Monument MPM1173 - Remains of Croxton Town, Stone Street

The remains of four houses which fronted onto the north and south sides of Diamond Street were revealed. Three of these houses had half-cellars, to a depth of 1m, which had been used to store coal. Coal dust had survived in places, and brick built coal-holes extended into the road in front. The excavations in the back-plots of the terraces indicated that the houses fronting onto Diamond Street were c. 6m deep, with an overall plot depth of 12m. The historic maps suggest the plots fronting onto Gold and Silver Street were larger, being approximately 16m. Each plot was separated by a single width brick wall. A number of square foundations with soil pipes exiting from them were revealed in the back-plots of these terraces. These belonged to outdoor privies. The historic maps show there were a variety of out-buildings in the back-plots. The foundations of at least two rear extensions to the houses were excavated. At least one of these, belonging to a house fronting onto Diamond Street from the south, was a later alteration. The rear of the house originally had a set of external steps which entered the basement, which had been blocked at a later date by bricks set in a different mortar. The road surface of Diamond Street was made up of several layers. The earliest was a thin skim of tarmac, which either suggested that the road was un-surfaced for much of the 19th century, or an earlier surface had been replaced. Above the tarmac was a layer of gravel and sand, thought to be the pre-war road surface. A second layer of tarmac above this layer was probably associated with St. Michael's Lodge. Evidence of Second World War destruction on the site was represented by a layer of black soil which overlaid the back-plots and probably related to the burning of the buildings. The layer was overlain by rubble, which had also been used to infill the cellars. The remains of the internal, and the southern exterior walls of St. Michael's Lodge were also found during the evaluation. As the pre-war buildings were setback from the road frontages, it is thought likely that the remains of further buildings from Croxton Town still lie beneath the ground surface. Accession number: 2009/104