TANNER STREET, BARKING
LONDON BOROUGH OF BARKING AND DAGENHAM
NGR TQ 44097 84601
RESULTS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION
1 SUMMARY
The following report details the results of an archaeological evaluation undertaken by AOC Archaeology from the 22nd to 23rd November 2005 at Tanner Street, Barking (NGR TQ 44097 84601), on behalf of Morrisons Plc.
Two trenches were due to be excavated in an attempt to characterise and evaluate the archaeological survival and stratigraphic sequence at the site, despite the building works having commenced prior to a full archaeological evaluation being undertaken. In the event the continued building works precluded even the two agreed trenches being excavated and just one 8 x 1.5m trench was excavated. There was significant modern truncation in the form of made ground deposits within the area of investigation. No in-situ archaeological remains from earlier periods were observed.
2 INTRODUCTION
Site Location (Figure 1)
2.1 The site was located on an irregular, elongated plot of land approximately 20,000m� (2 hectares) in area and centred on TQ 44097 84601. It was bounded to the south-west by the London, Tilbury and Southend railway line just to the north of Barking Station and the Northern Relief Road. The north-west boundary of the site was formed by Tanner Street whilst the rear gardens of the terraced properties on Harpour Road marked the north-east boundary.
Planning Background
2.2 The development consists of mixed tenure affordable housing comprising 165 units in total; 40 in a 10 storey block, 18 in a 5 storey block (1 ground floor commercial/social service unit) and 107 2 and 3 storey units. These are timber frame constructions on reinforced concrete slabs with piled foundations and both hard and soft landscaping of the surrounding environs.
2.3 The Local Planning Authority is the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Their archaeological advisor is the Greater London Archaeological Advisory Service (GLAAS), which is part of English Heritage.
2.4 In accordance with Planning Policy Guidance: Archaeology and Planning (PPG 16) issued by the Department of the Environment in 1990 (DoE, 1990), a condition was imposed on planning consent by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham on the advice of GLASS that an Archaeological Evaluation be carried out, in order to record any archaeological deposits and features exposed prior to the development (Application No: DC 03/00309/FUL).
2.5 In the event, construction work on the development began before any archaeological works relating to the condition was carried out. Subsequently, a meeting between the developers and the LPA Advisor determined that two 20m x 2m trenches would be excavated at the extreme east and west of the site respectively.
2.6 Accordingly, AOC Archaeology was commissioned by Morrison plc to prepare a Written Scheme of Investigation (WSI) in accordance with this strategy (AOC 2005). This detailed how the evaluation, comprising two trial trenches, would be undertaken.
Geology and Topography
2.7 The British Geological Survey (BGS) Map, Sheet 257 showed the development site lying on Flood Plain Gravel deposits which overlay deposits of the London Clay and the Lambeth Group (Woolwich and Reading Beds).
2.8 Geotechnical investigations were carried out in July 2003 by Site Analytical Services Ltd. Twenty trial pits were machine excavated to depths varying between 0.7m and 3.8m and three boreholes to depths of 20.45m. The results concluded that in all trial pits topsoil (a brown clayey, sandy, gravel) was approximately 0.20m deep with paving slabs/concrete surfaces encountered to depths of 0.15m over much of the site. This overlaid made ground to depths of between 0.20m - 1.85m. The results from the three boreholes also indicated topsoil to a depth of approximately 0.20m, overlaying a medium dense grey brown clay, sampled to a depth of approximately 17m.
Historical and Archaeological Background.
2.9 No previous archaeological investigations or surveys had been conducted at the application site. However an archaeological desk based assessment was produced by AOC Archaeology (AOC 2005a) in which the full archaeological, historical and cartographic background of the area was documented and the information from this document was summarized in the Written Scheme of Investigation for the site (AOC 2005b). The background described below is drawn from the WSI (AOC 2005b).
Prehistoric
2.10 No evidence for prehistoric activity was found within the 250m study radius. This lack of evidence suggests the potential for remains was low.
Roman
2.11 No evidence for Roman activity was found within the 250m study radius. This lack of activity suggests the potential for remains was low.
Medieval
2.12 There are no sites or finds recorded in the SMR from the development site itself, although there are two records from within the 250m study radius. Evidence of medieval occupation in the area has been found in the form of a deserted settlement and a Chantry Chapel.
Medieval to Post Medieval
2.13 There are no sites of finds recorded in the SMR from the development site itself, although there is one record within the 250m study radius. Evidence of medieval to post-medieval occupation in the area has been found in the form of a garden and vineyard.
Late Medieval to Post Medieval
2.14 No sites or finds are recorded in the SMR within the development area itself, there are however five Post-medieval sites and finds within the 250m study area. These include a Roding Lodge and church located in the vicinity of Queens Road to the south of the site and a Brickfield mentioned in a lease of 1555AD in North Street; a field of the same name south east of the site is also referenced. There exist two documentary references to Tanner Street, from 1456AD and 1609AD respectively. Documentary sources also highlight the existence of a tannery and tenement located to the north of the site and a possible dovecot 200m south of the site.
Sites of Unknown Date
2.15 There is one site of unknown date within the 250m study area. Two plots of land were trial trenched (one site north of Harpour Road and the other south of Harpour Road at the junction with Tanner Street). Place name evidence suggested that the area had been used for tanning. No evidence of either medieval buildings or tanning at the sites were found during the excavation.
3 STRATEGY
Aims of the Investigation
3.1 The general and specific aims of the evaluation were laid out in the Written Scheme of Investigation (AOC 2005b). They were defined as being:
* To make a detailed record of the archaeological and environmental potential within the site.
* To establish the nature and extent of any archaeological remains by characterising the date, nature and significance of such archaeological structures, features and deposits as may be found, and the artefacts and ecofacts which may be contained within or associated with them, along with the impact which development will have upon them
* To enable an informed decision to be made regarding the future treatment of any archaeological remains and consider any appropriate mitigation measures either in advance of and/or during development
The specific objectives of the work were to:
* Establish whether any evidence of medieval settlement activity exists on site.
Finally to make the results of the investigation available to interested parties, subject to any confidentiality restrictions.
Research Design
3.2 A Written Scheme of Investigation was prepared by AOC Archaeology in November 2005 (AOC 2005b) and agreed with GLAAS. This proposed the excavation of two evaluation trenches.
3.3 Site procedures followed were defined in the Written Scheme of Investigation (AOC 2005b). All practices were carried out in accordance with local and national guidelines (English Heritage 1998 & IFA 1994). Provision was made for a report as defined in the Written Scheme of Investigation.
Methodology
3.4 Prior to commencing work a unique code for the project (TSB 05) was obtained.
3.5 Upon commencement of the evaluation it became apparent that construction had continued in the areas set aside for the trial trenches. The site for Trench 2 had been entirely truncated to a depth of up to 3m below ground level and a concrete ground slab lain across the base of the excavation making it impossible to conduct any evaluation work. The area set aside for Trench 1 had been significantly reduced by the erection of garden fences, meaning that the trench size had to be reduced from 20m x 2m to 8m x 1.5m. All evaluation works were conducted according to the methodologies detailed in the WSI.
3.6 Levels for each context were established relative to Ordnance Datum, taken from an Ordnance Survey Bench Mark (OSBM) on The Brittania Public House (6.73m).
3.7 The evaluation was conducted by the author. The project was managed by Mark Beasley of AOC Archaeology Group and monitored by David Divers for GLAAS, on behalf of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
4 RESULTS
4.1 The trench was dug within the back gardens of a number of the houses at the south western limit of the developmental area (Figure 2). The development area had undergone significant disturbance as a result of the construction works.
Trench 1 (Figure 2)
4.2 Surface of Trench = 5.65mOD
05.65-05.31m (1001). Re-deposited topsoil.
05.31-04.71m (1002). Made ground.
04.71-04.33m (1003).Made ground. Levelling layer above service trench that ran right through the center of the trench.
The area was sealed by a layer of topsoil material (1001) which contained modern construction debris including brick glass and plastic detritus.
A layer of made ground (1002) was recorded underlying this deposit. This was a mixture of soil derived material and gravel, with a high frequency of modern brick and other construction debris. A layer of made ground that probably constituted a levelling deposit was recorded underlying this deposit (1003) This sealed a layer of Terram which was lain over the gravel fill of a service pipe trench observed spanning the entire length of the trench.
A sondage section was dug into the base of the trench at its eastern limit in an attempt to establish the level of the natural deposits. At a depth of approximately 1.70m this had to be abandoned as the concrete surround for a man hole was uncovered which precluded further excavation. This meant that at the limit of the excavation (1003) was still the lowest fill of the trench.
No archaeological features or deposits were observed within the trench.
Finds
4.3 There were no archaeological finds recovered during the course of the evaluation
5 CONCLUSIONS
The evaluation revealed that modern disturbance was very extensive within the area recorded by the trial trench. Unfortunately it was not possible to excavate down to the natural deposits and evaluate the potential of the area for finding in situ archaeological features or remains at that depth. This was a result of the modern services present in the vicinity that had been laid down during the development of the site.
6 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER WORK
The single trench excavated during the evaluation was not sufficient to establish the nature of the full stratigraphic sequence, though it was clear the evaluation area had been subject to significant levels of recent disturbance. It is therefore recommended that as a result of the extent of the modern construction works, and the level of disturbance this has caused, that no further archaeological work would be possible and that publication should be limited to a summary in the London Archaeology Round-up with publication via the Archaeological Data Service (ADS).
7 BIBLIOGRAPHY
AOC Archaeology (2005a). An Archaeological Desk Based Assessment of Tanner Street, Barking, Essex. Unpublished Report.
AOC Archaeology (2005b). Tanner Street, Barking, A Written Scheme of Investigation for an Archaeological Evaluation. Unpublished Report.
English Heritage London Region (1998). Archaeological Field Guidance Papers 2, 3 and 5.
Institute of Field Archaeologists (1994). Standard and Guidance for Archaeological Field Evaluations.
Museum of London Archaeology Service 3rd edition (1994) Archaeological Field Manual.
APPENDIX A - CONTEXT REGISTER
Context No.
Context Description
Length
Width
Depth
101
Re-deposited Topsoil
Trench
Trench
0.34m
102
Made ground
Trench
Trench
0.60m
103
Made ground levelling layer
Trench
Trench
0.76m
APPENDIX B: OASIS DATA COLLECTION FORM
OASIS ID: aocarcha1-11900
Project details
Project name
Tanner Street, Barking
Short description of the project
Two trenches were due to be excavated in an attempt to characterise and evaluate the archaeological survival and stratigraphic sequence at the site despite the building works having commenced prior to a full archaeological evaluation being undertaken. In the event the continued building works precluded even the two agreed trenches being excavated and just one 8 x 1.5m trench was excavated. There was significant modern truncation in the form of made ground deposits within the area of investigation. No in-situ archaeological remains from earlier periods were observed.
Project dates
Start: 22-11-2005 End: 23-11-2005
Previous/future work
No / No
Any associated project reference codes
TSB 05 - Sitecode
Any associated project reference codes
DC 03/00309/FUL - Planning Application No.
Type of project
Field evaluation
Site status
None
Current Land use
Residential 1 - General Residential
Methods & techniques
'Targeted Trenches'
Development type
Urban residential (e.g. flats, houses, etc.)
Prompt
Direction from Local Planning Authority - PPG16
Position in the planning process
After full determination (eg. As a condition)
Project location
Country
England
Site location
GREATER LONDON BARKING AND DAGENHAM BARKING Tanner Street, Barking
Postcode
IG11
Study area
2.00 Hectares
National grid reference
TQ 44097 84601 Point
Height OD
Min: 5.65m Max: 4.33m
Project creators
Name of Organisation
AOC Archaeology
Project brief originator
Local Planning Authority (with/without advice from County/District Archaeologist)
Project design originator
AOC Archaeology
Project director/manager
Mark Beasley
Project supervisor
Chris Thatcher
Sponsor or funding body
Developer
Project archives
Physical Archive Exists?
No
Digital Archive recipient
AOC Archaeology
Digital Archive ID
TSB 05
Digital Contents
'Stratigraphic'
Digital Media available
'Images raster','Images vector','Spreadsheets','Text'
Paper Archive recipient
AOC Archaeology
Paper Archive ID
TSB 05
Paper Media available
'Context sheet','Drawing','Plan','Report','Section'
Project bibliography 1
Publication type
Grey literature (unpublished document/manuscript)
Title
Tanner Street Barking, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Results of an Archaeological Evaluation
Author(s)/Editor(s)
Thatcher, C
Date
2005
Issuer or publisher
AOC Archaeology
Place of issue or publication
London
Description
Bound text and illustrations
Entered by
Chris Thatcher (christhatcher@aocarchaeology.co.uk)
Entered on
9 December 2005
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVALUATION AT TANNER STREET, BARKING, LONDON BOROUH OF BARKING AND DAGENHAM
1
(c)AOC ARCHAEOLOGY GROUP, DECEMBER 2005