Stanhope and Tyne Railway, Plot 1, Pattinson, Washington Tyne and Wear
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STANHOPE AND TYNE RAILWAY, PLOT 1, PATTINSON, WASHINGTON TYNE AND WEAR Archaeological Survey and Evaluation Oxford Archaeology North July 2005 John Samuels Archaeological Consultants Issue No: 2005-6/378 OA North Job No: L9520 NGR: NZ 32450 56500 Document Title: STANHOPE AND TYNE RAILWAY, PLOT 1, PATTINSON, WASHINGTON, TYNE AND WEAR Document Type: Archaeological Survey and Evaluation Client Name: John Samuels Archaeological Consultants Issue Number: 2005-6/378 OA North Job Number: L9520 Site Code: PW05 National Grid Reference: NZ 32450 56500 Prepared by: Kathryn Blythe Jo Dawson Position: Project Supervisor Project Supervisor Date: July 2005 July 2005 Checked by: Jamie Quartermaine Signed……………………. Position: Project Manager Date: July 2005 Approved by: Alan Lupton Signed……………………. Position: Operations Manager Date: July 2005 Oxford Archaeology North © Oxford Archaeological Unit Ltd (2005) Storey Institute Janus House Meeting House Lane Osney Mead Lancaster Oxford LA1 1TF OX2 0EA t: (0044) 01524 848666 t: (0044) 01865 263800 f: (0044) 01524 848606 f: (0044) 01865 793496 w: www.oxfordarch.co.uk e: [email protected] Oxford Archaeological Unit Limited is a Registered Charity No: 285627 Disclaimer: This document has been prepared for the titled project or named part thereof and should not be relied upon or used for any other project without an independent check being carried out as to its suitability and prior written authority of Oxford Archaeology being obtained. Oxford Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability for the consequences of this document being used for a purpose other than the purposes for which it was commissioned. Any person/party using or relying on the document for such other purposes agrees, and will by such use or reliance be taken to confirm their agreement to indemnify Oxford Archaeology for all loss or damage resulting therefrom. Oxford Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability for this document to any party other than the person/party by whom it was commissioned. Stanhope and Tyne Railway, Plot 1, Pattinson, Washington, Tyne and Wear: Archaeological Survey and Evaluation 1 CONTENTS SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ 3 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Circumstances of Project.............................................................................................. 4 2METHODOLOGY.................................................................................................................. 5 2.1 Project Brief ................................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Rapid Desk-Based Assessment.................................................................................... 5 2.3 Topographic Survey..................................................................................................... 5 2.4 Evaluation .................................................................................................................... 6 2.5 Archive......................................................................................................................... 6 3. BACKGROUND..................................................................................................................... 7 3.1 Location, Topography and Geology ............................................................................ 7 3.2 History of the Stanhope and Tyne Railway and its Successors along the Same Track7 3.3 Map Regression Analysis........................................................................................... 10 4. TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY..................................................................................................... 13 4.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 13 4.2 Description and Condition ......................................................................................... 13 5. EVALUATION...................................................................................................................... 14 5.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 14 5.2 Results........................................................................................................................ 14 6. DISCUSSION........................................................................................................................ 17 6.1 Discussion .................................................................................................................. 17 7. IMPACT .............................................................................................................................. 19 7.1 Impact......................................................................................................................... 19 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 20 8.1 Cartographic and Primary Sources............................................................................. 20 8.2 Secondary Sources ..................................................................................................... 21 APPENDIX 1: PROJECT BRIEF ............................................................................................... 23 APPENDIX 2: CONTEXT LIST................................................................................................. 29 ILLUSTRATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 31 Figures.................................................................................................................................... 31 Plates .................................................................................................................................... 31 For the use of John Samuels Archaeological Consultants © OA North: July 2005 Stanhope and Tyne Railway, Plot 1, Pattinson, Washington, Tyne and Wear: Archaeological Survey and Evaluation 2 SUMMARY John Samuels Archaeological Consultants, acting on behalf of McLagan Investments Ltd, appointed Oxford Archaeology (North) to undertake archaeological works at Plot 1, Pattinson, North Walton Road, to the east of Washington, Tyne and Wear, immediately south of the A1231 to Sunderland (NGR NZ 32450 56500) (Fig 1). The development area includes a 100m stretch of the former Stanhope and Tyne Railway embankment. Following on from the cutting of a section through the embankment, to enable the construction of a haul road, a programme of work was requested by Tyne and Wear Archaeological Services to assess the survival of the embankment and trackbed within the development area. Following receipt of a brief from Tyne and Wear Archaeological Service, the programme of work was undertaken in April 2005.. The required archaeological works entailed the implementation of a rapid desk-based assessment, a topographic survey of the embankment and an evaluation of the extant earthwork. During the rapid desk-based assessment, an historical background for the railway was researched using the Historic Environment Record for Tyne and Wear, the County Record Office in Durham, and the Sunderland Local Studies Centre. A map regression analysis was undertaken to trace the development of the site over time. This research indicated that the Stanhope and Tyne Railway opened in 1834, and underwent considerable fluctuations of fortune and numerous changes of name and ownership before finally closing in 1981. A topographic survey of the site was undertaken to assess the survival of the embankment on the site; this produced a hachure and contour plan and a series of profiles across the extant embankment. The evaluation entailed the excavation of shallow trenches across the top of the embankment to establish the survival of the former trackbed, and also the cleaning and recording of the section exposed for the construction of the haul road. The preservation of the embankment was variable across the development area, but was best where the feature had been bisected by the haul road, and was here clearly visible in section. The cleaning and recording of this section allowed two phases of use to be identified, comprising the cuts for the trackbed and an associated ditch for the first phase of use of the embankment, and the modification of the embankment with an associated ditch for its second phase of use. The evaluation of the site confirmed the results of the topographic survey in that the embankment was heavily truncated; in addition, it ascertained that no physical remains of the trackbed survived. The survey and evaluation has recorded the embankment as it survives in this area, while the desk-based assessment has placed the feature within a detailed historical framework. An agreement was reached between JSAC and the curatorial archaeologist, following completion of fieldwork, that no further work was archaeological required on the site. This document outlines the results of the field and desk-based work undertaken by OA North. For the use of John Samuels Archaeological Consultants © OA North: