Archaeological Impact Assessment
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Archaeological Impact Assessment In support of an application for a Cycle Hire docking station on the carriageway outside: Nos. 7-21 Goswell Road, Islington, EC1M Status: [Final] Version: [A] Date: [June 2011] Prepared by Mott MacDonald for Transport for London [03/610366] Executive Summary AOC Archaeology has been commissioned by Mott Macdonald, on behalf of Transport for London (TfL), to undertake an Archaeological Impact Assessment (AIA) covering the proposed Cycle Hire docking station located on the footway and carriageway outside 7-21 Goswell Road, London Borough of Islington, EC1M. The docking station site lies within an Archaeological Priority Area. A search of the Greater London Historic Environments Record identified 132 archaeological sites, finds, monuments and events within a 250m study area around the proposed docking station site. Although the study area is known to have potential for significant medieval archaeological remains, the likely impact from the proposed foundations upon known and potential below ground archaeological deposits are considered to be minimal and there is considered to be a low potential for encountering significant archaeological activity dating to all periods within the footprint of the docking station site. Based upon current foundation depths (c. 450mm), no further archaeological works are recommended. If more substantial foundations are proposed, a programme of watching brief may be required. Introduction The Scheme TfL is proposing an expansion of the current Barclays Cycle Hire scheme within central London, including the London Borough of Islington. This will necessitate the installation of approximately 200 new and expanded docking stations, including some in the existing zone. Full planning permission is required for each new or expanded site and the TfL Cycle Hire Consents Team will be preparing and submitting the necessary applications during 2011. Archaeological Impact Assessments have been prepared for docking stations within Archaeological Priority Areas (APAs) where archaeological features will potentially be encountered at shallow depth. Each docking station comprises a terminal and a number of docking points. Groundwork will be required for the terminal foundations and the docking point foundations. The majority of the sites will be constructed using standard foundations which require excavation of a trench to a depth of c. 450mm and a width of c. 750mm. This depth and the extent of excavation will depend on site conditions, including the location of utilities, and will therefore vary. Site Description The docking station site is located in the London Borough of Islington; situated on the western side of the carriageway outside 7-21 Goswell Road, to the north of the junction with Fann Street, National Grid Reference (NGR): 532091, 182055. The site is currently occupied by a section of tarmac surfaced carriageway in use as a taxi rank, and a section of the adjacent footway. Prepared by Mott MacDonald for Transport for London [03/610366] 2 Methodology Objectives This Archaeological Impact Assessment details the results of an assessment of the nature of the archaeological resource within the site of the Cycle Hire docking station and surrounding study area. Where possible, the AIA will assess the likely impact upon the known and potential heritage resources which will result from the proposed development scheme. This report will include recommendations for further archaeological works where the archaeological potential of the site or value warrants, or where additional information on the site is required. Such works would likely comprise a programme of archaeological watching brief. The information and conclusions presented in this assessment are subject to the review and approval by the Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service (GLAAS) archaeological advisors to Islington Council. Sources Consulted A study area extending 250m from the boundaries of the site has been used to assess the likely nature and extent of the archaeological resource. The Greater London Historic Environment Record (GLHER) database of archaeological sites, finds, events, monuments and designations is the primary source of information concerning the current state of archaeological and architectural knowledge in the study area. This information forms the description of the heritage baseline conditions, together with an assessment of archaeological and historical information from web based and in-house sources and available cartographic evidence for the study area. Consultation Consultation on this scheme will be undertaken with the archaeological officers at the Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service as part of a wider discussion and scoping exercise. Baseline Conditions Ground Conditions The upper below ground conditions within the specific location of the docking station site are currently unknown, however they are expected to comprise deposits of modern made ground. The British Geological Survey mapping (BGS Sheet 256) of this area indicates that the solid geology underlying the site and surrounding area is London Clay, overlain by a superficial geology of Hackney river terrace gravels. Cartographic Background The earliest available mapping clearly showing the site, surveyed around the 1550s, shows that the route of Goswell Road was already laid and is labelled ‘The Waye to S.Alban’. The map indicates that the street is lined by houses with small plots and on the western side, slightly set back from the road Prepared by Mott MacDonald for Transport for London [03/610366] 3 is Charterhouse, the site of a medieval chapel, hermitage and plague cemetery and later Elizabethan hospital and school. John Rocque’s map of ‘London and its Environs’, surveyed in 1741-46 and Horwood’s map of 1813 mark the road as Goswell Street (now Road) and show it lined with terraced housing. From this point onwards, 20th century mapping shows that the site of the proposed docking station remains within the footway / carriageway of Goswell Road / Goswell Street. The Ordnance Survey (OS) mapping of the late 19th and early 20th centuries show no major changes to the street pattern. Tramlines are indicated on Goswell Road in the early 20th century. Overall, the available cartographic evidence does not indicate any previously unknown features or sites within the area of the proposed docking station site. Archaeological and Historic Background Within the 250m study area around the proposed docking station site, the Greater London Historic Environments Record lists 132 sites, finds or events relating to identified archaeological Heritage Assets (see Appendix A). The site does not lie within any previously identified archaeological finds, features or monuments, but lies immediately adjacent to the area covered by Charterhouse; the site of a medieval chapel, hermitage and plague cemetery and later Elizabethan hospital and school. There is a paucity of evidence dating to the prehistoric periods within the 250m study area with only a single residual find spot, comprising a Palaeolithic hand axe (MLO74221), recorded on the GLHER database at Preacher's Court, c. 240m to the west of the proposed docking station. There is considerable evidence to indicate Roman activity in the 250m study area. The route of Aldergate Street, which turns into Goswell Road, is thought to be the route of a Roman road (MLO99504), while a ditch (MLO24781) discovered on Goswell Road itself has been interpreted as a Roman road ditch. General evidence of occupation within the 250m study radius also includes pits (MLO24797), quarry pits (MLO26562) and occupation debris (MLO63121). A cremation cemetery (MLO7917) has been recorded c. 100m to the south-west of the proposed docking station. The early medieval period is represented by a single find of a 5th century glass vessel (MLO99343) found c. 160m to the west of the proposed docking station. During the early medieval period a settlement is thought to have existed near fleet passage, to the south-west of St Bartholomew’s Hospital and the vessel may have derived from here or from the nearby Roman cemetery. The most significant archaeological evidence in the study area relates to medieval ‘Charterhouse’ developed from the 14th century onwards, which included, a chapel (MLO38504), church (MLO99161), Carthusian monastery (MLO23473), monastic brewhouse (MLO56724), plague cemetery (MLO70872), Elizabethan hospital and school (MLO74228). The Charterhouse site was located on the western side of Goswell Road, several metres to the west of the proposed docking station location, and covered the area from Charterhouse Street to Dallington Street now largely occupied by St Bartholomew’s Medical College. The majority of entries identified on the GLHER relate to medieval and post-medieval activity within this site, including the remains of medieval structures along with general occupation evidence such as quarrying / rubbish pits (MLO62882, MLO62852), cess pits (MLO24782) and garden soil (MLO73457). Prepared by Mott MacDonald for Transport for London [03/610366] 4 The proposed docking station location is situated in Goswell Road (MLO347), a medieval road leading from Aldersgate to Islington, which was given a Passage Grant in 1380. It is likely that most of the activity associated with Charterhouse was confined to the area beyond the road, and does not extend into the proposed site boundary, although it remains possible that evidence of the earlier medieval road surface may survive within the site. Other post-medieval remains