Carlisle City Council redeveloped the Lanes from the mid-1970s, a densely built-up area in the north-east corner of the city's historic core, crossed by 19 narrow 'vennels'. These, together with most of the adjacent buildings, were swept away by the construction of the Lanes shopping centre. Previous archaeological work had confirmed complex Roman and medieval deposits on the site, most of which would be destroyed by the development, and many of the buildings were of historical and architectural interest. A programme of archaeological and historical investigation, including building recording, was therefore undertaken, principally funded by Carlisle City Council, the Department of the Environment (now Historic England), and the Manpower Services Commission, completed between 1978 and 1982. Historic England also funded the post-excavation analysis and this publication. The Lanes remains one of the largest and most significant archaeological projects ever undertaken in northern England. The project was split into the northern and southern Lanes, the results of the latter being published in 2000, though it only included a summary of the standing-building survey. This volume, the companion to the 2019 publication of the Roman remains at the northern site, presents the evidence for post-Roman activity. The site appears to have been abandoned by the fifth century, layers of 'dark earth' accumulating over the latest Roman levels. Several decades after Carlisle was re-established by William II, narrow burgage plots were created, extending from Scotch Street to the recently constructed city wall. These were intensively occupied from then on and yielded a wealth of evidence for the everyday lives of the inhabitants. Around the mid-thirteenth century, the lanes themselves were created between these plots, probably to improve access, and this distinctive pattern of land-use persisted until the modern redevelopment.

During the 1990s, Oxford Archaeology North (then Lancaster University Archaeological Unit) conducted a programme of evaluation, building recording, excavation and documentary research at Old Abbey Farm, Risley. This small moated site, now in Warrington Borough, was probably constructed after the sub-division of the manor of Culcheth in 1246; timbers dated by dendrochronology have suggested that a late thirteenth or possibly early fourteenth century aisled hall formerly stood on the moated platform. In the late medieval period the aisles were removed and new timber framing was built below the arcade-plates; the renovated hall was accessed by a substantial fifteenth century timber bridge. A crossing was added to the hall in the mid sixteenth century and the bridge across the moat was rebuilt in stone. From the seventeenth century, the house was subject to piecemeal underpinning and rebuilding in brick, and was extended in the mid eighteenth century. The project provided a rare opportunity to record a building during demolition and subsequently excavate below it, thereby maximising the information retrieval. The project was a runnerup in the British Archaeological Awards for 1996. The project has been generously supported by UK Waste Management Limited (Biffa Waste Services Limited) throughout.

The Bay Gateway, opened in 2016, is a new road linking the M6 motorway, north of Lancaster, to the port of Heysham. Its construction has provided an important opportunity to investigate the little-studied early landscape of Lancashire's rural lower Lune Valley. The archaeological investigation was focused on seven areas that had been defined by almost a decade of preliminary works. The earliest remains included evidence of prehistoric settlement, at a location that had seen repeated activity in the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, and during the Bronze Age. The findings make a significant contribution to the understanding of several millennia of human activity that are otherwise poorly understood in Lancashire. The most extensive remains, dating from the twelfth to the mid-fifteenth century AD, were found on either side of the Howgill Brook. Several buildings, in both timber and stone, as well as kilns and channels, are thought to represent the remains of one or more water mills associated with Beaumont Grange, an estate belonging to Furness Abbey. This volume arises from the multi-disciplinary approach to the archaeological sites, with the emphasis placed on the integration of a wide range of data. It comprises the work of several authors from Oxford Archaeology, as well as external specialists.

This volume presents the findings of the largest campaign of archaeological investigation yet undertaken along Liverpool's historic waterfront, by Oxford Archaeology North and the National Museums Liverpool Field Archaeology Unit. This work centred on the areas of Mann Island, Pier Head, and the Central Docks, all places that either fall within, or are directly adjacent to, the Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site, and it formed a prelude to the construction of a commercial development and the Museum of Liverpool, and also the extension of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The investigations uncovered numerous remains relating to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century dock building and land reclamation, as well as concomitant evidence for the use and occupation of the waterfront, and the wider town, during these periods. The archaeological evidence has been complemented by detailed historical research, which together provide significant insights into the dynamic and evolving system of dock and quayside development, occurring between the early eighteenth and early twentieth centuries. This development was integral to Liverpool's wider history, and the archaeological remains reflect the port's nascent post-medieval growth, commercial zenith during the nineteenth century, and eventual twentieth-century decline, prior to the extensive schemes of urban regeneration which now characterise the present-day waterfront. Moreover, this extensive campaign of investigation indicates how archaeology along the waterfront represents an important technique for uncovering the nuances of an area that was integral to the rise and success of Liverpool, and which also continues to exert a significant sway on Liverpool's cultural and economic identity.

Dacre is rare in having documentary evidence for an early medieval monastery, mentioned by the Venerable Bede in 731, and in the 12th century, William of Malmesbury thought that it was where King AEthelstan of Wessex met the northern and western lords in 927. High-quality early sculptural fragments and a substantial stone drain had also been found in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Excavations were undertaken in 1982-5, to the north and south of the parish church, and to the west of the churchyard, providing important information about its origins. A substantial early medieval cemetery of more than 200 graves was found to the north, with some burials in chests with iron fittings. Two structures were excavated to the west of this, one, with a rounded eastern end, containing a hearth made from a millstone. This was associated with a substantial assemblage of fine metalwork, loomweights, and vessel and window glass, and several Northumbrian coins were also found. The drain in the southern churchyard was re-excavated, demonstrating that it was constructed of reused Roman stones, probably from a bridge or mill. An early ditched boundary was also identified, circling the south and west sides of the medieval churchyard, which seems to have followed its line. The early cemetery was later partially covered by a medieval farmstead, consisting of at least three buildings, one with a well-made fireplace. This had become derelict by the 15th/16th century, when the village either shrank or moved to the west, leaving the site very much as it is today.

The Priory of St Mary was moved from Runcorn to Norton in 1134 by William fitz William, third baron of Halton. Despite a major fire in 1236, Norton grew in size and stature to become an abbey in 1391, and its abbot was a senior and much respected member of the Augustinian Order. The abbey met its end in April 1536 under Henry VIII's dissolution of religious houses, and in 1545 the site was sold to the Brooke family, who adapted parts of the abbot's quarters, kitchens and west range to provide a comfortable family home. In the mid-eighteenth century, much of the house was demolished to make way for a fashionable classically inspired mansion, which was occupied until 1921 and finally demolished in 1928. In 1966, the site was presented to Runcorn Development Corporation by Sir Richard Brooke. Ground-breaking excavations began in 1970, running until 1987, and exposing much of the site for investigation. The principal excavator, J Patrick Greene, published an excellent synthesis of the site in 1989, but the full stratigraphy and finds from the project remained unpublished. This book, funded by English Heritage, and supported by the Norton Priory Museum Trust, seeks to redress this, with a full account of the results of the excavations. Its production by Oxford Archaeology North drew together a team of specialists from a wide range of disciplines.

The origins of Bewsey Old Hall, in the Royal Forest of Burtonwood, probably lie in the late twelth or early thirteenth century, when it was held by the influential Butler family, barons of Warrington. Although much altered and diminished, Bewsey Old Hall still stands, beginning its existence as an aisled hall, surrounded by out-buildings. It is not clear when the site was moated, but a local watercourse was probably diverted at an early stage. Badly damaged by fire in the fourteenth century, the hall was substantially rebuilt, wholly or partially in stone. Parts of this complex of medieval buildings survived into the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Having been owned by the Butlers until 1586, ownership passed briefly to the Earl of Leicester, but it was soon sold on to the Ireland family, later passing to their successors, the Athertons. In the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, a fashionable new brick house was built on the site, incorporating or reusing elements of the medieval hall. It was much enhanced in the seventeenth century by the creation of a formal terraced garden furniture, although the terracing had been levelled by 1724. Bewsey's remaining medieval structures were demolished during the eighteenth century, when the hall was extended, and landscaping works filled in parts of the moat and enlarged others as water features. In 1863, a 'New Hall' was built, and Bewsey Old Hall was left in the hands of tenants, until, in considerable disrepair, it was acquired by Warrington Development Corporation in 1974. During the late 1970s and until the mid-1980s, the site's development was traced through examination of the building, extensive excavation, and documentary research. This volume paints a vivid picture of Bewsey's development, the trials and tribulations of its inhabitants, and their relationship with the world around them.

From 1997 to 2001, works associated with Carlisle City Council's Gateway City (Millennium) Project on castle Way and Castle Gardens provided an important opportunity to conduct a programme of archaeological excavations on the site of the Roman fort at Carlisle, and to examine the development of part of the medieval castle, which occupies most of the fort site. Five main areas were investigated prior to the construction of the Castle Way (Irish Gate) footbridge and the Millennium Gallery and underpass, in what was the largest archaeological excavation undertaken in Carlisle since the early 1800s. The results of the work will greatly enhance understanding of the development of the fort during the Roman period, and of Carlisle's role in the origins and development of the Tyne-Solway frontier system. Important evidence for occupation within the medieval castle's outer ward was also recovered, and the large ditch separating the castle from the city was investigated. Waterlogging of the lower levels resulted in exceptional preservation of organic materials, which rarely survive on archaeological sites in Britain. These included the remains of numerous wooden buildings and other structures within two superimposed timber forts of the late first- to mid-second century AD, a multiplicity of wooden and leather artefacts of Roman and medieval date, and a wealth of environmental information. Volume 2 presents detailed evidence of the artefacts and ecofacts from the site. It draws together the many reports produced by specialist researchers into a synthesis and discussion. This sheds light on day-to-day activity in and about both the Roman forts and medieval outer ward of the castle and illustrates the lives of those who built and inhabited the buildings within them. Much of the detailed project data have been compiled into a third, digital, volume; this takes the form of a DVD accompanying this book.