Surrey Archaeological Collections
Surrey Archaeological Society, 2003. (updated 2023) https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221. How to cite using this DOI
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 379
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221
- How to cite using this DOI
SURREY ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
A Tudor hinterland: drainage, bridging and tanning at 156-170 Bermondsey Street, Southwark
FIONA KEITH-LUCAS
Marshy conditions and flooding indicated by peat and alluvial layers showed the excavation area to have been largely uninhabitable prior to the post-medieval period. Attempts to reclaim the low-lying land, which was set back from medieval Bermondsey Street, were indicated by a substantial late medieval drainage ditch. The area, which remained a waterlogged hinterland during the Tudor period, was drained by a further network of channels, the fills of which contained pottery and leather that were both of interest. One ditch had been partially cleared of its fills, leaving a section in place supported by a revetment of timber boards and wattle, to form a causeway. Simple footbridges were built across the cleared portions of ditch in the early 16th century, probably providing access to pasture to the west. Material surrounding and sealing the footbridges contained noteworthy finds assemblages, particularly of imported Mediterranean pottery. The animal bone assemblage showed an intensification of tawing towards the end of the 17th century, to be replaced by tanning as the dominant industry. The unlawful tanning of sheep skins may be indicated at this time, and deposits to consolidate the excavated area were laid down. Tawing in a re-used tar barrel then preceded an early 18th century brick and cobble yard surface with timber and brick drains and evidence of the local tanning industries.
