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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- ADS Collection: 379
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000221
- How to cite using this DOI
SURREY ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS
Medieval embankment and post-medieval development at Bermondsey Wall West
GARY BROWN and JAMES TAYLOR
An excavation at Bermondsey Wall West revealed evidence of activity from the medieval to the late post-medieval periods. The site was crossed by a natural channel that was reinforced in the early medieval period with rammed chalk cobbles either as a beaching place for small river vessels or possibly a tide mill tail-race. Timber stakes of probable 12th century date associated with the chalk surface might have been mooring stakes or alternatively could have been the remains of fish weirs or eel-traps. The channel was later blocked with a timber revetment and wattle hurdles as the major feature on site when the 13th century riverside embankment, Bermondsey Wall, was constructed. The riverside was formalised with the building of the river defences and by the 17th century the area had been built upon as a result of the urban growth of Southwark. The remains of structures of 17th, 18th and 19th century date were revealed fronting the south side of Bermondsey Wall West and the immediate area to the south. A series of timber pipes was witness to the management of the water supply or drainage. Among the later timbers recovered from the site were a number of re-used ship timbers.
