Monument record 3124/0/24 - Probable Medieval settlement, north of Station Road

Trial trench excavation identified the stone foundations of a building, the remains of a possible trackway and evidence of iron production. Summary from record 3124/0/25: A large pit and a ditch contained significant quantities of tap slag and furnace lining

{1} Trial trench excavation was undertaken as part of a planning application. In Trench 2 there was a large concentration of archaeological deposits. The south-eastern corner of a building on the same orientation as Station Road was exposed. It was set back c.22m into the field. The southern wall of the building was c.0.30m high and c.0.5m wide, constructed from coursed limestone blocks bound in clay. The wall was roughly finished, with at least three courses of masonry surviving. The building’s south-east corner was marked by a substantial, roughly squared limestone boulder, whilst the eastern side was defined by a kerb of large limestone boulders holding back subsoil to create a level platform. The differing construction techniques used in the two walls is probably best explained by the fact that the building is built into a slope dropping down from north-west to south-east requiring the southern wall of the building to be built up more. Wall and kerb were separated by a c.1.3m wide gap at the southern end of the building’s eastern wall. This was filled with a rectangular area of flat limestone slabs extending c.0.85m into the building, probably a threshold. This may have once continued as a floor along the inside of the building’s southern wall. Covering the southern wall and the threshold was a thick layer of soil and building rubble.
The building was probably of timber construction resting on a shallow stone plinth. The building, along with adjacent features, may have been associated with iron production.

An intersecting pit and ditch were found to contain over 2.5kg of tap slag, along with furnace lining and iron ore.

At the western end of the trench were the remains of a roughly laid metalled surface aligned approximately north to south.

<1> Morris, M., 2014, An archaeological field evaluation by trial trenching of land north of Station Road, Irchester, Northamptonshire, (checked) (Report). SNN110196.

<1> Morris, M., 2014, An archaeological field evaluation by trial trenching of land north of Station Road, Irchester, Northamptonshire, p. 5 and 29 (Report). SNN110196.

Record last edited

Mar 24 2025 11:50AM