Archaeological Evaluation at Kirkstall Forge, Leeds

An outline planning application for mixed commercial development at Kirkstall Forge (NGR 424806 436654) has been submitted to Leeds City Council by the Commercial Estates Group (PA no. 24/96/95/0T). ARCUS was commissioned to carry out a pre- determination evaluation of the site, in order to assess the potential impact of the proposed development on any archaeological deposits. Previous desk-based research demonstrated that the site had a long history of activity related to metalworking from at least the sixteenth century onwards. The site is considered to be of national significance. A total of seven evaluation trenches were excavated. In almost all trenches, archaeological features were found to be present immediately beneath recent hardcore or levelling layers. Six of the seven trenches contained substantial sub- surface structures and deposits. Structural foundations survived in the area of the former Lower Forge, and were preserved in situ by overlying slag deposits within the footprint of the southern half of the forge building. Structures and residues thought to relate to the former puddling furnaces were recorded. Structural remains were also present in the area of the Upper Forge. While no remains of seventeenth-century (or earlier) date were identified at either the Lower or Upper Forges, the evaluation demonstrated that significant depths of archaeological deposits were present in places, providing information on several episodes of development and expansion. The evaluation demonstrated that in general, the eighteenth-century (and later) layers had not been unduly impacted by twentieth-century construction.