Hadrian's Wall, St.Francis Presbytery-Tunstall Avenue (WM1)

HER Number:
200

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Hadrian's Wall, St.Francis Presbytery-Tunstall Avenue (WM1)

Place:
Walker

Map Sheet:
NZ26NE

Class:
Defence

Site Type: Broad:

Site Type: Specific:
Frontier Defence

General Period:
Roman

Specific Period:
C2

Form of Evidence:
Demolished Building

Description:
The wall was located in 1928 west of the Grange 53 yards east of Stott's Pow; in 1978 in 2 places between Stott's Road and Finchley Crescent (NZ 292 657); and in 1929 in a sewer trench on the north side of Fossway at its junction with Whinney Field Road, and east of the junction of Fossway and West Farm Road. Unlike the typical Narrow Wall foundation width of 8 feet (2.44 m), the footings at Stott's Road were of Broad Wall gauge, nearly 10 feet wide (3 m). The wal ditch was still visible in 1930, "…called Double Dykes and is occupied by gardens". The Fossway has always been thought to cover it in the western part of this stretch, and upper levels of ditch fill were seen in 1981 in a trench under the south pavement from 174 Fossway to Barret Road. Milecastle 2 was seen by early antiquarians such as Horsley and MacLauchlan though they did not agree on its location, but nothing was found near Tunstall Avenue in 1928. No turrets have been discovered in this Wall mile. A watching brief in 2003 during the installation of a security camera at the junction of Courtfield Road and Vauxhall Road revealed a mixed deposit containing sandstone fragments, possibly representing material associated with Hadrian's Wall or its demolition or robbing. SCHEDULED ANCIENT MONUMENT AND UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Easting:
2931

Northing:
6572

Grid Reference:
NZ29316572

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 200 >> M.H. Dodds, ed. 1930, The Wall from Wallsend to Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland County History, XIII, pp. 494-5 E. Birley, 1960, Hadrian's Wall: some structural problems, Archaeologia Aeliana, 4, XXXVIII, pp. 39-60 G. Simpson, 1978, The Narrow Wall between Newcastle and Wallsend... unpublished typescript Ordnance Survey, Hadrian's Wall, W 1/5-9, 2965 NW, 2865 NE, SE, SW, 2765 SE Excavation report, R. Goodburn, ed. 1979, Roman Britain in 1978, Britannia, Vol. 10, p. 279 P. Bidwell & M. Watson, 1989, A Trial Excavation on Hadrian's wall at Buddle Street, Wallsend, Archaeologia Aeliana, 5, XVII, pp. 25-26 G.R.B. Spain, 1929, Second Report 1926-1929, North of England Excavation Committee, p. 16 J. Bennett, ed. (date unknown) Hadrian's Wall east of Rudchester, Excavation report, Excavations by the CEU, 1977-1983, unpublished typescript, nos. 2 and 3, pp. 4-8 Excavation report, P.S. Austen, & J. Bennett, eds. (date unknown) CEU excavations at the east end of Hadrian's Wall; 1976-1986 Unpublished typescript, no. 150 Tyne and Wear Museums, 2003 Vauxhall Road, Walker, Watching Brief Report W. Muncaster, Tyne and Wear Museums, 2003, Miller's Dene Recreation Ground, Walker, Archaeological Assessment; David J. Breeze, 2006, J. Collingwood Bruce's Handbook to the Roman Wall, 14th edition; Guy de la Bedoyere, 2005, Hadrian's Wall History and Guide; Archaeological Services Durham University, 2010, Fossway Fire Station, Walker -Archaeological Watching Brief; WYAS, 2009, Old Fire Station, Newcastle uopn Tyne - Archaeological Evaluation; TWM Archaeology, 2008, Fossway Sub Station, Newcastle upon to Tyne to Wallsend North Tyneside - Archaeological Evaluation and Watching Brief; TAP, 2018, Daisy Hill Estate, Walker, Assessment; The Archaeological Practice 2018. Roman Avenue, Byker, Archaeological Evaluation.