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Turk's Boatyard, Kingston upon Thames Archaeological Assessment Results of excavation Ref: 53311.04 Wessex Archaeology July 2003 TURK’S BOAT YARD THAMESIDE KINGSTON UPON THAMES Archaeological Excavation Report Prepared for: CgMs Consulting 7th Floor 8-16 Great New Street London EC4A 3BN By: Wessex Archaeology in London Unit 701 The Chandlery 560 Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7QY Ref. 53311.03 (Museum of London site code: TAD 03) July 2003 © Copyright The Trust for Wessex Archaeology Limited, 2003. The Trust for Wessex Archaeology Limited is a Registered Charity No. 287786 TURK’S BOAT YARD THAMESIDE KINGSTON UPON THAMES Archaeological Excavation Report CONTENTS Summary.................................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................iv 1. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 1.1 Project Background.........................................................................................................1 1.2 Site location and description............................................................................................1 1.3 Archaeological and historical Background......................................................................2 2. AIMS AND METHODS ....................................................................................................2 2.1 Aims.................................................................................................................................2 2.2 Methods ...........................................................................................................................2 3. RESULTS............................................................................................................................3 3.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................3 3.2 Soil profile.......................................................................................................................4 3.3 Medieval and early Post-medieval revetments................................................................4 3.4 Other medieval features...................................................................................................8 3.5 Post-medieval features and deposits................................................................................8 4. FINDS..................................................................................................................................9 4.1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................9 4.2 Pottery............................................................................................................................10 4.3 Ceramic building material .............................................................................................11 4.4 Other finds.....................................................................................................................11 5. ENVIRONMENTAL EVIDENCE .................................................................................11 5.1 Animal bone ..................................................................................................................11 5.2 Charred plant remains and sedimentological sequence.................................................12 5.3 Wood .............................................................................................................................13 6. DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................................13 6.1 Medieval ........................................................................................................................13 6.2 Post-medieval ................................................................................................................15 6.3 Archaeological significance ..........................................................................................16 7. PUBLICATION PROPOSALS ......................................................................................16 8 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................17 APPENDIX 1: Context descriptions......................................................................................18 i TABLES Table 1. All finds by context Table 2. Pottery totals by ware type Table 3. Animal bone: Species list and percentages by period FIGURES Figure 1 Site and trench location plan Figure 2 Plan and section of Trench 1 (west end) showing sequence of revetments, associated consolidation deposits and later levelling / make-up horizons PLATES Cover Overview of site from the north-east. Trench 1 in the foreground, Kingston Bridge in the background Plate 1 Trench 1. Revetment 58/65 exposed during second stage of machine stripping Plate 2 Trench 2. Revetment 58/65 – detail showing ‘blind’ mortice holes in re-used building timber ii SUMMARY An archaeological excavation was carried out at the former Turk’s Boatyard site, Thameside, Kingston upon Thames (centred on TR 517810 169530) in May 2003, prior to redevelopment. This followed two earlier evaluations of the site in 1990 and 1995 respectively which recorded part of at least one timber revetment of late medieval date on the east bank of the River Thames, just to the north of the built-up area of the medieval and early Post-medieval town. Archaeological monitoring of a larger site immediately to the north of Turk’s Boatyard in 1996 revealed three phases of late medieval revetments and one phase of late 18th / early 19th century revetment. The 2003 excavation at Turk’s Boatyard provided probably the last opportunity to investigate the sequence of revetments north of Kingston Bridge, the remainder having been largely destroyed by recent redevelopment. The excavation, which covered approximately 250m², revealed a sequence of six phases of timber revetments relating to two properties, and these have been linked to the sequences recorded in the earlier investigations. The revetments spanned the 13th – 17th / 18th centuries and demonstrated various construction techniques including post / stake and wattle, plank, and re-used building timbers. No certain evidence for re-used boat timbers was found, although the majority of the revetments were not well preserved. Dumps of consolidation material behind the five medieval / late medieval revetments contained small amounts of pottery, which increased in quantity to the south nearer the town, but few other finds. Other medieval features included two shallow drainage ditches. The insubstantial nature of the medieval revetments and their isolation from any landward structures suggest that they had been constructed to reinforce the riverbank to prevent erosion and flooding rather than as quaysides. Various deposits and a few features have been assigned to the Post-medieval period, almost all pre-dating the Turk’s Boatyard use of the Site which began c. 1777. In addition to a single, late Post-medieval revetment were a sequence of levelling / make-up deposits, at least one pit, a drainage ditch, several post-holes marking a property boundary, and a dump of late 17th century pot wasters (probably brought to the site from London as ballast) in a pipe trench. This report summarises the results of the excavation and details the requirements for post-excavation analysis – primarily the submission of timbers for dendrochronological dating if they are suitable. It is envisaged that the results of the 2003 excavation will be integrated with those from the earlier investigations and submitted as an academic paper for publication in the London Archaeologist. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The archaeological excavation was commissioned by Duncan Hawkins of CgMs Consulting. Acknowledgements are due to Duncan Hawkins for his assistance and advice throughout the course of the work, and to Nick Truckle of English Heritage’s Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service for his collaborative role in the project. Jane Sidell, English Heritage’s Environmental Advisor for Greater London, is also thanked for her guidance on environmental sampling. The fieldwork was managed on behalf of Wessex Archaeology by Lawrence Pontin. The fieldwork was directed by Phil Andrews ably assisted by Jerry Bond and Dan Stone. This report was compiled by Phil Andrews, with the finds section by Lorraine Mepham, the animal bone by Stephanie Knight and general environmental advice provided by Michael J. Allen. The illustrations have been prepared by Liz James. iv TURK’S BOAT YARD THAMESIDE KINGSTON UPON THAMES ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION REPORT 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Background 1.1.1 During May 2003 Wessex Archaeology undertook the excavation of approximately 250m² of land at Turk’s Boat Yard, Thameside, Kingston upon Thames. The excavation was commissioned by CgMs Consulting in advance of a proposed building development on the site. 1.1.2 The excavation was carried out as part of a programme of archaeological work, including analysis and publication, required as a condition of planning consent. 1.1.3 Previous evaluation within the site by the Museum of London (Department of Greater London Archaeology) in

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