Leadgate Railway Station
THE SITE OF THE OLD RAILWAY YARD
Geology
The 1st geological survey of 1832 (Ref A) is the base point for the excavation and research that underpin this report. It is a little different from the 1st OS of 1861 (Reference B), save that it identifies the crops of coal and to a lesser extent ironstones that characterize the area. There is no evidence of igneous formations, intrusive or extrusive, close to the surface although the Whin Sill obviously occurs at a greater depth. The last Geological Survey (Reference H) shows the site to be essentially “made”, although the immediately surrounding surface topography is remarkably unchanged. The made and occurs throughout the whole of the Old Station Yard and Leadgate Railway Station is deepest at the NNE of the site, where bedrock occurs at depth on average of 9 metres. To the SSW of the site i.e. adjacent to the existing rear boundary wall of St Ives Road, itself built upon the remnants of an earlier wall; bedrock is encountered very close to the surface once the overburden has been removed.
This overburden runs along the whole length of the boundary wall and is all that remains of the rail embankment. It is up to 4 meters high in places, highest to the East, and shallowest to the West. Made up of coal waste below present surface level, it also contains substantial quantities of very old, domestic refuse, typically non-degradable pottery, and glass, the earliest pieces of which date back to circa 1822.
Evaluation of the quantities and patterns of pottery recovered, as well as types of old bottles, indicate at least 3 phases of major infilling and building-up as well as regular, continuous tipping of lesser quantities by occupants of St Ives Road and the former Old East House, a former Inn on the Turnpike Road (a private house owned by the Dunn family circa 1780) which pre-dates main construction of later houses, including Clifton House (circa 1854).
Leadgate Railway Station and Railway Yard.
The first phase probably occurred around 1823 when the embankment was created in order to carry the mineral railway, the second around 1880 when the line was upgraded and the last around 1910 when the railway yard was created. The last created the raised land terrace required supporting Leadgate Railway Station and railway yard. The majority of the site was excavated by SUSTRANS in the ’80s in order to recover the construction material that contained low-grade coal and shale fill. However, the 10-meter strip running along the St Ives boundary wall remained largely untouched.
Leadgate Railway Station and Village Boundary Wall
The boundary wall itself was built no earlier than 1822 and is likely contemporary along most of its length with the construction of the railway embankment. Substantial parts of it remain visible above ground. Indeed, it can be viewed in places inside the boundary wall from within the residents’ back yards and gardens, which are below the level of the site. Adjacent to Clifton House where the excavation took place to a depth of 2 meters, for example, the footings had still not been reached. The wall is also constructed in readily recognizable local sandstone, containing a particular form of brachiopod fossil (from the Harvey Marine Band). This outcrops locally and is easily worked, the upper layers especially being fractured along identifiable bedding planes. The gangs of navvies likely quarried it specifically for this purpose before the trench was backfilled and embankment created. The evidence to support this is in the fact that the depth of infill along the whole length of the boundary wall is considerably below the bedrock exposed during excavation, which occurs, on average, 3
The gangs of navvies likely quarried it specifically for this purpose before the trench was backfilled and embankment created. The evidence to support this is in the fact that the depth of infill along the whole length of the boundary wall is considerably below the bedrock exposed during excavation, which occurs, on average, 3 meters from the wall. Indeed, Clifton House is built of the same stone, as was East House, St Ives Church, and likely the whole of St Ives Road. Further evidence to support this and suggest the methods employed by the gangs of navvies rests in the cross-section of the excavation.
The immediately underlying stratigraphy is typical of the region, a succession of Upper Carboniferous, sedimentary rocks laid down since the Silesian era. These have been exploited for at least 5 centuries for the economically important coal measures, which locally outcrop, and to a lesser extent the interspacing ironstones. Thus the surface topography has been substantially changed by successive extraction and infilling as well as subsidence and collapse following pit mining, though not below the Old Station Yard site, better known as Leadgate Railway Station. It is clear from excavation to a depth of 2.2 meters immediately adjacent to the rear boundary wall of Clifton House that the major part of the site is made up of compacted coal waste on overlying sandstone.
Archaeology and Social History
St Ives Road dates back to 1834; before that, it was a turnpike paralleling the railway track as far as the Jolly Drovers and the site of the Eden Pit. When the public toilets next to the Surgery are demolished, this will once more expose a corner of the engine house, as well as The Old Forge. Both these were built around 1820, as was the old wall which separated the railway from the houses on St Ives. The Coach and Horses was the first house on St Ives Road apart from the Old East House, now demolished. In June 1854 Clifton House – now No 17 St Ives Road was built by Joseph Nicholson. Between 1854 and 1858 the remaining space between Clifton House and the Coach and Horses was built, the separate houses being terraced with their neighbors. Beyond the East House, more houses were built toward the Jolly Drovers. On the other side of the road, the remainder of St Ives Road was developed. All this building was completed by no later than 1858.
The Old Forge (No 3-4 Watling St), like the building opposite (The Chinese) and the whole complex behind Fosters Butchers, also dates back to the 1830’s, as does most of Front St. What’s left is worth restoring and keeping. It should be incorporated into the fabric of any future development – not demolished. Cleaned up, the old random stone complements the village and shows it off for what it used to be before the post-1960’s ravages. It’s worth recording for posterity and makes a link back to their ancestors for the families of Leadgate. It might even help to restore some sense of civic pride and stop people littering.
Written by Mr. David Shield
