| Sowan, P W (2004). A surprise at Reigate: Reigate stone was quarried in Roman times!, Bull Croydon Nat Hist Sci Soc, 122: 17-18. |
A surprise at Reigate: Reigate stone was quarried in Roman times!Sufficient pieces of Roman tile have been recorded in and around Doods Way in Reigate, from the mid-19th century onwards, to indicate the probable existence in the immediate area of a tile kiln. In recent years David Williams and others have taken the opportunity to conduct excavations in the gardens of some of the large houses in this area, and most recently to investigate the former garden of what had been Sir Peter Masefield's house, Rosehill, in Doods Way. The house has been demolished and the site is being redeveloped. Investigations by the Surrey County Archaeological Unit with voluntary assistance from several Surrey Archaeological Society members between May and June this year have revealed an impressively complete second century tile kiln. Especially significant was the discovery that four large squared blocks of Reigate stone had been used to frame the portal to the firing tunnel of the kiln. More Reigate stone, in the form of rubble, had been used to backfill between the kiln structure and the trench in the feather-edge of the Gault Clay outcrop in which it had been built. Worked blocks of Reigate stone have previously been formally reported only from Saxon and later work, and Robin Sanderson (a building-stones expert) has commented that the Reigate find extends the history of Reigate stone quarrying back in time another 400 years. Another squared block of the stone in a Roman context has been reported (Mary Saaler, personal communication) from a site at Farleigh, although sadly it did not prove possible to record this site adequately. As a result of its nature, Reigate stone appears always to have been quarried underground. Near-surface stone is generally unsuitable for building, as it is badly affected by weathering. Thus the possibility emerges that there is somewhere in or near Reigate an underground Roman stone quarry. No underground quarries, or even hearthstone mines, are currently accessible in Reigate in 2004, although the locations of several are quite accurately known. Members of the Reigate Stone Research Project team (Historic Royal Palaces) are currently negotiating for permission to re-open one such quarry (probably of post-Medieval date). It is hoped that the magnificent kiln will be relocated to a publicly accessible site in Reigate, with a protective building. Paul W. Sowan Sources
|
Last updated
September 19th 2004 |