An archaeological dig at Quarry Bank Mill aims to reveal and record the remains of a building which has long since been demolished.
The Upper Garden at Quarry Bank was the original kitchen garden for the Greg family who founded the Mill and lived at Quarry Bank House. Like any kitchen garden it fulfilled an essential function – to supply fruit, flowers and vegetables for the family and the estate throughout the year.
Jamie Lund, the National Trust's archaeologist, will be leading a dig to try and uncover the remains of the heated glasshouse that was used for growing melons. He said "Ingenious systems were developed by the gardeners to allow production of fruit to continue even in the winter months. This was achieved by 'forcing' produce under glass, or heating it using warm air of hot water systems.
"The survey and excavation work to find the lost Melon House will be undertaken by a team of volunteers from local archaeological societies and our Styal Estate volunteer gardeners. I'll be training them with support from a small team of professional archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology North."
The annual Festival of British Archaeology takes place across the UK from the 16th to 31st of July, and as part of this the survey work in the Upper Garden will be undertaken to try and understand the importance of the kitchen garden at Quarry Bank Mill and the various structures it contained, which will help in the Trust's future conservation work.
Jamie said "This event should allow us to find out much more about the domestic, daily life at Quarry Bank and ultimately what was appearing on the tables of the Gregg family during the nineteenth century. What makes this event particularly exciting is the opportunity to undertake the work in view of our visitors with the support of so many enthusiastic volunteers."
The archaeological dig will take place from Saturday 23rd to Sunday 31st July providing budding young archaeologists with the opportunity to handle finds from the excavation, have a go at a geophysical survey, and take part in various family activities, including a mock archaeological excavation.
Admission to the dig is included in the price of a garden ticket, which is free to National Trust members. Sessions will run daily at 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm and last for around 45 minutes.
Quarry Bank Mill ,Gardens and Styal Estate are open daily, 11am – 5pm.
