Data from Construction integrated recording at Area 3 - Palaeolandscape/London and Birmingham Railway/Goods Station, Curzon Street Station Yard, Birmingham, West Midlands, 2019-2023 (HS2 Phase One)
High Speed Two Ltd., MOLA Headland Infrastructure, Headland Archaeology Ltd, 2023. https://doi.org/10.5284/1124406. 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).
Primary contact
High Speed Two Ltd.
2 Snowhill
Queensway
Birmingham
B4 6GA
United Kingdom
Tel: 08081 434 434
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 5652
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1124406
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
Project Summary
This collection comprises of text, images, spreadsheets, vector and site record data from archaeological mitigation at the former station yard at Curzon Street Station, Birmingham. The work was undertaken Between 2019 and 2020, by Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd. The works were permitted by the High-Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Act, which provides powers for the construction and operation of High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase One. This mitigation area will form part of the HS2 terminus at Curzon Street, Birmingham.
Archaeological fieldwork took place between 9th December 2019 and 10th February 2020 on a parcel of land covering approximately 0.90ha. Previous works here have included a Desk Based Assessment, a programme of Geotechnical Trial Pitting and an Archaeological Trial Trench Evaluation. The archaeological mitigation built upon these earlier works, revealing structures and deposits consistent with archival and cartographic records of the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR), the Grand Junction Railway (GJR) and the later Goods Station (GS).
The London and Birmingham Railway (LB&R) station opened to passengers in 1838. The earliest evidence which could be potentially ascribed to this phase of activity was a long wall aligned northeast-southwest spanning the southern edge of the area. The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was constructed alongside the L&BR in 1839. The physical division of the area was dictated by the builders of the L&BR, who began construction earlier than those of the GJR, leading to an inequitable division of the space in favour of the former. The remains of the wall may represent the physical manifestation of the ‘land-grab’ perpetuated by the earlier station builders. The archaeological evidence supported this, as while numerous structures associated with the GJR abutted the structure, none were keyed into it, suggesting it was an extant feature. Many aspects of the later station were identified, including elements of the Station Offices, Stables, Booking Offices, Station Platforms and two Turntables.
As part of the expansion and conversion of the station into a single Goods Station by the London & North Western Railway (L&NWR) during the 1860’s, elements of the earlier station were upgraded and repurposed. Evidence of this was recorded during the mitigation, with the GJR Booking Offices being repurposed and the GJR Arrivals Yard being converted to Copper and Spelter Sheds. More pronounced changes also took place, with the demolition of earlier structures and the construction of substantial new buildings.
The Goods Station was well represented within the mitigation area, evidenced by brick-built footings, wall foundations and brick surfaces. The northern and southern extents of the large Grain Shed were revealed, as were the remains of nine Turntables, in various states of preservation.
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. There was ample evidence of this later activity across the mitigation area, with deep concrete footings and former utilities truncating the earlier remains.
Re-Use Value Statement
Structures relating to the early British railway industry are rarely archaeologically excavated. The substantial survival and consequent recording and interpretation of these structural remains have granted an unprecedented look into the 19th century rail industry in Birmingham and how the expansion and evolution of the station facilities represented a change to the more industrial scale of goods provision in Birmingham during this period. This can be studied alongside past and future excavations of similar sites to inform on how the rail industry has evolved throughout Birmingham and the United Kingdom.
