Building record 3250/19/1 - Nos. 158-160 London Road

Probably early C19 at the latest.

{1} Archaeological evaluation prior to development included a limited assessment of the buildings on site. The buildings included two cottages, a yard and an associated range of outbuildings including a probable cow byre. Map regression indicates that the cottages and enclosed yard have been in situ since at least the early 19th century.

The yard retains a substantial limestone wall along the street frontage to London Road with an original opening in the wall as mapped on the 1885 OS 1st Ed. Map. The southern pier of the opening is original, the north pier has been modified and moved to the north in the past. The gap is now sealed with a modern concrete block wall on the inside of the boundary with a limestone skin on the road side.

The northern brick-built range comprising an enclosed byre with two stalls, each designed for up to four cattle. Both are similarly equipped with brick-built feed mangers and floored with red bricks laid on face. All brickwork appears to be of a single phase of construction. All the brickwork exhibited identical heat scarring from the diagonal stacking of bricks during firing. Somebricks had clearly not been fully dried before firing and bore diagonal skintlings. The presence of skintlings and a brick thickness of only 2.5in may be an indicator of a late 18th or early 19th century date. To the east, the north wall extends to meet the limestone boundary wall and the gap between the east wall of the byre and the boundary wall is roofed over with an identical corrugated iron roof over longitudinal purlins supported on tie beams braced for the purlins and with a centrally placed iron tie bar supporting the ridge plate. This bay was left with an open side to the yard, but equipped with an identical brick-built feed manger as the enclosed byres, but had no surviving flooring, only a layer of coarse sand and gravel. The roof construction, particularly the use of iron tie bars from tie beam to ridge plate indicates construction after the mid to late 19th century. It seems likely that the range of buildings on the site represent the north range of the original L-shaped range of buildings shown on the 1810 and 1885 OS mapping of the site. The southern leg of the L-shaped building was lost in the mid 20th century leaving the north east corner as an open sided cattle hovel whereas it was probably an enclosed byre similar to the surviving western range.

<1> McAree, D., 2010, Archaeological Evaluation at 160 London Road, Wollaston, 2010, p.7-9 (checked) (Report). SNN107149.

Record last edited

Aug 29 2023 11:36AM