Historic discoveries unearthed at Quarry Bank

Archaeologists have unearthed a mystery at Quarry Bank that dates back more than a century.

As the team working on the Upper Gardens restoration project dug down, they discovered a collection of shoes buried amongst dirt and cinders.

The items were made from leather and were found in a rubbish pit along with pottery and bottles.

“Needless to say it got our imaginations working overtime,” said Jamie Lund, an archaeologist with the National Trust.

“It was an amazing discovery and we wanted to know who the shoes belonged to and why they had been buried.”

Work on the site of the new gardeners’ store was progressing smoothly when the archaeologists noticed three regular-shaped pits emerging from the excavation.

Workmen immediately stopped digging to allow further exploration. On investigation the three pits were found to contain numerous boots and shoes, with the majority appearing to be children’s sizes.

Initially it was thought they may have belonged to young mill apprentices as they used to live nearby.

Images show examples of the shoes that were found and Quarry Bank’s Archives and Collections Manager Ally Tsilika taking a closer look at one of the discoveries.

“However, the age of the pottery and glass that was also found appeared to be late Victorian or Edwardian and was therefore deposited some 50 or 60 years after the Apprentice system had ended in 1847,” said Jamie.

“I suspected we had found a rubbish burial site, which may have been in use for some time. It could have suggested the gardeners had the task of removing and burying rubbish from both the mill and the village and this plot, just near the walled garden, was used for that purpose.”

Various theories were considered including whether there had simply been a clear-out or whether the shoes might have belonged to the children who used to keep the garden wall stoves burning through the night.

However, there were further clues amongst the ashes that now point to a different conclusion.

Pieces of leather were also recovered from the pits and it is thought these are evidence of a Quarry Bank gardener who moonlighted as a cobbler.

“We think one of the gardeners might have been supplementing his income fixing shoes for people from Styal village,” said Jamie.

“Maybe he threw away the ones that were beyond repair. Rubbish is a great giveaway because people throw things away and never expect them to be found. It gives us a pure and unbiased view into the life of someone who was living and working at Quarry Bank.”

Leather experts will be examining the boots further and the best pairs will be sent to conservators at the University of London. It is hoped they will then be sent back to Quarry Bank to be displayed.

Meanwhile, visitors will be able to see the Upper Garden project progress throughout 2016 when it reopens in February.

“We were expecting 2016 to be a great year in the gardens, but this kind of discovery gives us even more reason to be excited about the project,” said General Manager Eleanor Underhill.

“Who knows what else we might find as the team continue their work.”

Quarry Bank Mill and gardens