Archaeological watching brief at Paynes Shipyard, Coronation Road, Bristol

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken by Worcestershire Archaeology (WA) during May 2025 at Paynes Shipyard, Coronation Road, Bristol (NG 357267 171994). The project was commissioned by RPS Consulting Services Ltd on behalf of Sovereign Housing, in advance of a proposed residential development. A planning application has been submitted to Bristol City Council (planning ref: 19/06107/F) and planning permission has been granted subject to a programme of archaeological works, to mitigate impact to any buried heritage assets associated with the former 19 th century shipyard. A single trench was excavated, within the south-west portion of the Site, on an area of steeply rising ground between the current industrial units. A single trench was excavated, within the south-west portion of the Site, on an area of steeply rising ground between the current industrial units. This revealed a series of superimposed made ground layers, deposited for the consolidation of the access route from the lowest lying part of the Site near the banks of the River Avon, and Coronation Road, now the A370. The need for this consolidation appears present throughout the nineteenth century to the present day, evidenced by superimposed made ground deposits within the trench. Historic mapping shows that this routeway had been in place throughout the Site's use and has been a primary access route throughout the Site's various commercial iterations. Furthermore, there is evidence on mapping dating to 1913 that a 'slip' or successive slipways were likely located within the general location of the monitored trench with the deposits revealed potentially inserted during the 19 th century as levelling/make-up for the slip. The uppermost made-ground deposit contained moderate quantities of nineteenth century demolition material, likely marking the clearance of defunct brick buildings or boundaries before the construction of the larger modern industrial units present on Site today. The methods adopted allow a high degree of confidence that the aims of the project have been achieved. Conditions were suitable in the trench to identify the presence or absence of archaeological features.