 1990's only included two of these, the Arley Mill and the Doughty Mill (the report is here on our website) and we also looked at the possibility of Roman coal mining in the valley (report is here).

Alison's proposals are still in the early stages but would include a programme of research, culminating in a gazetteer of all the sites in the valley. Manual survey, written record and photography would then produce an archive. This would provide a base for a heritage trail with interpretation boards, leaflets and even a booklet. Alison's project is ambitious but she is aiming for a significant community involvement which will enable her to attract Heritage Lottery Funding. She is also supported by Oxford Archaeology North who will provide the technical equipment and I'm sure we will provide all the help we can.

Etherstone Hall

Excavations are underway at this site which is near the sports centre in Leigh (see Newsletter 151) - and I understand there are still places available for next week if you are interested. There will also be an open day on Saturday 17th March if you want to see what's going on. In the meantime there is information on our website here about the project - and we've opened up a public forum page here for general comments on the progress of the project.

Next Meeting

Wednesday 7th March - and once again we're on the move. As mentioned at last month's meeting, suitability of our current venue has been called into question. We have, therefore, decided to relocate to the Brocket Arms which is on Mesnes Road (WN1 2DD). The Brocket has a dedicated conference room (i.e. the Standish Suite) and an adjacent car park (it's on the left). There are also buses from the town centre at 7.00pm i.e. Nos. 113 & 626. We start at the usual time of 7.30pm and this month we have Bill Orr who used to work for the Water Board. He will be giving us a fascinating insight into the History of the Development of Wigan's Water Supply.

Hope to see you there - B.A.