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ABSTRACT
Archaeological Research Services Ltd carried out an archaeological excavation of part of the 18th-century Swalwell Ironworks near Gateshead during the summer of 2016 in advance of a redevelopment of the site by Lidl UK. This explored a part of the ironworks immediately to the west of a previous excavation directed by Pre-Construct Archaeology in 2005, and has contributed significant detail to the overall record of this important ironworking site. In particular, the excavation in 2016 uncovered well-preserved structural remains deriving from the early 18th-century development of the site, including the western portion of Ambrose Crowley’s Grand Warehouse and its basement wharf, an anchor shop, a series of ancillary workshops and a curving water channel that formed the northern boundary of the archaeological site. Amongst the remains deriving from the later use of the works was part of a mid-19th-century crucible furnace. The excavation has also indicated that well-preserved archaeological remains are likely to exist beyond the western and southern limits of the excavated area.
Acknowledgements
Archaeological Research Services Ltd would like to thank all those who contributed to the successful outcome of this project; in particular Richard Huteson of Rapleys for commissioning the work on behalf of Lidl UK GMbH and Jenny Morrison, Tyne and Wear Archaeology Officer, for her advice and guidance. The author would also like to thank all the specialists, notably Ian Miller and Gerry McDonnell, for their contributions, as well as the editorial input kindly provided by David Cranstone. The hard work and dedication of the fieldwork staff is also gratefully acknowledged with specific reference to the efforts of David Cockroft, Philippa Hunter, Michael Nicholson, Tom Parker and Rebecca Trow.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Alan Williams, ‘Swalwell Cement Works, Swalwell, Gateshead, Desk-based Assessment’ (unpublished report, Alan Williams Archaeology, 2004).
2 Jennifer Proctor, ‘Archaeological Investigations at Swalwell Ironworks, Tyne and Wear’, Industrial Archaeology Review 33, no. 1 (2011): 18–39.
3 Jennifer Proctor and Robin Taylor-Wilson, ‘An Archaeological Excavation at Sands Road, Swalwell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Post-Excavation Assessment Report’ (unpublished report, Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd, 2007). doi:10.5284/1035777.
4 David Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: the Development of Swalwell Ironworks’, Industrial Archaeology Review 33, no. 1 (2011): 40–57; Proctor, ‘Archaeological Investigations at Swalwell Ironworks, Tyne and Wear’, 18–39; John Frederick Bowman, ‘The Iron and Steel Industries of the Derwent Valley: A Historical Archaeology’ (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Newcastle, 2018).
5 Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: the Development of Swalwell Ironworks’, 41–2.
6 Ibid., 42.
7 J. Colin Davis, A Study of English Utopian Writing 1516–1700 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981).
8 Torsten Berg and Peter Berg, R R Angerstein’s Illustrated Travel Diary, 1753–1755 (London: Science Museum, 2001), 259–63.
9 Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: The Development of Swalwell Ironworks’, 52.
10 OS 1:2500 sheet County Durham Sheet 6.2. Ordnance Survey, 1897.
11 Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: The Development of Swalwell Ironworks’, 54.
12 Rupert Lotherington, Philippa Cockburn, David Cockcroft, and Michael Nicholson, ‘An Archaeological Excavation, Evaluation and Watching Brief at Swalwell, Tyne and Wear’ (unpublished report, Archaeological Research Services Ltd, 2016).
13 Lotherington et al., ‘An Archaeological Excavation, Evaluation and Watching Brief at Swalwell, Tyne and Wear’.
14 Proctor and Taylor-Wilson, ‘An Archaeological Excavation at Sands Road, Swalwell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Post-Excavation Assessment Report’.
15 Tyne and Wear Archaeology Service, TWAS: DX 104/1. 13.
16 Proctor, ‘Archaeological Investigations at Swalwell Ironworks, Tyne and Wear’, 21–5.
17 Durham Record Office, DRO: D/CG 71/1578; Tyne and Wear Archaeology Service: DT. BEL/2/22 in Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: The Development of Swalwell Ironworks’.
18 Tyne and Wear Archaeology Service, TWAS: DX 104/1.13; Durham County Record Office, DRO: D/Bo/G37 (vii).
19 Lotherington et al., ‘An Archaeological Excavation, Evaluation and Watching Brief at Swalwell, Tyne and Wear’, 20.
20 Proctor and Taylor-Wilson, ‘An Archaeological Excavation at Sands Road, Swalwell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Post-Excavation Assessment Report’, 49.
21 Durham University Library Special Collections, DULSC: Gibson: Maps and Plans 1.
22 Durham County Record Office, DRO: D/CG 7/1664 in Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: The Development of Swalwell Ironworks’.
23 Durham University Library Special Collections, DULSC: Gibson: Maps and Plans 1.
24 Proctor and Taylor-Wilson, ‘An Archaeological Excavation at Sands Road, Swalwell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Post-Excavation Assessment Report’, 49; Proctor, ‘Archaeological Investigations at Swalwell Ironworks, Tyne and Wear’, 21–5.
25 Tyne and Wear Archaeology Service: DT. BEL/2/22.
26 Berg and Berg, R R Angerstein’s Illustrated Travel Diary, 1753–1755, 60.
27 Plan of Swalwell Ironworks in 1834. Durham County Record Office, DRO: D/Bo/G 37 (vii).
28 Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: The Development of Swalwell Ironworks’, 51.
29 Ward’s Directory, 1861–2, Advertisements, 156 in Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: The Development of Swalwell Ironworks’, 50.
30 Ibid.
31 Andrew Powell, Steelworkers, Crucible Furnaces and Workers’ Housing — Archaeological Investigations at Hoyle Street, Sheffield (Salisbury: Wessex Archaeology, 2014).
32 OS 1st edition survey, OS 1:2500, Co. Durham Sheet 6.2; Plan of Swalwell Ironworks, Durham University Library Special Collections: Gibson Volumes: Maps and Plans 1.
33 Cranstone, ‘From Slitting Mill to Alloy Steel: The Development of Swalwell Ironworks’, 51.
34 Ibid., 54.
35 David Petts and Christopher Gerrard, Shared Visions: The North-East Regional Research Framework for the Historic Environment (Durham: Durham County Council, 2006).
36 Proctor, ‘Archaeological Investigations at Swalwell Ironworks, Tyne and Wear’, 38.
37 Powell, Steelworkers, Crucible Furnaces and Workers Housing.
38 Ibid.; Claire Gardner and Andrew Frudd, ‘Furnace Hill, West Bar, Sheffield, South Yorkshire — Archaeological Excavation Assessment Report’ (unpublished report, Oxford Archaeology North, 2015).
39 Chris Harrison, ‘Derwentcote Forge, Derwentcote, County Durham: Archaeological Evaluation’ (unpublished report, Wessex Archaeology, 2012); David Cranstone, Derwentcote Steel Furnace: An Industrial Monument in County Durham (Lancaster: Lancaster University Archaeological Unit, 1997).
40 Proctor, ‘Archaeological Investigations at Swalwell Ironworks, Tyne and Wear’.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Rupert Lotherington
Rupert Lotherington is currently the Contracts Manager with Archaeological Research Services Ltd. He has worked on numerous multi-phase rural sites as well as industrial and deeply stratified urban sites. He has worked for several archaeological companies, including Oxford Archaeology South, Archaeology South East and Network Archaeology, before taking up a position with Archaeological Research Services Ltd in 2014. Address for correspondence: Archaeological Research Services Ltd, The Eco Centre, Windmill Way, Hebburn, Tyne and Wear NE31 1SR. Email: [email protected].