Future plans for historic gatehouse stones discussed

KEY FIND: The gatehouse remains uncovered / HS2 Ltd

THE remains of a Medieval gatehouse - unearthed at a HS2 dig-site near North Solihull - have been removed from the site but the structure is unlikely to be rebuilt as it was.

Archaeologists excavating the former site of Coleshill Manor had speculated the heavily fortified entrance may have been witness to one of the earliest skirmishes of the English Civil War.

In an update, delivered to Solihull Council earlier this evening, experts confirmed that the red sandstone blocks had been loaded onto pallets and retained.

While there are hopes the masonry might form a feature somewhere along the rail route, the possibility of rebuilding the gatehouse in its entirety elsewhere appears to have been ruled out.

Hayley James, HS2's archaeology and heritage advisor, suggested this might have limited value now the blocks had been lifted from their original setting.

"We may not aim to reconstruct it," she said, when asked by Meriden councillor Andrew Burrow if this was an option under consideration.

"One of the most important things about archaeology is it having its context.

"Once it is not where it originally was, it does lose a little bit of its significance."

But she said the aim was to work with the rail project's design team to put the materials to use in a "creative and informative way".

The scale of the gatehouse at the moated manor house was entirely unknown before teams got to work a few years ago.

Around 200 marks from muskets and pistols pockmarked the walls, fuelling the theory that there was a confrontation there almost 400 years ago.

The possible link with the Civil War comes from the fact that the first recorded battle of the conflict took place at nearby Curdworth Bridge in August 1642.

The find was significant enough to feature in an episode of Digging for Britain - the BBC series presented by Prof Alice Roberts - earlier this year.

"I was amazed at just how much of the monumental stone building, with its two great octagonal towers, had survived below the ground," she said.

Excavations at sites of historic significance have been taking place across the length of the Birmingham to London rail link.

While a number of important finds have been made, the intention has never been to keep discoveries in-situ since many of the trenches have been dug on land earmarked for development.

Information on other excavations in the Solihull area, highlighted at this week's meeting of the HS2 implementation advisory group, will feature in a future post.

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