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
The excavation of a Romano-British trackway and a post-medieval tannery at Spa Road, Bermondsey
CHRIS CLARKE
Excavations undertaken by AOC Archaeology Group in 2008 at 112-122 Spa Road, Bermondsey, London Borough of Southwark revealed evidence for activity from the Romano-British, post-medieval and modern periods. The earliest activity was represented by an unmetalled Romano-British trackway with two phases of use. After a hiatus in activity of over 1000 years, activity was re-established in the 17th and 18th centuries with a system of ditches demarcating fields for the purposes of market gardening. Limited quarrying and waste disposal was also taking place at this time. In the 19th century the site was occupied by a tanner's yard; approximately 80% of the tannery complex was present within the limits of the excavations, formed of multiple buildings, groups of tanning pits and a comprehensive drainage system. The scale and preservation of the tannery features, in combination with a number of cartographic and documentary sources associated with the tannery, allowed in-depth interpretations of the layout and development of the tannery to be considered. Contemporary with the tannery were the remains of numerous refuse pits located to the rear of domestic properties to the north-west corner of the site. The final phase of activity is represented by the limited remains of the Salvation Army City Colony, which was in use throughout the 20th century.
