Open Area Excavation at Bank Hey Farm, Earshot, Lancashire, Bank Hey Farm, Earshot, Lancashire

1. 1 An area measuring 14m in length x 13m in width was excavated across the site, targeting a building known as Holden Hay or Weavers (Buschmann 2021, Asset 15), the area revealed it situ remains. 7. 1. 2 With the excavation area the bases of four walls were preserved in moderate condition, 006, 007, 008, 009 and 050 (Plates 2 & 3) looking at their construction they would appear to have been the external walls of the building with 006, 009 and 050 being the more fragile, the Flagstone floor 013 (Plate 4) had been partially robbed away. A later extension is also now noticeable consisting of walls 010, 011 and 012, and may suggest the creation of a later toilet block/ privy (Plate 5) 7. 1. 3 The remains of the building are undoubtedly that of Holden Hay or Weavers, possibly dating from the early to mid-18th century, the main type of mills operating in the area were cotton weaving mills, such as Scotland Bank Mill (Asset 66) built in 1911, and Moss Bridge Mill (Asset 68) built in 1912. Extraordinarily little documentary evidence for the property could be discovered that could be linked to Weavers or Holden Hay, one of the names associated with the property ``Weavers" may relate to domestic weaving being undertaken within the property. Most of the finds recovered dated to the second half of the 19th century. Some later material accumulated during the post-demolition agricultural activity, as there is no evidence the site was occupied post 1898. The archaeological work was undertaken over 10 days between the 9th of September to the 13th of September 2024 and comprised the excavation of targeted area. encompass the entirety of this building, to cover an area of 400m2 (Figure 1). This would allow for the archaeological recording of the full footprint of the farm building once known as Holden Hay/Weavers. The investigation revealed evidence for a small farm building dating from the late 18th century in the form of wall foundation assemblage of finds relating to this property were recovered, largely domestic the building had been subject to significant alterations prior to its demolition in the final quarter of the 19th century. No evidence was recovered for any occupation on the site prior to the late 18th century making this building a relatively short live dwelling which may explain the almost total absence of any documentary records relating to this building and may have been associated with the adjacent Bank Hey Farm rather than a standalone small holding.