Church Street
Sep 28, 2008 by Andrew Dufton
Bugler Developments Ltd planned to build 54 affordable flats for One Housing Group on brownfield land close to a 12th century church in West Ham. The site on Church Street is in a council-designated Archaeological Priority Area at the core of the Medieval village and potentially the centre of an earlier under-investigated Saxon settlement.
L – P ’s initial evaluation trenches revealed well preserved painted surfaces of a previously demolished Georgian building, as well as significant finds from earlier occupation of the site. Liaising with English Heritage advisors at the Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service, L – P developed a successful excavation strategy including archaeo-environmental sampling to characterise past activities on the site.
Completing the open-area excavation in 3 consecutive zones over 6 weeks, L – P minimised disruption to the client’s construction schedule as much as possible by enabling piling and other ground works to commence in the finished zones. During the post-excavation stage, L – P’s in-house processing facility reduced costs to the client before professional artefact assessment and analysis.
L – P ran a programme of outreach events at the site to involve the local community in the archaeology; this included primary school visits that gained positive local media attention for the development.
The majority of the archaeology found at Church Street was Medieval (c.1100-1500 AD) and Post Medieval (1501-1900 AD) including fragments of floor tile with heraldic lion design, pottery, animal bone tools, building materials, coins and many pieces of clay pipes. A clay lined well, small brickearth quarries and tannery pits containing cattle skulls dating to 17th -18th centuries were also recorded.
L – P’s efficient investigation within a tight timescale was an example of archaeological best practice: community outreach assisting the aims of sustainable development, regular excavation reports to the client, well-coordinated finds analysis and timely publication of the site in a professional journal.
| Client: | Bugler Developments Ltd |
| Site: | 48 Church Street, West Ham, London |
| Development type: | Housing Association |