Monument record 7691/1 - Remnant of post medieval road north-east of Weedon

Possibly the former road between Dodford and Flore prior to the construction of the turnpike in c1765

{1} {2} Road is shown

{3} A short length of disused rural road is shown on 1940s aerial photos with trees along its boundaries. On images from 1975 it has been denuded and seems to form a linear bank that cuts through the ridge and furrow to either side, making it a post medieval feature.
It has been suggested that this may be the original road from Flore to Dodford, before the turnpike was established c.1765. The road may date in the period of the late 13th to 18th centuries.

{4} The remains of a former road were located between Flore Bridge, beside the A5 Watling Street, and Flore Hill Farm were detected during geophysical survey of the proposed route of the A45 link road. During the subsequent trial trench excavation, both parallel roadside ditches were identified, aligned north-west
to south-east, to either side of a buried soil layer. The road was little more than a trackway, occasionally firmed up with dumps of stone.

{5} A small excavation was undertaken as part of the mitigation works ahead of the A45 link road construction exposing 22m of the former road. The only dating evidence was a sherd of modern pottery and clay tobacco-pipe fragment in the uppermost fill of the northrn trackway ditch, which tentatively suggests it was in a state of abandonment in the late 19th or early 20th centuries. A post-medieval whetstone was also recovered from one of the ditch fills.

<1> Brown, J., 2013, Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment for the Weedon Bec and Flore Bypass, Northamptonshire, p.13, 21 (checked) (Report). SNN109173.

<2> 1742, Valentine Knightley's Estate (NRO Map 852), (checked) (Map). SNN47437.

<3> Northamptonshire SMR Collection of Aerial Photographs, SP6360/005-008, 010, 017 (checked) (Photographs). SNN104822.

<4> Brown, J., 2014, Archaeological geophysical survey and trial trench evaluation of the A45 Northampton to Daventry Link Road, Northamptonshire, 2013-2014 (Report). SNN110061.

<5> Morris, S., 2018, Archaeological mitigation along the route of the A45 Northampton to Daventry Link Road Northamptonshire September 2015 to January 2017: Assessment Report and Updated Project Design (Report). SNN111582.

Record last edited

Jul 30 2019 11:36AM