Land at Corchester Coach House, Corbridge, Northumberland: Archaeological Watching Brief

An archaeological watching brief was conducted in April 2025 in order to mitigate the potential impact of groundworks associated with the construction of a linked extension and separate garage to the rear of Corchester Coach House, Corbridge, Northumberland (centred upon NGR: NY 98536 65047), in compliance with the conditions of NCC planning ref: 24/01398/FUL. The site is located to the rear of the former coach house associated with Corchester Towers which was used as a school from 1891 to 1975. In addition, the development is located immediately adjacent to the scheduled monument of Corstopitum Roman fort and vicus, the extent of archaeological remains associated with which is not known. Having assessed the potential impact of the development on the archaeological resource, the assistant archaeologist for Northumberland County Council requested that the groundworks be monitored by means of an archaeological watching brief to mitigate their impact on any potential archaeological remains revealed. Prior to commencement of the groundworks, two existing outbuildings on the site were demolished. One of these, a late nineteenth-century wooden structure, was the subject of a programme of building recording (see separate report: AP24/26). The results of the archaeological watching brief concluded that no significant archaeological finds or features were impacted upon by the current scheme. Below the tarmacadam and topsoil layers, the only feature encountered in the house extension trench was a linear, single course of stone [03] cut into the upper level of the underlying sandy clay soil [02], representing the footings of the rear external wall of an outbuilding contemporary with the building of Corchester Towers and demolished before 1980. Within the garage trench, a small late-19th to early-20th century bottle dump [06] was cut through the lower level of the dark, loamy topsoil layer [05] and into the sandy clay soil [07] beneath. Slightly deeper within this layer and protruding into the red sand layer [09] below, which continued to the base of the trench, a square pit [08] was observed, apparently filled with slaked lime. There were no associated finds but this pit is likely to date from or after the period when the site was first built on in the late 19th century.