Excavation at 250 Bishopgate, Tower Hamlets, revealed wells and pits dating from the twelfth and early-thirteenth centuries associated with properties fronting onto Bishopgate. There was also evidence of widespread quarrying at this time which had caused serious destruction of underlying Roman levels. Structural remains consisted of large numbers of postholes representing several wooden structures, and at least two masonry buildings and a substantial boundary wall were also recorded. All the structures were associated with activities within the outer precinct of the hospital and priory of St Mary Spital (post-dating its re-foundation in 1235 AD), and indicate different areas of the precinct were set aside for different uses. Large rubbish pits dating from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries were also recorded, and the post-dissolution use of the site as an artillery ground was graphically demonstrated by a large collection of musket balls.
Medieval and post-medieval evolution of a river landscape: de-gentrification and industrialisation
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Evidence of development and industrialisation has been recorded along the entire length of the Thames, including two major phases of twelfth-century settlement at Highbridge Wharf, Greenwich. Extensive and substantial masonry buildings of late medieval or Tudor date appear to be the remains of Compton House, the property owned by Thomas Cawarden, advisor to Henry VIII and a prominent Tudor courtier. A Wyngaerde panorama of 1558 shows a substantial house in close proximity to Greenwich Palace, which illustrates the courtly status of this riverside property. Finds from the site indicate widespread trading links and include pottery from Persia, south-east Asia, the Rhineland, north Italy and fragments of Spanish olive jars. In addition there were coins from Portugal, Spain, and possibly Havana, as well as German trading tokens, cloth seals, and the gnomon of a sun dial. Material associated with ship building included caulking, trenails, iron nails, rope, and a discarded ships rudder. Confirmation that the Narrow Street river frontage was developed between 1584 and 1602 was provided by dendrochronology. The date of timber from Victoria Wharf confirmed the documentary evidence that Timber Wharf was constructed in 1584-5 AD. The remains of an access way from the street to the foreshore were associated with the wharf, but by 1635 this had been infilled and a stair (Kidney Stairs) had been constructed. The foundations and basement floors of Tudor brick buildings were also recorded, and the entire stretch of frontage had been completely built-up by 1658.
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Work undertaken during the widening of Kingston Bridge exposed a substantial timber jetty and revetments, representing waterfront development spanning the late medieval and post-medieval period. The jetty is likely to have been associated with the seventeenth-century little tenement and wharf at Bishops Hall. Excavations at the Lord Napier public house, Mortlake High Street, Richmond upon Thames, recovered the remains of an earlier sugar refinery referred to in documentary sources, which was succeeded by the Saunders Pottery. It produced decorated tin-glazed (Delft) and salt-glazed ceramics during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. There was extensive survival of brick structures, sugar-cones, biscuit-ware, and kiln furniture, and the sequence of manufacturing processes can be detailed from the archaeological data. The ceramic assemblages have already produced important results, and of particular note are numerous fragments of highly decorated Delft-ware ceramics which include an unprecedented assemblage of apothecary pill-tiles. These can be closely dated by comparison with published patterns derived from the small number of provenanced items held in private and museum collections. Excavation at Battersea Flour Mills, Wandsworth, revealed two discrete phases of settlement, the earliest of twelfth to thirteenth-century date, but the most significant structures span the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The earliest post-medieval remains represent the manor house, known successively as St John's, and Bolingbroke House. Excavation has established the plan and construction sequence of the house largely demolished in 1778, when industrialisation swept along the south bank of the Thames.
A detailed historic analysis and foreshore survey was carried out at Deptford Creek in Lewisham and Greenwich to inform the preparation of an environmental enhancement project supported by Single Regeneration Budget funding. The Assessment considered the historic value of ageing river defence structures and surviving industrial features, including moorings, river stairs, and other features, in order to provide an archaeological framework to assist the strategic management of future development. Support for the Thames Archaeological Survey has enabled enhancement of the Greater London SMR, with the inclusion of archaeological remains which contribute to the special historic landscape character of the foreshore, especially features associated with maritime activity and fishing. Of particular note are timber revetments of mid-Saxon date at Chelsea, timber jetties associated with the former Tudor Royal Palaces at Richmond and Greenwich, and evidence for ship building/repair/salvage between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries.