In SyAS Bulletin 374 (May 2004) we reported on work at Downside, Epsom which led us to conclude that the alignment of Stane Street through Epsom did not follow that suggested by Winbolt but, rather, that proposed by Margary. We mentioned a terrace which was seen by Margary - and still survives - and which lines up with the site of an excavation by Winbolt at Woodcote Park and an excavation (unpublished) behind St Martin’s Church. This led to the successful discovery of Stane Street on the continuation of this line at Albert Road allotments. Margary predicted that the alignment would continue until it would take a turn northwards, in the vicinity of the railway line, to intersect alignments established in Ewell.
Excavation of test pits in the garden of a house in Bridge Road revealed no metalling or road construction. The lack of evidence at this site persuaded us to attempt to track the road from its known alignments in Ewell. Running from the north, sites where the road has been observed are: Plantation, London Road; Castle Parade; St Mary's Church Yard; Church Field; Glyn Close; Grove Cottage; Fairfield and Mongers Lane.
All authorities are in agreement with the line across Church Field and the change of alignment to the south. Confirmation of this came from the observation at Glyn Close and Pemberton’s discovery of the western edge of the road at Grove Cottage. However, the full course remained unresolved.
It was therefore decided to project the observed line from Glyn Close and Grove Cottage. This led us to investigate a garden in St James Avenue, where three test pits revealed substantial volumes of loose flint in the subsoil and, at a depth of 80cm, the presence of the road as a layer of closely packed flints 15cm in depth. The eastern test pit contained a man-made cut into the underlying chalk which appeared to be a road-side ditch. Flints continued over and beyond this ditch but this was interpreted as degradation of the original surface – possibly spread by later agricultural operations. The western pit showed an edge to the packed flints although no ditch giving a width of 6.5m for the road at this point. Unstratified finds from the site included a bronze nail, 4th century pottery sherds, and a partial rim of a Mortlake ware vessel. The latter is important as it is the first pottery of Neolithic date to be recorded in Ewell.
Success at this site led us to attempt to confirm the line in a garden at Staneway. A trench in the front garden revealed the western edge of the road as a 15cm layer of compacted flints overlying Thanet Sand but that to the rear, showed the road overlying, and terraced into, chalk and consisting of up to 30cm of flints and water-washed pebbles from the nearby Reading Beds. The road at this point appeared to be 6.8m wide which compares with that seen at St James Avenue.
The line of the road that we have now confirmed runs to the east of the King William IV site. Projection of the line to the south shows a coincidence at the railway line with the line northwards established at the Albert Road allotments, as predicted, and completes our understanding of the route of the road from 30 Acre Barn, Ashtead to Ewell.
