Data from a Trial Trenching at Curzon Street Station Yard, Birmingham, West Midlands, 2019-2023 (HS2 Phase One)
High Speed Two Ltd., MOLA Headland Infrastructure, Headland Archaeology Ltd, 2023. (updated 2025) https://doi.org/10.5284/1126696. How to cite using this DOI
- HS2 Phase One: London to West Midlands Historic Environment Digital Archive
- Curated Collection: A Digital Archive of Britain's Railway History
Data copyright © High Speed Two Ltd. unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a The Open Government Licence (OGL).
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 5651
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1126696
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
This collection comprises of CAD, images, site record and spreadsheet data from archaeological trial trenching at the sites of former London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) and the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) termini, and the later London and North Western Railway (L&NWR) goods station at Curzon Street Station, Birmingham, which will form part of the HS2 terminus at Curzon Street, Birmingham. The work was undertaken by MOLA-Headland Infrastructure (MHI) between 2019 and 2020.
Project Summary
The evaluation area covers the former station of the historic Curzon Street Station termini, which is located to the east of Birmingham city centre and covers approximately 4.3ha of land.
Curzon Street Station was the first railway terminus serving the centre of Birmingham, initially providing passenger services, it originally consisted of two station termini, servicing the L&BR and the GJR; before being converted to a single goods station (L&NWR) following the opening of Birmingham New Street Station in 1854, which operated until the 1960s. The L&BR terminus opened in 1838 and was fronted by the extant grand ‘Principal Building’ which survives in situ, as do elements of the GJR neo-classical screen wall. Various structures were demolished from 1860 to 1870 to allow for expansion, including the engine house. The two stations at Curzon Street are amongst the very earliest examples of railway termini and the limited later development of the site means that any surviving remains of the early stations represent a unique opportunity to investigate a major early railway terminus in its entirety.
Previous works on the site have included a Desk Based Assessment and a programme of geotechnical trial pitting.
The London and Birmingham Railway station was constructed in 1838, and the Grand Junction Railway station was constructed alongside it in 1839; the earliest evidence which could be confidently ascribed to this phase of activity was represented by the remains of the roundhouse, exposed toward the south-eastern corner of the site. The surviving remains included evidence of the base of the central turntable, the exterior wall and the radial inspection pits which surrounded the turntable.
As part of the expansion and conversion of the station into a single goods station during the 1860’s, elements of the earlier station were upgraded and repurposed, including the construction of the main Goods Shed and Bonded Warehouse, the conversion of the arrival and departures platform in the Grain and Copper and Spelter Sheds, and the demolition of the Roundhouse.
The former L&NWR goods station was well represented within the evaluation area, evidenced for by brick-built footings, walls foundations, and brick surfaces associated with the main goods buildings and associated structures. The northern and southern extents of the main goods shed were attested to be the limits of the floors of the bonded warehouse which formed its cellars. The remains of the base of a hydraulic accumulator, which was located on the northeast corner of the main Goods Shed was also exposed.
The L&NWR goods station was demolished in 1966 and was replaced by a new purpose-built Parcel Concentration depot. This was later repurposed into a Parcelforce distribution centre, which involved the removal of the last remaining rails on site. There was ample evidence of this later activity across the evaluation area, with deep concrete footings and former utilities truncating the earlier remains.
Potential palaeoenvironmental evidence, in the form of discrete areas of organic sediments, similar to those identified to the west of the site, were not explored as part of this phase of evaluation. Rather, this will be the subject of a separate piece of targeted geoarchaeological work.
Re-Use Value Statement
The most significant structures on the site are those relating to the former Roundhouse in Trenches 9, 12 and 13. This building appears to be the earliest known example of its kind in the world. Previous engine shed investigations at York and Paddington have provided a considerable amount of information about their construction and use and, as the Roundhouse at Curzon Street is known to pre-date these examples, it has high research potential. The evaluation has shown that this building may have considerable survival below ground, especially toward its southern side.
Other structures and features across the site may have some research potential as such station structures are rarely archaeologically investigated. The evaluation has shown that there is notable survival of structures, especially in terms of below ground structures such as basements and wall foundations.
