Road East of Plot B Belmont Works Eastside Locks Birmingham Archaeological Evaluation for Peter Brett Associates on behalf of Goodman Eastside Locks (UK) Ltd CA Project: 6805 CA Report: 6805_1 OASIS ID: cotswold2-334109 May 2019 Road East of Plot B Belmont Works Eastside Locks Birmingham Archaeological Evaluation CA Project: 6805 CA Report: 6805_1 OASIS ID: cotswold2-334109 Document Control Grid Revision Date Author Checked by Status A 25 April 2019 Sam Wilson Alex Thomson Reasons for revision Draft Internal Review Approved by Laurie Coleman This report is confidential to the client Cotswold Archaeology accepts no responsibility or liability to any third party to whom this report, or any part of it, is made known Any such party relies upon this report entirely at their own risk No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without permission © Cotswold Archaeology © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation CONTENTS SUMMARY INTRODUCTION ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND AIMS AND OBJECTIVES METHODOLOGY RESULTS (FIGS 2-10) 6 THE FINDS DISCUSSION 8 CA PROJECT TEAM 9 REFERENCES 10 APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS 11 APPENDIX B: THE FINDS 11 APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM 12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Fig Site location plan (1:25,000) Fig Trench location plan showing archaeological features (1:500 and 1:250) Fig Trench location plan showing 1889 First Edition Ordnance Survey mapping (1:500) Fig Photographs © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation SUMMARY Project Name: Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks Location: Birmingham NGR: 407980 287458 Type: Evaluation Date: 23-24 April 2019 Planning Reference: Birmingham City Council ref: 2015/07915/PA Location of Archive: To be deposited with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Site Code: BELE18 An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in April 2019 on land at Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham Three trenches were excavated A wall and cobbled surfaces were identified, probably dating to the 19th century, correlating to structures shown on historic mapping Evidence for modern disturbance and levelling was also recorded throughout the evaluation trenches © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation INTRODUCTION 1.1 In April 2019 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) carried out an archaeological evaluation for Peter Brett Associates on behalf of Goodman Eastside Locks (UK) Ltd on land at Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham (centred at NGR: 407980 287458; Fig 1) The evaluation was undertaken in accordance with a condition attached to outline planning consent for the construction of an access road, granted by Birmingham City Council (BCC, ref: 2015/07915/PA, Condition 16) These works form the first phase of a wider development for which a decision is pending on an application for the part demolition, alteration and extension of the former Belmont Works to provide retail and office space (BCC, ref: 2018/10197/PA) 1.2 The evaluation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of Chris Patrick, City Archaeologist, Birmingham City Council (BCC), and with a subsequent detailed Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI), produced by CA (2019) and covering both planning applications, and approved by BCC The fieldwork also followed Standard and guidance: Archaeological field evaluation (CIfA 2014) The site 1.3 The area subject to this phase of evaluation measured 840m2 in extent and comprised a parcel of land within the east of the wider site area The entire proposed development area measures approximately 0.44ha, and comprises the built remains of the Belmont Works and an area of brownfield land to the north The site lies immediately to the south-east of Jennens Road (A47), the southern boundary of the site comprises Cardigan Street and Belmont Row, the Digbeth Branch Canal runs c 20m to the north of site and further brownfield space lies to the east of the site The site lies at approximately 118m AOD 1.4 The underlying bedrock geology of the area is mapped as sandstone of the Helsby Formation formed during the Triassic Period (BGS 2019) Superficial deposits of Devensian sand and gravel are also recorded, formed during the Quaternary Period (ibid.) The natural geological substrate identified during the course of the evaluation comprised greyish-red clay, and was identified in Trench 10 © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 The wider site area has previously been the subject of a Desk-Based Assessment (Cook 2001), an archaeological evaluation (ULAS 2007), two phases of archaeological excavation (APS 2008; NPA 2009) and an Archaeological Assessment (CA 2017); the below is a summary thereof Reference should be made to these documents for further detail 2.2 There are no archaeological assets recorded within the site that date to between the prehistoric and medieval periods (CA 2017, 12) Evidence of prehistoric finds from Birmingham are largely known from unstratified and chance finds, with much of the area known to be woodland during this period Clearance activities were likely undertaken from the Mesolithic onwards, with Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman farming communities likely active in the area (ibid.) However, no clear evidence of such settlements has been recorded within the city 2.3 The Domesday survey of 1086 recorded the manor of Birmingham as an ‘insignificant agricultural settlement’ (Bassett and Holt, 2016) In 1166, Henry II granted Peter de Birmingham a market charter, at which point Birmingham was granted borough status, and a new town was established, laid out in burgage plots (ibid.) The north-eastern extent of the medieval/post-medieval settlement is located c 480m to the south-west of site, with the proposed development area lying in the agricultural hinterland thereof, on the fertile floodplain of the River Rea (CA 2017, 14) 2.4 During the 18th and 19th centuries the area became the site of extensive industrial activity The Belmont Glassworks are depicted on 19th-century mapping, with a number of glass-making cones constructed by the 1850s and 1860s, with the Belmont Row Glassworks built later in the 19th century (ibid, 15) Excavations within the site in 2007 and 2009 found the below-ground remains of an earlier glassmaking cone (APS 2008; NPA 2009) and it is possible that there may have been glass-making activities within the site from the late 17th century onwards (CA 2017, 15) Small-scale workshops and industrial buildings occupied much of the area to the south of the glassworks (within the current area proposed for development), along with lodgings for workers The truncated remains of these structures were recorded during the previous evaluation and excavations © Cotswold Archaeology 2.5 Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation Located within the north-western extent of the site, Belmont Row Methodist chapel was opened by the Wesleyans in 1789 and in 1851 provided sittings for 1,085 people (BHO 2018); the chapel and associated class rooms are shown to extend into the western part of the site on the First Edition Ordnance Survey mapping of 1889 (see Fig of this report) The congregation dwindled through the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the chapel ceased to be registered for public worship in 1932 (ibid.) In 1961 the shell of the building was still standing as part of the premises of the Birmingham Waste Company and it was probably demolished in the middle of the 20th century during the construction of the A47 to the west of site 2.6 The Belmont Row glassworks were demolished during by the late 19th-century, with some expansion of the smaller scale buildings occurring on the site during this time (CA 2017, 16) and a number of walls, robbed-out wall foundations and floor surfaces were recorded during the preceding fieldwork 2.7 The site was extensively re-developed during the later 19th century and early 20th century, with large industrial buildings illustrated on the site by contemporary mapping (ibid., 17) One of these structures was the former Belmont Works, the firedamaged remains of which still stand within the south-western area of site These were built in 1899 for the Cooper Cycle Fitting Company and were used throughout the 20th century for various light-manufacturing industries, with extensions and outbuildings covering some of the site to the north of the main works AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 3.1 The objectives of the evaluation are to provide information about the archaeological resource within the site, including its presence/absence, character, extent, date, integrity, state of preservation and quality, in accordance Standard and guidance: Archaeological field evaluation (CIfA 2014) This information will enable Birmingham City Council to identify and assess the particular significance of any heritage asset, consider the impact of the proposed development upon it, and to avoid or minimise conflict between the heritage asset’s conservation and any aspect of the development proposal, in line with the National Planning Policy Framework (DCLG 2012) © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation METHODOLOGY 4.1 The fieldwork comprised the excavation of three trenches, measuring 10m in length and 2m in width, in the locations shown on the attached plan (Fig 2) Trench 10 was re-positioned slightly from its proposed location due to the presence of on-site obstructions and a buried service Trenches were set out on OS National Grid (NGR) co-ordinates using Leica GPS and surveyed in accordance with CA Technical Manual Survey Manual 4.2 All trenches were excavated by mechanical excavator equipped with a toothless grading bucket All machine excavation was undertaken under constant archaeological supervision to the top of the first significant archaeological horizon or the natural substrate, whichever was encountered first Where archaeological deposits were encountered they were excavated by hand in accordance with CA Technical Manual 1: Fieldwork Recording Manual 4.3 Deposits were assessed for their palaeoenvironmental potential in accordance with CA Technical Manual 2: The Taking and Processing of Environmental and Other Samples from Archaeological Sites No deposits were identified that required sampling All artefacts recovered were processed in accordance with Technical Manual Treatment of Finds Immediately after Excavation 4.4 The archive and artefacts from the evaluation are currently held by CA at their offices in Andover Subject to the agreement of the legal landowner the artefacts will be deposited with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, along with the site archive A summary of information from this project, set out within Appendix C, will be entered onto the OASIS online database of archaeological projects in Britain RESULTS (FIGS 2-4) 5.1 This section provides an overview of the evaluation results; detailed summaries of the recorded contexts and finds evidence are to be found in Appendix A and B respectively 5.2 The stratigraphic sequence exposed during the course of the evaluation was broadly uniform The natural geological substrate 1005 was only identified in Trench 10, at a depth of 2m below present ground level (bpgl) and appeared to have been disturbed © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation and truncated to this depth, being directly overlain by demolition rubble 1006 Made ground deposits, measuring a total of at least 1.2m in thickness, were recorded within all excavated trenches Structural remains were recorded within all trenches Trench 5.3 Overlaying made-ground deposit 803, as identified at the base of the excavated trench, remnant cobbled surface 802 was identified at a depth of 0.9m bpgl (see Fig 4) It measured at least 2.2m in length, 1m in width and 0.13m in thickness; the cobbles were regularly sized and laid, each stone measuring approximately 0.17m in length and 0.13m in width This was overlain by a deposit of dumped material 801 and sandy-silt topsoil 800, from which modern material was recovered Trench 5.4 Identified bedded into made-ground deposit 903, remnant cobbled surface 902 was identified within Trench at a depth of 0.95m bpgl (see Fig 4); it measured at least 2.6m in length, 2m in width and 0.13m in thickness and was identical in construction to surface 802 seen in Trench 8, c 15m to the north The surface was sealed by dumped deposit 901 and topsoil 900 Trench 10 5.5 The natural substrate 1005 was encountered at 2m bpgl, within a machine excavated sondage This was overlain by made-ground deposit 1006, which measured 0.53m in thickness Construction cut 1002 cut into this deposit, and contained wall 1004, which measured 2.75m in length, 0.52m in width and 0.43m in height (see Fig 4) It comprised three courses of brickwork upon a wider concrete foundation; bricks were hand-made, unfrogged and measured 0.25m in length 0.13m in width and 0.9m in thickness Abutting wall 1004, construction backfill 1003 contained twenty sherds of pottery and ten fragments of window glass dating to the 19th century; one sherd of Frechen stoneware and two sherds of glazed earthenware of 16th to 18th-century date were also recovered, but are probably residual The structural remains were sealed by dumped deposit 1001 and topsoil 1000, measuring a total of 1.47m in thickness © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation THE FINDS 6.1 Artefactual material recovered from the evaluation is listed in Appendix B and discussed further below Alphanumerical codes have been applied to pottery fabrics Pottery 6.2 A small group (23 sherds, 414g) of post-medieval to modern dating pottery was recovered from construction backfill 1003 The earliest-dated sherds are a single item of Frechen stoneware, of mid 16th to 18th century date, and two sherds of glazed earthenware of similar date The majority of sherds comprise transfer-printed refined white wares (eight sherds, 115g) and pearl wares (six sherds, 56g) Six sherds (35g) of flow blue ware were also recorded, marked ‘Kaolin Ware NANKIN F&R P &C’, indicating the vessel was manufactured by F&R Pratt, Fenton (Staffordshire), probably in the early to mid 19th century Other Finds 6.3 Two items of ceramic building material, both bricks, were recovered from two deposits Both are similar in their dimensions (240mm long, 110mm wide, between 75 and 85mm high) The brick from wall 1004 is unfrogged, whereas the brick from made ground 801 has a frog on one side stamped with ‘Castle Brick Co.’ 6.4 A small group of glass (ten items, 68g) was recovered from foundation cut 1002 (fill 1003) The group comprises two fragments of window and one of vessel in pale blue/green glass, two vessel fragments in brown glass and four colourless fragments The remaining item is a large fragment of degraded pale-coloured glass The group is of probable 19th to 20th-century date DISCUSSION 7.1 The archaeological features identified during this phase of evaluation show good correlation to structures illustrated on historic cartographic sources Wall 1004 closely matches the north-eastern corner of a building first shown as a ‘smithy’ on the First Edition Ordnance Survey mapping of 1889 (see Fig 3), with the recovered dating evidence supporting this The building is depicted on historic mapping until the mid-20th century © Cotswold Archaeology 7.2 Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation The cobbled surfaces identified in Trenches and appear to correlate to open spaces shown on historic mapping and may relate to yards or lanes located between buildings 7.3 There was clear evidence for disturbance, demolition and levelling of relatively modern date within all trenches, including clear truncation of the natural substrate identified in Trench 10 A number of Second World War incendiary bomb strikes are recorded within the wider area around the current site, on the Birmingham Bomb Census Mapping (1LD 2014) This, and unrecorded bomb strikes within the current site, may be partly responsible for some of the modern disturbance on site, causing damaged and unstable buildings to be demolished CA PROJECT TEAM Fieldwork was undertaken by Sam Wilson assisted by Majbritt Bengtson The report was written by Sam Wilson The finds report was written by Katie Marsden The illustrations were prepared by Aleks Osinska The archive has been compiled by Sam Wilson, and prepared for deposition by Hazel O’Neill The project was managed for CA by Alex Thomson © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation REFERENCES 1st Line Defence UXO Solutions (1LD) 2014 Detailed Unexploded Ordnance Threat Assessment, Eastside Locks, report ref 1719JB00 Archaeological Project Services (APS) 2008 Archaeological Excavation at the Proposed Technology Park, Eastside, Birmingham, report no 2/08 Bassett, S and Holt, R 2016 ‘Medieval Birmingham’, in Chinn and Malcolm, eds Birmingham, the Workshop of the World Liverpool: Liverpool University Press British Geological Survey (BGS) 2019 Geology of Britain Viewer http://mapapps.bgs.ac.uk/geologyofbritain/home.html, accessed 25 April 2019 British History Online (BHO) 2018 A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, the City of Birmingham, Pages 434-482 https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp434482, accessed 25 April 2019 Cook, M 2001 Desk-Bases Assessment and Survey of Land and Standing Structures on the Site of the Former Belmont Glassworks and Ashted Pumping Station, Birmingham Cotswold Archaeology (CA) 2017 Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Assessment, CA report no 17095 Cotswold Archaeology (CA) 2019 Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Written Scheme of Investigation for an Archaeological Watching Brief North Pennines Archaeology Ltd (NPA) 2009 Belmont Row Glassworks, Belmont Row, Eastside, Birmingham, West Midlands, NPA report no 778/09 University of Leicester Archaeology (ULAS) 2007 An Archaeological Evaluation of the Belmont Row Glassworks and the Ashted Pumping Station, Eastside, Birmingham, ULAS report no 2007-072 10 © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation APPENDIX A: CONTEXT DESCRIPTIONS Trench No Context No Type 800 Layer Topsoil 801 Layer Dumped deposit 802 Structure Surface 803 Layer Made ground 900 Layer Topsoil 901 Layer Dumped deposit 902 Structure 903 Layer 10 1000 Layer Surface Cobbled surface bedding layer Topsoil 10 1001 Layer Dumped deposit 10 1002 Cut 10 1003 Fill 1002 10 1004 Structure 1002 10 1005 Layer Construction cut Construction cut backfill Wall Natural substrate 10 1006 Layer Fill of Context interpretation Made ground L (m) W (m) D (m) 10.4 0.1 10.4 0.8 >2.2 >1 10.4 >0.17 10.4 0.25 10.4 0.95 >2.6 >2 0.13 >2.6 >2 >0.27 9.6 0.1 9.6 >1.37 2.8 0.55 >0.43 Mid greyish brown sandy silt 2.8 0.55 >0.43 Brick wall 2.75 0.52 0.43 Mid greyish red clay >1.5 >1.5 Mid greyish brown sandy silt with abundant brick rubble >1.5 >1.5 Description Mid greyish brown sandy silt with pebbles and brick frags Loose mid greyish brown sandy silt with abundant brick demolition rubble and modern refuse Cobbled stone surface Dark greyish brown gritty silt with demolition rubble Mid greyish brown sandy silt with pebbles Loose mid greyish brown sandy silt with abundant brick demolition rubble and modern refuse Cobbled stone surface Dark greyish brown gritty clay with demolition rubble Mid greyish brown sandy silt Mid greyish brown sandy silt with abundant brick rubble For wall 1004 Spot-date 0.13 E-M C19 0.53 APPENDIX B: THE FINDS Context 801 1003 1004 Class Description CBM brick post-medieval pottery glazed earthenware bowl Post-medieval pottery Post-medieval/modern pottery Post-medieval/modern pottery Post-medieval pottery salt-glazed stoneware glass Window, brown/pale/colourless vessel CBM brick Kaolin Ware Flow Blue Transfer-printed refined white ware plate Transfer-printed pearlware bowl Fabric Code Ct Wt.(g) 2807 GEW 166 SGSW Flb RWW TP RWW TP PW 42 35 115 56 10 68 2603 Spotdate E-M C19 11 © Cotswold Archaeology Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation APPENDIX C: OASIS REPORT FORM PROJECT DETAILS Project Name Short description Project dates Project type Previous work Future work PROJECT LOCATION Site Location Study area Site co-ordinates PROJECT CREATORS Name of organisation Project Brief originator Project Design (WSI) originator Project Manager Project Supervisor MONUMENT TYPE SIGNIFICANT FINDS PROJECT ARCHIVES Physical Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham An archaeological evaluation was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in April 2019 on land at Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham Three trenches were excavated A wall and cobbled surfaces were identified, probably dating to the 19th century, correlating to structures shown on historic mapping Evidence for modern disturbance and levelling was also recorded throughout the evaluation trenches 23-24 April 2019 Evaluation Desk Based Assessment (Cook 2001) Excavation (ULAS 2007) Excavation (APS 2008) Excavation (NPA 2009) Archaeological Assessment (CA 2017) Unknown Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham 0.44ha 407980 287458 Cotswold Archaeology Birmingham City Council Cotswold Archaeology Alex Thomson Sam Wilson None None Intended final location of archive Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Paper Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Digital BIBLIOGRAPHY Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Content Ceramics, CBM, bone Context sheets, trench sheets, registers Digital photos Cotswold Archaeology (CA) 2019 Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham: Archaeological Evaluation CA typescript report 6805.1 12 410000 408000 406000 289000 287000 TRENT CITY OF DERBY TELFORD AND WREKIN Andover 01264 347630 N Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Archaeology STAFFORDSHIRE BIRMINGHAM LEIC ES SH TER IRE Exeter 01392 573970 Milton Keynes 01908 564660 Suffolk 01449 900120 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e enquiries@cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk PROJECT TITLE SHROPSHIRE RE FIGURE TITLE SH I Site location plan PT ON WARWICKSHIRE AM RT H NO E HIR RS TE ES RC WO COUNTY OF HEREFORDSHIRE Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham CITY OF LEICESTER M K © Crown copyright and database rights 2019 Ordnance Survey 0100031673 1km DRAWN BY AO CHECKED BY DJB APPROVED BY AT PROJECT NO DATE SCALE@A4 6805 30/04/2019 1:25,000 FIGURE NO 408050 408000 407950 N eth gb Di ch an Br un lT na s en Ca ad Ro n en Site boundary ne J l Site boundary for pending application (BCC ref: 2018/10197/PA) 14 287500 B4 Evaluation trench Shelter Previous works (APS 2008) Previous works (NPA 2009) Cut feature Surface Structure Modern inset inset T8 surface 802 T8 T9 287450 Former Belmont Works surface 902 T10 T9 n St diga Car 1:500 25m reet © Crown copyright and database rights 2019 Ordnance Survey 0100031673 Bel mon t Ro w Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 T10 Cotswold Archaeology Exeter 01392 573970 Milton Keynes 01908 564660 Suffolk 01449 900120 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e enquiries@cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk 287400 PROJECT TITLE Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham wall 1004 FIGURE TITLE structural cut 1002 Trench location plan showing archaeological features 1:250 10m DRAWN BY AO CHECKED BY DJB APPROVED BY AT PROJECT NO DATE SCALE@A3 6805 30/04/2019 1:500 & 1:250 FIGURE NO 408050 408000 407950 N 287600 Site boundary Site boundary for pending application (BCC ref: 2018/10197/PA) Evaluation trench Cut feature Surface Structure Modern 287500 T8 T9 287450 1:500 25m © Crown copyright and database rights Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Archaeology Exeter 01392 573970 Milton Keynes 01908 564660 Suffolk 01449 900120 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e enquiries@cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk T10 PROJECT TITLE Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham FIGURE TITLE Trench location plan, showing 1889 First Edition Ordnance Survey mapping DRAWN BY AO CHECKED BY DJB APPROVED BY AT PROJECT NO DATE SCALE@A3 6805 30/04/2019 1:500 FIGURE NO Cobbled surface 802 within Trench 8, looking east (1m scale) Cobbled surface 902 within Trench 9, looking north (1m scale) Andover 01264 347630 Cirencester 01285 771022 Cotswold Archaeology Exeter 01392 573970 Milton Keynes 01908 564660 Suffolk 01449 900120 w www.cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk e enquiries@cotswoldarchaeology.co.uk PROJECT TITLE Road East of Plot B, Belmont Works, Eastside Locks, Birmingham Wall1004 within Trench 10, looking south-west (1m scale) FIGURE TITLE Photographs DRAWN BY AO CHECKED BY DJB APPROVED BY AT PROJECT NO DATE SCALE@A3 6805 30/04/2019 NA FIGURE NO 13