Platform Wharf, Southwark, 1986

From Robin Densem

The first phase at Platform Wharf was opened by George Dennis assisted by Robin Densem in 1985, and was followed by a more formal evaluation in 1986 supervised by Eric Norton: site code (PW86). Simon Blatherwick supervised two post-evaluation excavations in 1989 and 1990. Robin thinks that this photo is probably the 1986 work, but unsurprisingly was unable to identify the lone archaeologist in the lower right hand corner. The photo looks east with the Thames to the left, and the west wall of the royal residence visible in the foreground. The site was partially developed in the early 1990’s, with some of the original walls consolidated and put on display in a garden area.

Thought to also be the initial evaluation phase at Platform Wharf, with Julian Bowsher in the foreground. George Dennis did an earlier rapid phase of trial work in 1985 having identified the site from archives, whereupon he secured funding from the London Docklands Development Corporation. The later, post-evaluation, phases were supervised by Simon Blatherwick. DGLA (S&L). See Alan Thompson et al (eds) 1998 Excavations in Greater London 1965-90: a guide to records of excavations by the Museum of London.

Also likely to be a photo of the evaluation phase of (PW86), showing one of the stone walls of Edward 111’s moated royal residence. The evaluation was supervised by Eric Norton, who wrote an article published in the London Archaeologist, vol 5, no 15 (1998) http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol05/vol05_15/05_15_395_401.pdf Also see the later MOLA monograph 47, 2009: Great houses, moats and mills on the south bank of the Thames: medieval and Tudor Southwark and Rotherhithe (Simon Blatherwick and Richard Bluer).

The east wall of the moated building at Rotherhithe, Southwark, probably from the 1986 (PW86) phase of fieldwork. The unusually shaped feature in the right foreground is a later brick-lined clay puddling pit inserted through the wall of the moated building. The scale lies in the former moat.

Stack of Delft (wasters) from the pottery manufacturing phase on the site.

Platform wharf - Rather a poor photo of a draft plan of the 1986 fieldwork phase. Rather a poor photo of a draft plan of the 1986 fieldwork phase. There is a better plan in Eric Norton’s 1988 interim report and in the Blatherwick and Bluer 2009 Great Houses MOLA monograph.