Archaeological Assessment of Land Near Darby Road Coalbrookdale

The Archaeology Unit of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Ironbridge Archaeological Series No.210 Final Report Archaeological Assessment of land near Darby Road Coalbrookdale October 2007 Report by Paul Belford and Sophie Watson Prepared for Severn Gorge Countryside Trust Wesley Rooms Annexe Jockey Bank Ironbridge Telford Shropshire TF8 7PD Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report Contents List Of Figures ..........................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................... iii Summary..................................................................................................................... 1 1 2 3 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 3 1.1 Project Background ..................................................................................... 3 1.2 Previous Archaeological Investigations ....................................................... 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 3 2.1 Historical Research ..................................................................................... 3 2.2 Site Visit ...................................................................................................... 4 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ............................................................................ 5 3.1 Coalbrookdale ............................................................................................. 5 3.2 The History of the Site................................................................................. 6 4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT ............................................................... 10 5 ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL .................................................................... 10 6 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 10 7 REFERENCES.................................................................................................. 11 Ironbridge Archaeology – Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 i Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 : Site Location Plan Figure 2: View of the site Figure 3: 1849 Field Name Map Figure 4: 1849 Madeley Tithe Map Figure 5: Rope Walk Figure 6: 1883 Ordnance Survey Map Ironbridge Archaeology – Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 ii Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The project was managed by Paul Belford. Site visits and research were undertaken by Sophie Watson. The report was written by Sophie Watson and edited by Paul Belford A copy of this report, all field drawings, notebooks and photographs will be archived with an appropriate repository. All archive materials are in accordance with the requirements of the United Kingdom Institute of Conservators (UKIC). A copy of the report will be retained by Ironbridge Archaeology in the Long Warehouse, Coalbrookdale. © 2007, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Copies are available on request from: Ironbridge Archaeology Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Ironbridge Telford TF8 7DQ Tel: Fax: +44 (0)19 52 43 59 45 +44 (0)19 52 43 59 37 e-mail: archaeology@ironbridge.org.uk Ironbridge Archaeology – Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 iii Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report SUMMARY Ironbridge Archaeology were commissioned by Simmonds Mills on behalf of the Severn Gorge Countryside Trust in May 2007 to carry out a desk-based assessment of land adjacent to Darby Road in Coalbrookdale. A site assessment was required prior to a planning proposal for a new headquarters building on the site. The historical research has identified that the site has been in use as a meadow and woodland since at least 1849. The survival of any structural remains on the site is unlikely . However archaeological remains may be encountered in the form of residues or artefacts associated with the industrial processes that were taking place in the surrounding landscape. It is recommended that a watching brief is undertaken during all intrusive groundworks whilst the new building is being constructed. Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 1 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report Figure 1 : Site Location Plan Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 2 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report 1 INTRODUCTION The development site is located along the northern side of Darby Road in Coalbrookdale, Ordnance Survey grid reference SJ 665052. It currently forms an area of open woodland. 1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND Ironbridge Archaeology were commissioned on behalf of the Severn Gorge Countryside Trust to carry a desk-based assessment prior to the construction of a new headquarters building in an area of woodland alongside Darby Road in Coalbrookdale. The comprised a site visit, historical research and the preparation of this report. 1.2 PREVIOUS ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS The development site is located within the study area of the Nuffield Survey, which was carried out in 1986 by the Ironbridge Institute of Industrial Archaeology. This provided a detailed inventory of the archaeological sites in Coalbrookdale. Additional archaeological surveys of the area have been carried out by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Archaeology Unit between 1981 and the present. This includes the currently ongoing Upper Coalbrookdale Landscape Project, which has explored the area of the Arboretum, Quaker Burial Ground and the former extent of Sunniside House. 2 METHODOLOGY 2.1 HISTORICAL RESEARCH The desk–based historical research for the Rope Walk site, conforms to the IFA Standard and Guidance (1994, revised 1999). The desk-based assessment considered all available primary and secondary sources on the history and development of the area. The following organisations and individuals were consulted during the course of this work; • Shropshire Records Office • Archaeology Data Service Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 3 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report The research consulted both primary and secondary sources; Primary Sources: • 1849 Field Name Map • 1883 Ordnance Survey Map • 1902 Ordnance Survey Map Secondary Sources: • 2.2 Shropshire Trade Directories SITE VISIT A site visit was carried out on 31st August 2007. The site forms part of the Severn Gorge Countryside Trust woodlands (Figures 1 and 2). Figure 2: View of the site Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 4 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report 3 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 3.1 COALBROOKDALE It is thought that the name Coalbrookdale derives from ‘Caldebrook’ a stream which flows through the Dale. It was also the name of one of the major farms in the 17th century which covered most of the lower half of the Dale until the late 18th century. The plentiful resources of coal and iron of the area were probably first exploited during the 13th century, and a licence for coal extraction was issued by the priory to Walter of Coalbrookdale in 1322 (Baugh 1985; Clark and Alfrey 1986). From the 17th century, the Dale was a site of forging and steel making activity, the latter technique having been perfected by Sir Basil Brooke in the 1620’s (Belford and Ross forthcoming). Brooke was involved in a substantial range of iron making activities, with several forges at work in Coalbrookdale during the 17th century. However the civil war, and substantial spending later members of the Brooke dynasty on coal mining, meant that the ironworks declined due to a lack of investment. After being sublet to a variety of people the ironworking complex was eventually leased to Abraham Darby from 1708 (Belford 2007). Darby leased the old and derelict furnace of the upper works, which he repaired. It was at this site that he converted coal into coke – a breakthrough for the iron industry. By the mid 18th century, the industrial landscape of Coalbrookdale was well established. The two streams that ran through the Dale had been dammed to form a total of seven pools, around which a series of ironworks were established and powered by water wheels. Resources of coal and iron stone were plentiful, and the River Severn allowed both the import and export of goods. It was not until the death of Abraham Darby in 1718 that an inventory of the works was made. The Upper Works, located closest to the development site consisted of a warehouse, store room, coal yard, smith’s shop, bellows room, room over the bellows, tunnel head, mine yard, two mould rooms, a pigg yard and small roden’s shop (Raistrick 1953). Abraham Darby II took over the works in 1728. From the 1740s a steam engine was installed recycle water from the lower parts of the watercourse system back to the Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 5 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report Upper Furnace Pool. By 1753, the works consisted of 21 separate buildings including boring mills and the company was involved in the casting and dressing parts for steam engines (Belford 2007). Buildings were also sub-let within the works to smaller companies involved in activities subsidiary to iron making, which were also well established. After the death of Abraham Darby II, Richard Reynolds took over the running of the works and introduced production of cast iron rails, which went on to be used and produced by the Coalbrookdale Company from the 1760’s onwards. Abraham Darby III took over the works in 1768 and enlarged the Old Furnace, in part to cope with the construction of the Iron Bridge in 1777 (Raistrick 1953). The upper woks expanded further in the early 1800’s, which included the construction of an additional furnace to supplement the main furnace in times of high demand. In 1805, the area was producing 50,000 tons of iron per year (Trinder 1983). Further pioneering works were carried out at the works throughout the 19th century, including Trevithick’s steam railway locomotive in 1802 and John Wilson’s iron boat - the Trail. In the 1820’s much of the Dale works were deserted, with most of the work being transferred to Horsehay. After some hesitation, the company renewed its leases in Coalbrookdale in 1827 and the foundries were reorganized and began the manufacture of art castings, including fire grates, plaques and garden furniture. The works developed further throughout the 1840’s and a railway was opened in 1862 – later taken over by the Great Western Railway. Throughout the early 1900’s the upper furnace pool was gradually filled in until it was reduced to half of its original size. In 1922, the Coalbrookdale Company was amalgamated into Light Castings Ltd. It later became Allied Ironfounders Ltd, and later still in 1969 was absorbed into Glynwed Foundries Ltd (Ironbridge Archaeology 1995). Coalbrookdale and the surrounding area now forms part of the World Heritage Site. 3.2 THE HISTORY OF THE SITE In the early 18th century, the development site is known to have formed part of the lands belonging to Furnace Bank Farm, which in 1717 comprised a Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 6 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report farm house, a cottage, 42 acres and 14 acres of coppice. After 1715, several pieces of the farms land were sold, possibly including that on which Dale House now stands – built by Abraham Darby in around 1717. By the 19th century, the Darby family had acquired a large proportion of the land in Coalbrookdale (Clark and Alfrey 1986). Francis Darby is known to have owned what was then known as the White House (now Sunniside), located to the west of the development site on the other side of Darby Road. This is possibly the site of Furnace Bank Farm, which Darby acquired in around 1806 (Clark and Alfrey 1986). The field to the south of the house was formerly known as Sunny Bank, which may be a further link with Furnace ‘Bank’ Farm. The earliest map evidence for the area of the proposed development are the Madeley Tithe Map of 1849, from which a map of field names has been derived (below). Figure 3: 1849 Field Name Map Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 7 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report This shows that Francis Darby then owned all of the fields and plantations directly surrounding and including the White House. This included ‘Big Meadow’, within which the development site is located (Figure 3). Though Francis Darby owned Big Meadow, it was at the time occupied by a gentleman named Edward Edwards. The strip of woodland that borders the western edge of the site was in use as timber plantation. Figure 4: 1849 Madeley Tithe Map The 1883 and 1902 Ordnance Survey maps delineate the same field boundaries as those seen in 1849, with a large open field (formerly Big Meadow) and a wooded strip of land to the north east, which itself was bounded by Rope Walk. The Rope Walk – a straight and well-built pathway leading from the modern road in a roughly north west direction – has been suggested as the route of a former plateway for the removal of spoil or coal from the quarry where the path terminates (Clark and Alfrey 1986). However, as the name implies, the track has its origins in a rope walk, which was certainly in existence from the late 18th century onwards (SA 2280/2/45 and /48). A rope walk was an area of open ground on which yarns would have been stretched out between revolving hooks and twisted together to make a length of rope. Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 8 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report Figure 5: Rope Walk The finished ropes were certainly in demand by the collieries before the development of improved chain in the mid-19th century. They would also have been utilised on the boats travelling along the river Severn and employed in the many workshops and warehouses associated with the local iron industry. Figure 6: 1883 Ordnance Survey Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 9 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report 4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT The site in question does not appear to have been subject to any form of building development between 1849 and the present. This is supported by the map evidence. However the absence of any structures on early maps does not necessarily rule out their existence altogether. There were at least 30 dwellings thought to be associated with the Furnace Bank Farm lands that were eventually acquired by the Darbys family, but the location of many of these is still unaccounted for. For example, four cottages known to have been associated with Furnace Bank Farm were demolished between 1842 and 1847 and thrown into the Rope Walk Coppice (Clark and Alfrey 1986). Though the survival of structures that pre-date the earliest map evidence cannot be strictly ruled out, it is thought to be unlikely that any will be encountered during the development. 5 ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL Map regression has shown that the site appears to have remained in use as undeveloped meadow for many years, now forming part of the woodland portfolio of the Severn Gorge Countryside Trust. However, the site is located within the World Heritage Site, and surrounded by an area that was otherwise intensively developed. Activities which took place in the immediate vicinity included coppicing for charcoal and pit props, and the manufacture of ropes. Material evidence of the industrial process that were taking place around the site may be encountered during the site development, though the survival of significant archaeological finds are not considered likely due to the evident lack of development to this specific site. 6 CONCLUSION The survival of structures, buildings or significant features on the site is extremely unlikely. However it is possible that some industrial residues and artefacts from nearby domestic dwellings might well be encountered as part of later dumping activities. It is therefore recommended that a watching brief is undertaken during all intrusive groundworks whilst the new building is being constructed. Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 10 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report 7 REFERENCES Sources held in the Shropshire Archives 1849 Field Name Map, based on the tithe apportionment 1987/28/9 – Conveyance, including map 1987/28/12 – Grant of right of way and covenants by the Coalbrookdale Company, including map 1987/43/2 – Tracing of map of lands adjoining the Furnace Pool, Colabrookdale 1987/43/4 – Map of lands of Coalbrookdale 1681/138/7 – Map of Coalbrookdale Works 2280/2/45, no. 3244 2280/2/48, p. 29 (no. 3244) Sources held in the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust collections 1849 Madeley Tithe Map (tracing) 1883 Ordnance Survey Map 1902 Ordnance Survey Map Secondary Sources Baugh, C. G. 1985, A History of Shropshire: Volume XI – Telford, Oxford: Institute for Historical Research / Victoria County History Belford, P. 2007, ‘Sublime Cascades: Water and Power in Coalbrookdale’, Industrial Archaeology Review, 29(2), 133-148 Belford, P. and Ross, R.A., forthcoming, ‘English Steelmaking in the Seventeenth Century: the excavation of two cementation steel furnaces at Coalbrookdale’, Historical Metallurgy, 42(2), 2007 Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 11 Ironbridge Archaeology – Final Report Clark., C., and Alfrey, J., 1986, Coalbrookdale Nuffield Survey Research Paper, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust / Institute of Industrial Archaeology Raistrick, A., 1953, A Dynasty of Iron Founders: the Darbys and Coalbrookdale, (revised edition, 1989) Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust / Sessions Book Trust Thomas, E., n.d., Coalbrookdale in the 18th Century, unpublished manuscript held by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. Trinder, B., 1998, The History of Shropshire, (2nd revised edition), Phillimore and Co. Ironbridge Archaeology –Rope Walk, Coalbrookdale October 2007 12