If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Mareham Lane Roman road, south of Sleaford, continued in use in at least some places until the medieval period and possibly later.

Full description

[Note: numerous roadside buildings and other related features have been found in the Old Place/The Hoplands area - see PRN 60584 for details.]

Line of Mareham Lane Roman Road through North Kesteven (south of Sleaford). The lane shows no sign of an agger until at Threekingham it crosses the east to west Romanised trackway, but after this it takes on the full appearance of a Roman road, very straight and well raised, usually by 1 to 2 feet. It is here crossing some low-lying fenlike country and it makes two slight changes in direction, at Asworby Thorns and just before Sleaford. Near the latter point the modern road turns off to the west, but the old line is marked by a hedgerow and track, with traces of an agger, which approaches the River Slea half a mile to the east of the town. Parish boundaries follow the road continuously from Threekingham to Sleaford.{1}

Substantial traces of the continuation of Mareham Lane to the north of Sleaford have been found (see PRN 60813).{1}

In 1955 a small excavation was carried out near Old Place, Sleaford, in an attempt to locate the Roman road. The excavation was successful and the road was located in the first trench. {2}{11}{12}

A further section of the road at Old Sleaford was uncovered in 1957. {13}

The metalled surface of the road was located again during further excavations near Old Place in 1961. Two phases of the road were seen consisting of the initial road surface and the later widened one. {2}{14}

Excavations to the south of Boston Road, Sleaford, in 1990-91 revealed the metalled surface of the road. It appeared very worn and hollow in the centre, suggesting that it had remained in use well into the medieval period and later (see PRN 65281). North-south aligned ditches were also uncovered and assumed to be drainage ditches for the road, or possibly field boundaries that respected the road. A group of post holes may represent roadside occupation, but the date of these is uncertain and no definite buildings were identified. {2}{10}

In 2001, evaluation at The Hoplands (TF 0787 4624) revealed another section of the Mareham Lane surface along with a roadside ditch. The road is thought to have been constructed in the 3rd century. {3}{4}

The well-preserved metalled surface of the road was revealed during an evaluation near St Giles Avenue (TF 07725 45920), Sleaford, in 2006. {5}{6}

The line of the road just to the south of Sleaford is visible on an aerial photograph taken prior to housing development in the area. {7}

Roadworks near Threekingham (at approx TF 0912 3642) in 1967 revealed a section of the Roman road at about 4 feet depth. Paving slabs edge to edge were seen. {9}

<1> Margary, I.D., 1973, Roman Roads in Britain (3rd edition), page 234 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1094.

<2> Shelia M. Elsdon, 1997, Old Sleaford Revealed: A Lincolnshire Settlement in Iron Age, Roman, Saxon and Medieval Times: Excavations 1882-1995, pp 12-13; pp 19-21; p 27, pp 36-38 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI8621.

<3> Archaeological Project Services, 2001, Archaeological Evaluation of Land at the Hoplands, Sleaford, THSA01 (Report). SLI7268.

<4> Archaeological Project Services, 2001, Archaeological Evaluation of Land at the Hoplands, Sleaford, LCNCC 2001.59 (Archive). SLI7269.

<5> Archaeological Project Services, Nov 2006, Archaeological Evaluation on land at St Giles Avenue, Sleaford, SHSG06 (Report). SLI11196.

<6> Archaeological Project Services, Nov 2006, Archaeological Evaluation on land at St Giles Avenue, Sleaford, LCNCC 2006.239 (Archive). SLI11197.

<7> HAYES, J.T., 1953-87, RCHM, RR 260 (Aerial Photograph). SLI198.

<8> Burton Pedwardine SMR cards, TF 04 SE; U (Index). SLI2940.

<9> Threekingham SMR cards, TF 03 NE; Q (Index). SLI3338.

<10> Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire, 1991, Archaeological Excavations, Booker Seeds, Boston Road, Sleaford, - (Report). SLI11904.

<11> Sleaford SMR cards, TF 04 NE; H (Index). SLI3265.

<12> FENNELL, K.R., 1955, Excavations at Old Place, Sleaford (July-October 1955), - (Report). SLI11983.

<13> FENNELL, K.R., 1957-59, Letters about excavations at Old Place during the late 1950s, 29/04/1957 (Correspondence). SLI11984.

<14> City and County Museum, 1960 onwards, Letters, notes and other material relating to the 1960s excavations at Old Sleaford, - (Correspondence). SLI11986.

<15> FENNELL, K.R., 1959, 'King Street in Kesteven and some notes on Old Sleaford' in The Lincolnshire Historian, Vol 2 No. 6, pp 22-27 (Article in Serial). SLI11988.

Monument Types

• ROAD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)

Associated Events

• Archaeological evaluation at The Hoplands
• Excavations adjacent to St Giles Avenue, 1955.
• Excavations on land between Old Place and Mareham Lane, 1960-61
• Excavations on land immediately north of the Grantham to Sleaford Railway line, 1990-91
• Archaeological Evaluation on land at St Giles Avenue, Sleaford
• Aerial photograph showing Mareham Lane to the south of Sleaford
• Roadworks near Threekingham
• Intermittent excavations at Old Sleaford, 1957-59

Protected Status

• SHINE

Sources and further reading

Related records

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.