Monument record 1160/189 - The Lion Foundry (Formerly The Beehive Foundry)

Established by John Brettell in 1830 following a dispute at the Eagle Foundry in Bridge Street, later renamed The Lion Foundry

{1} A C19th iron foundry was established by John Brettell in 1830 following a dispute at the Eagle Foundry in Bridge Street (Published in The Mercury on 25th May 1830 and 5th June 1830). The result of the dispute was that Brettell left the company to open the Beehive Foundry in Cow Lane, but he later changed its name to the Lion Foundry. The foundry occupied this site until well into the C20th before it was closed and demolished.
The structures that were encountered comprised cellars in Trenches 1 and 5, a well, brick foundation and brick-lined service trenches in Trench 2, and a brick/concrete stantion block in Trench 3. These were generally in poor condition and filled and overlain by demolition material forming a base for the present car park.
[HER note 16/02/2015: the cellar to the south-east may in fact belong to the terrace of houses (St John's Terrace) shown on First Edition OS maps.]

{2} Brief note on historical sources and products.

{3} A length of brick-lined culvert 148, the main surviving structural element of the foundry building, at the west end of Area A was constructed in a vertical-sided cut with the culvert 0.32m wide. The brickwork formed an arched cap 0.20m high. The culvert probably emptied into the main drain running down Cow Lane.

<1> Brown J., 2013, An Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation at Swan Street Car Park, Northampton July 2013, p.9; https://doi.org/10.5284/1104264 (Report). SNN109174.

<2> Shepherd N., 2013, Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment: Swan Street, Northampton, p.14 (part checked) (Report). SNN109229.

<3> Finn, C., 2015, Archaeological investigation and excavation at Cow Lane, Northampton, November 2014 (Report). SNN110524.

<4> Horne, B (editor), 2016, South Midlands Archaeology (46), p. 44 (Journal). SNN111326.

<5> Finn, C, 2021, From medieval quarry pits to a 19th century foundry at Cow Lane (Swan Street), Northampton (Article). SNN112924.

Record last edited

Apr 30 2025 3:53PM