LONDON ARCHAEOLOGIST 1984 vol 5.2

CITY OF LONDON Excavations by the Department of Urban Archaeology. Museum of London.

7-12 Aldergate Street TQ 3216 8151 (G. Egan).

Four months' excavation on this extramural site was generously funded by Rush & Tompkins Developments plc. Dating is provisional, based on partial assessment of the finds.
The earliest Roman features recorded were a series of large flat-bottomed ditches, apparently aligned N-S, parallel to the City boundary (as defined by the later Wall) to the E. On the W side of the site, on a slightly differing alignment, was a heavily-cambered metalled road or track just over 2m (6.5ft) wide. The latest of three possible used surfaces bore grooves, interpreted as wheel ruts, c 1.20m (4ft) apart. The orientation of this early Roman way was the same as that of the wider and later road (located immediately to the W of the site) leading to the N from Roman Aldersgate. Structural evidence from the Roman period was limited to a much-truncated two phase stone building at the NW of the site. On the E was part of a large ditch, presumably that alongside the City wall. Substantial silt and clay deposits were dumped, or accumulated. over most of the site, sealing the ditches and making up some 2m (6.5ft) of ground from the 2nd c.
A series of mid 11th c pits were the earliest traced medieval features. These, with later medieval pits and foundations, presumably represent occupation on the site (three properties are attested from the 14th c by documentary evidence). One of the earliest pits produced a leaden disc ineptly multiple-struck with a die apparently for the obverse of pennies of Edward the Confessor, issued in 1052-3. The medieval (?13th c) City ditch was located at the E side of the site. Post-medieval brick cellars, foundations and drains and two chalk lined wells bore little obvious correlation with a detailed plan from 1610 of the buildings on the site. The lower part of a substantial 18th c oven, apparently operated at basement level, was uncovered. The fill of a late cellar produced a large assemblage of mid 19th c glass and ceramic vessels, including pot lids with multicoloured transfer-printed rural and other scenes.

Billingsgate Lorry Park, Lower Thames Street TO 3308 8065 (G. Egan).
Agreement was reached with the developers at the end of January for access to the site for limited recording and observation, which was funded by DOE/HBMC. Museum of London Trust Fund and Museum of London Medieval Dept. Dating is provisional, based on limited examination of the finds.
No significant observation of Roman structures was possible. Riverine deposits of Roman date (bottomed only at the N) ran across the entire site, with no noticeable decrease in the frequency of finds from the N end (where an early 3rd c wharf had been erected - cf 1983 report) to the S end, some 70m (230ft) into the then river.
Limited recording was carried out of five probably successive post and plank timber revetments aligned E-W, located to the S of those recorded in 1982, and presumably marking successive phases of land reclamation from the river. Most, if not all five, of these structures were braced on the riverward side; the latest three at least appear to have been of 14th c date.
At the SE of the site, two opposed facing stone river walls aligned N-S probably represent a late medieval inlet some 6m (20ft) wide. There appears to have been no land reclamation in the area since the early 15th c.
The W end of the 15th c undercroft/vestry of the church of St Botolph (partly excavated in 1982) was recorded on the W boundary of the site. Survival here was to a higher level than at the E side of the structure, with possible evidence for a window in an upper storey; a lower window proved to be the same as that observed externally from the W on the adjacent New Fresh Wharf site in 1974, (at that time thought to have been of 17th c).
With the help of members of the Society of Thames Mudlarks and Antiquaries, Mepees Ltd and staff of GLC waste disposal services, apparently chronologically consistent assemblages of finds were recovered, both on and off the site. The Roman objects are the most varied series to have been recovered from the City for a generation, while the 14th c group has no parallel from London archaeological excavations.
From the Roman period are decorated dress fittings and pendants, leaden seals for merchandise (one example with a representation of Britannia), a brass seal matrix depicting a betrothed couple, several ear scoops/ligulae, and a flagon lid with a thumbpiece in the form of a duck. Medieval objects include series of pilgrims' and other badges, dress accessories, various tokens (one group has examples at different stages of manufacture, others have pornographic overtones), late 14th c cloth seals, a wooden buckler, various knives and tools, miniature vessels and other toys, mirror cases, a large group of shoes, and items of fishing equipment and weaponry. Of particular importance are a youth's sword of high quality with a decorated blade. and all four sections of a straight trumpet some 5ft 6in (1.68m) long when assembled.

4-6 Copthall Avenue TO 3278 8141 (C. Maloney).
A watching brief, funded by London and Paris Properties, is currently in progress on this upper Walbrook site. The first major Roman development was represented by a dump of distinctive blue clay which has been noted elsewhere in the filling and levelling up of channels of the Walbrook stream. On the W side of the site an NNE-SSW orientated road, bordered by a timber-lined drain, lay above further dumping. It seems to have fallen into disuse before the end of the Roman period. To the E of and level with the road, a W-E aligned drainage channel was banked and revetted with wattlework and raised the ground surface. Above, timber posts and piles were associated with internal and external surfaces. The ground surface was raised again and cut by a final drainage channel, truncated by the modern basement. WC.

27-29 Eastcheap TQ 3305 8084 (S. Riviere).
Excavation took place from November 1983 to January 1984 in the basement of a standing building by arrangement with Land Securities Ltd. The site covered an 'L'-shaped area roughly 8m x 8m (26ft x 26ft) and to a depth of just under 2m (6.5ft).
Natural gravels occurred at a height of c 11.0m (36ft) OD and were sealed by 0.2-0.3m (8-12in) of redeposited natural brickearth. There were four phases of Roman activity, none later than the mid 2nd c. The earliest consisted of several small rubbish pits (one of which contained four high quality intaglios of approx Neronian date) and trample surfaces, which were sealed by the first signs of a structure. This consisted of an E-W brickearth sill, a N-S slot with several associated brickearth, gravel and plank floors. This was sealed by 0.2m (8in) of partially in situ fire debris, probably Boudiccan, which scorched and burnt the plank floors. The fire debris was then levelled out to prepare for a 6m (20ft) long N-S beam slot with four regularly spaced groups of four post-holes cutting into it. This piled foundation had one associated floor surface but no indication of the nature of the superstructure. The last structure was also a N-S slot with associated post-holes but no associated surfaces.
Cutting into the Roman stratigraphy across the whole site was a sequence of medieval storage and rubbish pits, none earlier than 12th c. and a large 4.5m X 2.5m (14ft 9in X 8ft 2in) 15th c chalk lined cess pit; from which came a complete 15th c Italian Archaic Majolica jug. A 19th c cess pit and a brick arched sewer and modern drains complete the sequence.

 
1-2 Gracechurch Street TQ 3303 8109 (T. Brigham).
A watching brief. funded by the Trustees of the London Parochial Charities, was carried out in September to October 1984, on a small site adjacent to the church of St Peter Cornhill.
Some 3.5m ( 11 f t 6in) of Roman stratigraphy were recorded in section beneath 4m (13ft) of 18th and 19th c make-ups. All the natural brickearth (normally 2m. 6%ft, thick) had been removed during the 1st c AD, with no sign of natural gravels at the lowest point of excavation (l0m, 33ft, OD). This indicates either local quarrying or, more likely, trenching for a subbasement of similar depth to one recorded by P. Marsden at Nos 3-6, within the first basilica.
The lowest recorded deposits were gravelly green silts dated AD 55-80 and sealed by a series of brickearth make-ups and slabs, with occasional thin mortar floors. These were divided centrally by a 0.3m 1ft) gravel feature, possibly a path or corridor. This sequence was then overlain by 1m (3ft 3in) thick brickearth slabs over the whole area, culminating in a thin fire horizon, probably of Hadrianic date (c AD 125). This destroyed the existing building , which was broadly contemporary with the nearby first forum. After clearance of fire debris, a 0.7m (2ft 3in) concrete floor, part of the larger second forum/basilica covered the site. This in turn was sealed by 0.5m (1ft 8in) of dark earth containing voussoir tiles from the collapsed basilica roof. All later deposits were destroyed by post-medieval activity.

77-78 Gracechurch Street TQ 3302 8101 (B. Pye).
Excavation by arrangement with Land Securities Ltd took place here in July 1984. A trench 17.5m (57.5ft) E-W x lm (3ft 3in) wide was excavated by machine and hand, the chief evidence coming from sections.
The first phase of activity recorded above natural brickearth consisted of silty surfaces and brickearth slab layers, with gravel surfaces above, possibly part of an early Roman open area found on surrounding sites. In the E of the present site this was followed by the construction of two parallel N-S walls of ragstone and cobbles about 4.5m (14ft 9in) apart, probably part of the E wing of the Flavian forum. About 4m (14ft) to the W lay a third N-S foundation of ragstone 1.8m (6ft) wide; the W wall of the E wing was then demolished and 0.7m (2ft 3in) of sandy gravels laid on top of it. This suggests that the third foundation, used with the E of the two walls, constituted a doubling of the E forum range into the courtyard. The two walls of this second phase were subsequently demolished to foundation level, and covered with gravel, mortar and brickearth surfaces probably from the courtyard of the Hadrianic forum.

91–100 Gracechurch Street, 1–6 Leadenhall Street, 2–12 Whittington Avenue (now Leadenhall Court), EC3 TQ 33060 81090
(S P O’Connor-Thompson, G Milne, T Brigham, G Brown and P Wootton).*
Between September 1984 and February 1985 various investigations were undertaken on this site in advance of major archaeological excavations and subsequent redevelopment. This part of the project was generously funded by Legal and General Assurance Society Ltd. The investigations revealed over 4m of Roman stratigraphy in an area which overlies the NE corner of the early 2nd c basilica. The earliest activity comprised brickearth quarrying succeeded by both industrial and domestic building deposits. These were superseded by the basilica of which at least three opus signinum floors were recorded. Following its demise the roof collapsed; this in turn was sealed by the fallen S wall of the nave and activity in the area appears to have ceased until the 10th c. Also recorded was the 14m high W wall of the mid-15th c Leadenhall. The foundations comprised a series of relieving arches, which themselves are partially founded on the Roman foundations of the basilica.
From October 1985 to September 1986 extensive excavations were conducted, in addition to the preliminary work reported above. This part of the project, funded by the Legal and General Assurance Society and English Heritage, was designed to examined a large area over and immediately N of the site of the suggested Roman basilica. The eleven trenches investigated below basements of the standing buildings on the S side of the site were supervised by P Wootton, and the three large external areas were supervised by T Brigham (S) G Brown (W) and G Milne (N) (Fig*LCT).
Evidence was found for the initial clearance of tree cover, quarry pits, ditches, a building with earth-fast posts and a thick fire debris horizon. All these were sealed by six brickearth-walled buildings, pottery from which has been dated to c AD 60–80; the associated pits, wells, alleys and middens were also excavated. All these features were swept away by a major redevelopment of the site which saw the introduction of a large masonry public building extending beyond the S, W and E limits of excavation. A well-made road lay to its N, with brickearth and timber buildings beyond that. Major structural modifications to the masonry building were recorded, as was the sequence of development in many of the rooms, together with the complex pattern of demolition and robbing. The Roman finds were typical of a Roman civilian settlement: nothing of a military character has yet been identified on the site. The Roman pottery constitutes a large assemblage, early Flavian to 4th c in date, and including a great range of imports. There are very good examples of unusual types, for example hollow-foot amphora, Rhineland mortaria, and glazed ware from central Gaul and SE England. Glass vessels included chariot and athletes cups and a double-handed cup (scyphos). Several iron water-pipe collars were recovered.
The road was resurfaced some nine times, but a thick layer of silt sealed the latest surface, into which a series of Saxon pits and other features were cut. Much structural evidence survived of the 15th c Leadenhall market, as the trenches straddled the N part of the quadrangular market building, locating its truncated foundations. A fragment of the exterior wall of the W range survived to a height of 11.2m between modern buildings. It displayed evidence for an open ground floor for trade and, above, two floors for storage of wheat. Cellars built on the site of the N wing, after its demolition in 1795, incorporated over 100 dressed mouldings and blocks from the superstructure of the building (recording by M Samuel). Post-excavation work for the various published reports was funded by English Heritage and the City of London Archaeological Trust.

Leadenhall Street, 32-40 Mitre Street TQ 3348 8113 (S. Riviere).
An excavation was carried out between July and November 1984, funded by Speyhawk Land and Estates Ltd. A cross-section of all periods from Roman to present day were examined including standing masonry of the priory of Holy Trinity Aldgate.
The Roman material suggested the presence of at least six successive 1st and 2nd c timber structures represented by lines of post-holes and slots which re-used the same E-W line. Very few associated surfaces were uncovered and nearly all appeared to be external. One of these timber structures was a piled foundation within linear cuts identified in two areas to give a total length of at least 8m (26ft), and consisting of deep timber piles, three to a row, supporting a masonry superstructure, which had been almost completely robbed out. In medieval contexts, large quantities of good quality painted plaster, opus signinum, tessera cubes and other building material suggested the presence of a fine building nearby, and it is possible that the piled foundation could have supported such a building. One of the fragments of Roman building material found in a medieval context was the unusual survival, intact, of the join between the top of a wall and the first tiles of a roof: two tegulae, sealed by an imbrex and held in place by a wedge-shaped piece of mortar, on top of the top tile of the wall, giving the correct angle for the slope of the roof.
Heavily truncating the Roman stratigraphy across the whole length of the site, (c 30m, 98ft), there followed a deliberate preparation for a ?late Saxon graveyard. No trace of an associated church was found. There were 42 articulated burials, of three basic types, buried within simple cuts, or within wooden coffins, or most commonly, within stone and mortar lined cists. To the W, the burials cut one into another causing a build-up of a sequence of at least 10 burials in one area. By contrast, the burials to the E were positioned carefully next to each other with very little disturbance. Unfortunately, the join between the areas was disturbed by later intrusions.
The site covered a portion of the S side of the church of the priory of Holy Trinity, Aldgate, founded in 1108. The 12th c foundations for the S wall of the church and the outline of almost the whole of the S transept foundations were excavated, together with foundations, and c 3.5m (11f t 6in) of superstructure, of a chapel with an apsidal E end on the outside of the NE corner of the transept. Part of the SW corner of a second chapel (to the E of the apsidal chapel), was recorded together with a later 14th or 15th c arch which formed the entrance from the church to the chapel. Only one small area of internal flooring survived; a series of mortar surfaces, possibly originally sealed by tiles; a small area of painted plaster inside the apsidal chapel remained on the wall. The apsidal chapel was squared externally and was founded on rough courses of chalk and mortar, with the superstructure of ragstone, flint, re-used Roman tile, and more unusually, blocks of limestone, and possibly Caen stone. About 0.4m (1ft 4 in) above floor level was a course, inside and outside, of chamfered stones and the corners were treated specially, with close-fitting ashlar blocks. Several architectural features both on the arch and the chapel have warranted the preservation of both within the new development.
An external area between the two chapels contained material contemporary with and later than the Priory. During the life of the priory it appeared to have no special status but received mixed dumps and some pitting, and may possibly have been associated with medieval properties fronting on Leadenhall Street, perhaps as a backyard. In 1532 the Dissolution was reflected in a change of use of the apsidal chapel in the 16th c to that of a cellar with a doorway and later a window knocked through the E wall. The external area to the E became covered with roof slates, probably from the church, and was then raised to a height level with the doorway in the chapel. A large timber structure was erected between the two still standing chapels, respecting their S limits, and a series of external metallings formed an alleyway or courtyard to the S of the chapels and timber structure. The apsidal chapel continued to be re-used, with several other additions into the 19th c, when a new series of basements and a cobbled courtyard finally truncated and sealed it. These buildings were dismantled after bombing in the second World War.

27-30 Lime Street TO 3312 3347 (T. Williams).
A watching brief was undertaken during groundworks on this site in August-November 1983, and excavations were carried out within the building under construction from April to September 1984. All work was generously funded by Trollope and Colls (City) Ltd.
The area of excavation was 20m x 3.5m (66ft x 11ft 6in) aligned approximately NE-SW, immediately E of the Hadrianic forum and on the N side of the 1983 excavations at 25-6 Lime Street. The first phases of activity comprised a brickearth slab, an E-W ditch and surfaces, and a subsequent timber building dating to c AD 50-60 with a cesspit containing some early Roman glass. Debris of the Boudiccan fire was followed by masonry structure after AD70, also destroyed by fire, probably in the late Flavian period (AD 80-96). This was replaced by a timber-strip building with painted plaster wall, destroyed in the Hadrianic Fire (AD c 125). A further masonry building followed: the foundations used piles and rammed chalk. The walls formed a substantial N-S range along the E side of the road bordering the forum; it was also recorded in the excavation at 25-6 Lime Street to the S, where it had an apsidal S end. A connecting E-W range suggests a building at least 30m (98ft) N-S and 25m (82ft) E-W. The function remains unclear.
A fragment of chalk and ragstone foundation at the NE corner of the site represented an early medieval undercroft aligned on Lime Street. On the evidence of this site. the establishment of post-Roman Lime Street cannot be dated earlier than the 12th-13th C.

43 London Wall TQ 3271 8153 (T Wilmott: archive report by D. Malt & C. Spence).
The excavations. funded by Gleesons Ltd, were on the W edge of the Walbrook Valley just inside the line of the Roman City Wall E of Moorgate and immediately W of a N-S aligned Roman road. The site was completed in November 1984.
In the mid 2nd c the natural ground surface was truncated at 8.48m (27ft 10in) OD with large open ditches dug, aligned NW-SE and N-S, the later probably being part of the roadside ditch. The N-S ditch was replaced with a plank-lined drain, and on higher ground to the W of the road a post-built structure constructed. Occupation was brief and from the late 3rd c to the 11th c little activity was recorded. The drainage pattern was re-established in the 11th c by the cutting of an E-W aligned open ditch. No major development of the area is found until the post-medieval period. The complex drainage patterns of the site, essential for any development of the area, show the difficulty in maintaining a stable ground surface in this part of the Walbrook Valley. Until the post-medieval period this area, except for one short period of Roman development, can only be considered as marginal land within the City walls.

12-14 Mitre Street TQ 3342 8119 (B. Pye).
A watching brief was carried out in May and June 1984 at a site within the precinct of Holy Trinity Priory. Only cut features remained as the basement had truncated natural brickearth at 11.7m (38ft 5in) OD. The earliest features were a series of large quarry pits backfilled in the 2nd c. In the E half of the site these had been truncated by a medieval graveyard, presumably belonging to Holy Trinity Priory. Two small chalk, rag and greensand block foundations cut into the graveyard horizons. In the W half of the site the quarry pits were truncated by early medieval (1050-1150 AD) and 18th c rubbish pits; a brick cesspit produced a large group of early/mid 18th c domestic material.

6-7 New Bridge Street, 21 Bride Lane TQ 3161 8112 (B. Pye).
In February 1984 a watching brief funded by Taylor Woodrow Developments Ltd, was conducted on this site on the W side of the River Fleet. Natural deposits were recorded sloping down the valley side from W to E at c 1 in 11. These deposits changed from gravels in the W through brickearth in the middle to London Clay in the E.
The W end of the site included a brick built basement and cess pit truncating dumped deposits. These features were covered and filled by fire debris presumably on the pottery evidence from the Great Fire (1666). Towards the E end of the site, natural brickearth was overlain by medieval dumped material, possibly to raise the ground surface above the Fleet. These deposits had been truncated by a probably post-medieval brick and chalk block basement, with a decayed timber floor, and by two wells, one brick lined, the other lined with square chalk blocks. At the E end of the site were substantial chalk foundations with associated timber posts which overlay and were themselves overlain by dumped materials. Timber platform structures on top of natural were overlain by dumped material dated 1100-1150 AD. The purpose of these structures is uncertain, but they could be terracing of the Fleet Valley, probably of medieval date.

 
35-38 New Bridge Street TQ 3167 8103 (P. Chitwood).
During May-June 1984 a small excavation within machine cleared construction trenches produced evidence of early, probably Roman, development of the E bank of the Fleet, with 2 sequences of land reclamation extending the bank and stabilised with posts.
These dumps were truncated by the steep N-S construction cut for the Blackfriars City wall extension of between 1283-1320 which survives still in places to a height of 3.95m (13ft) OD. Generally 1.8m (6ft) wide, with a randomly coursed chalk core, a sudden step out on the E face and a gradual increase in width towards the N could suggest buttressing for the bridge to the 16th c Bridewell Palace (known to lie under Apothecary Street, immediately N of the site).
The W face of the wall changes character frequently along its length, ranging from well-dressed monumental rectangular ashlar blocks to small irregular crudely-worked ragstones with flints. Dressed blocks of chalk form the vertical E face, protected by constant backfilling during construction with steps-in corresponding very closely to changes in construction on the W side (ie foundation/batter/vertical).
In the S the wall changes dramatically in both construction and alignment (NE-SW). There is no evidence for the continuation in a straight line of the N-S wall, so this portion, with its arched brick drain and the inclusion of brick in the core, probably represents a later rebuilding of the wall, possibly during the 17th c construction of the Fleet canal. This later use of bricks is also apparent in repairs to the W face of the N-S wall and in additions such as drains.
The W face of the wall was eventually sealed by the mixed rubble dumps used to fill in the Fleet ditch in the 18th c.

7-8 Philpot Lane TQ 3304 8088 (R. Lea and A. Westman).
Recording work during underpinning of the medieval undercroft and refurbishment of 18th c buildings above was funded by the GLC and Wates Development Ltd.
The character of the sequence of natural gravels and brickearth, Roman dumps, surfaces, pitting and fire debris, followed by medieval pitting was similar to that found previously at 6 Philpot Lane to the N and 9-10 Philpot Lane to the S. Gravels and silts interpreted as Philpot Lane first appeared in the medieval period and pre-date the construction of the undercroft.
The undercroft is tunnel-vaulted in brick, divided into four bays by three transverse plain chamfered greensand vault ribs forming low three-centred arches which die into the walls without capitals. The walls, of chalk, rag, flint and yellow lime mortar, are roughfaced internally and set in construction cuts externally. Window embrasures in the two N bays opened eastwards into Philpot Lane and in the second bay from the N, westwards into Brabant Court. The window in the second bay from the N had moulded unglazed jambs, socketed to receive iron bars, and a chamfered cill at the springing height of the vault. The jambs were simply moulded with a large ogee curve and chamfer. Groin vault cells in the main vault arched over the window embrasures, and a larger vault cell in the third bay from the N on the E side was probably the main entrance. In the W wall of this bay is a large opening corresponding with a segmental brick relieving arch in the vault above. A curving wall face in the SE corner may have been part of a spiral staircase. The character of the undercroft would suggest a construction date in the 15th or 16th c. There were no internal floors dating from this period but externally the rise in the level of Philpot Lane was shown by a sequence of modifications to the window in the W wall of the undercroft in the form of brick and rendered light wells.
Probably in the late 17th c following the Great Fire, brickwork was set against the N and S walls and a brick floor laid. The vault in the NE corner was modified to give access to the ground floor and against the N wall, and in subsequent floors traces of timber stairs were found. The window, the possible entrance and passage were blocked, and doors were cut through the west wall giving access to two brick tunnel vaulted cellars over a brick vaulted cess pit reusing a well. A door was also cut through the N wall to a third brick tunnel vaulted cellar. At ground floor level parts of the S, W and N brick walls survived from a building above the undercroft. The ragstone arches now leading to Brabant Court probably also date from this period.
Probably in the mid to late 18th c the building at ground floor and above was radically reconstructed as two four-storey buildings fronting onto Philpot Lane and the undercroft below was correspondingly divided mid-bay. The Flemish bond brick facade of the two buildings was divided by horizontal bands of projecting brickwork corresponding to the floor levels. The party wall dividing 7 and 8 was of timber construction with brick infill. The first floor joists were modified and new floors constructed for the remaining floors. The first and second floors were panelled throughout with raised and fielded panelling in the principal rooms and arolo moulded and plain panelling in the lesser rooms. The staircases in the two buildings are identical, with carved tread ends and ramped handrails. Deep chimney breasts, some with original stone surrounds and fragments or traces of tiling survived in the above ground floors and in the ground floor of No 8.

2-4 Skinners Lane TQ 3240 8088 (P. Rowsome).
An excavation funded by Harbour Developments Ltd. was conducted from December 1983 to March 1984, and consisted of two separate areas of excavation: one within the basement of a standing building and the other in a courtyard to the N. Seven periods of activity were recorded overlying natural deposits of sand, gravel and sandy-silt (brickearth) which survived to a truncated level of 6.30m (20ft 8in) OD. At the N of the site natural was cut by pits filled with redeposited natural, and sealed by a sequence of dumped deposits. These deposits were cut by a large ragstone foundation of late Roman date. The foundation was partially robbed and the robbing trench backfilled with a large quantity of roof tile, the backfill sealed by medieval pitting and dumping. A post-Great Fire sequence sealed the medieval deposits and consisted of dumping and levelling in the N, and of a building sequence in the S. In the S truncated natural was overlain by elements of a brick building with vaulted cellars which fronted onto Skinners Lane. A contemporary brick-built drainage system was situated at the back of the structures. Several phases of 18th and 19th c rebuilding followed, all the building phases conforming to the same property boundaries; one incorporated a large group of 17th/18th c sugar refining pottery vessels as backfill.

St. Ethelburga, Bishopsgate TQ 3318 8136 (R. Lea).
Parts of the external base of the E wall and E window of the medieval church were revealed during repair work to the roof of the vestry.
The face of the wall was of uncoursed rag and sandstone. The sandstone S jamb and sill of the E window were only partially revealed. The hollow chamfer on the jamb suggested a similar type of moulding to the one recorded in the N wall in 1982. The window was blocked by post-Fire (probably 18th c) brickwork. Quoinwork in the E face of the wall of the SE corner of the medieval church was also observed.

St Mary-at-Hill church TQ 3258 8076 (R. Lea).
Part of the fabric of the medieval church of St Mary-at-Hill has surfaced during repairs to the roof timbers in the N aisle at the W end of the church. The work was funded by the GLC.
Parts of the medieval N wall, faced in well squared Kentish rag ashlar, and the heads of two pointed segmental arched windows were exposed when render and plaster were stripped from the external and internal elevations. Wren's circular window above the N door was centred in the W of the two windows. The E window was of same type. The hood mouldings had been broken off but traces of the moulding and stops remained. The jamb and arch mouldings were only partially visible and had apparently been rendered prior to the insertion of the Wren brickwork. Internally the face of the wall was rough coursed rag and chalk. Above the W window there were no traces of a wall rib or shoulder for the support of a vault, implying a timber roof in the N aisle at least in this bay. The medieval work would appear to be 15th or 16th c.

St. Swithin Lane TQ 3271 8094 (K. Steedman).
From mid-June to mid-August 1984 excavations, funded by Haslemere Estates, within the basement of a standing building, examined two contrasting sequences.
In the larger trench (Area I), fence remains and quarrying cut into natural gravel were sealed by surfaces within a lean-to or verandah associated with an E-W post and trench foundation. This activity was truncated by a gravel quarry pit backfilled with redeposited material, including fire debris. Above this, evidence for external activity was sealed by two successive internal surfaces without associated structural divisions. The latest of these had an AD 120 terminus post quem, while all earlier features contained 1st c AD pottery. Dumps of redeposited material truncated by features dated to after 1050 AD including part of an internal surface and a rubbish pit. Several medieval pits and a post-Fire cellar completed the sequence.
In Area II, four successive N-S external divisions were sealed by internal features with minor structural divisions, similarly aligned to early features in Area I, and with a 1st c AD terminus post quem. Evidence for further internal activity, but on a slightly different alignment and including some 2nd c pottery was truncated by the insertion of a medieval external surface overlain by dumping and pits. The finds generally indicated a normal Roman domestic assemblage.

LAARC Archive

Trig Lane, Upper Thames Street (watching brief), EC4 TQ 31980 80880 (B Pye).
A watching brief took place in February to May 1984 on this large site (the future City of London Boys’ School), which had already been excavated as the Trig Lane (TL74), Baynard’s Castle (BC72 and BYD81) and St Peter’s Hill (PET81) sites. On the W side of the site a 2m length of the S wall and foundation of Baynard’s Castle was exposed, W of the SW corner tower (BYD81). The wall had been built on ash piles some 3m long. To the N of the Trig Lane excavation site a timber revetment of the 13th c or earlier was recorded, and to the W of the Trig Lane site a medieval ragstone-faced river wall with a timber structure, possibly a stair, on its E side. Other recorded features in this area included large 18th c arched brick cellars, wooden drains and a large oval wood-lined tank. Nearer Queen Victoria Street, the watching brief recorded the medieval S and W walls of St Peter Paul’s Wharf church (also found in PET81), early graves cutting into a Roman chalk raft, and traces of the post-1666 graveyard. To the S of the church medieval Thames Street was seen as gravel surfaces topped with cobbles. The Roman riverside wall was briefly observed in one trial hole. On the W side of the site, near St Benet’s church, was a series of Victorian brick vaults. Along the Queen Victoria Street frontage on the N a series of post-Great Fire dumps was recorded in the W and possibly dark earth overlying Roman mortar dumps in the E.

23–39 Eastcheap, 14–16 Philpot Lane, EC3. TQ 33070 80845 (A Westman).
Redevelopment was monitored in September to December 1984 by arrangement with Wates Construction Ltd and Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd. In the S half of the site, natural gravel and brickearth were overlaid by at least two phases of gravel surfaces, floors and small post holes. Dumping and levelling then preceded extensive buildings with wooden floors and brickearth sills, later burnt in situ. This phase of building probably corresponded to 1st c structures excavated at 23–29 Eastcheap (EST83). The destruction was sealed by dumped burnt building debris, into which pits and other intrusive features were cut, later horizontally truncated. Other features elsewhere included one chalk-lined and one brick-lined well.