Record Details
| NHER Number: | 64665 |
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| Type of record: | Negative evidence |
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| Name: | Site with no evidence for archaeologically-significant remains |
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Summary
A watching brief maintained during groundworks at this location between 2012 and 2013 recorded little of archaeological interest. It is on the former line of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway between Great Yarmouth and Sutton, close to where the line terminated at the Beach Station. Although we know from late 19th-century maps that the site had once been occupied by various structures associated with the railway it appears that little survived the closure of the station in 1959 and the subsequent clearance of the site. The only surviving structure observed was part of an early 20th-century turntable pit.
Images - none
Location
| Grid Reference: | TG 5288 0826 |
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| Map Sheet: | TG50NW |
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| Parish: | GREAT YARMOUTH, GREAT YARMOUTH, NORFOLK |
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Full description
This site formerly lay on the route of the Midland and Great Northern Join Railway, a little way to the north of where the Great Yarmouth to Sutton Bridge line terminated at Beach Station. The late 19th-century Ordnance Survey maps show a range of railway structures at this location, including a signal box, a coal yard and cattle pens. The coal yard was accessed by a siding equipped with a turntable. By the 1920s this land has seen a number of changes, with additional sidings created where the coal yard had previously lain. The original turntable had also been replaced by one further north, adjacent to Sandown Road. The buildings that now stand to the east of the site had also been constructed by this time, occupying a plot that had previously been a stone yard.
P. Watkins (HES), 11 March 2020.
September 2012-February 2013. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks associated with construction of new housing development.
The stripping of overburden down to formation level revealed mixed deposits of demolition rubble and hogging. Sections of the old railway track and wooden sleepers were also exposed. The subsequent excavation of house foundations also revealed nothing of archaeological significance, with overburden lying directly above natural yellow sand. A sewer trench did however expose a surviving section of the early 20th-century railway turntable. This had been constructed from sandstone blocks bonded with a hard cement. Two square nails that would have secured the track were recovered.
The excavation of a large central soakaway exposed a large displaced concentrate block but no features or structures of interest.
See report (S1) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES),11 March 2021.
Monument Types
- FINDSPOT (Early 20th Century to 21st Century - 1901 AD to 2050 AD)
- RAILWAY TURNTABLE (20th Century - 1901 AD to 2000 AD)
Associated Finds
- NAIL (20th Century - 1901 AD to 2000 AD)
- SHOVEL (20th Century - 1901 AD to 2000 AD)
Protected Status - none
Sources and further reading
| --- | Secondary File: Secondary File. |
| <S1> | Unpublished Contractor Report: Hickling, S. 2013. Archaeological Watching Brief at the former Beach Coach Station, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. NPS Archaeology. 2871. |
Related records
| 13581 | Part of: Route of Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (Great Yarmouth to Sutton Bridge) (Monument) |