Excavations at Deptford on the site of the East India Company dockyards and the Trinity House almshouses, London

Abstract

An archaeological excavation was conducted on the site of Deptford power stations prior to the redevelopment of the site (National Grid Reference TQ 3760 7780). The excavations followed an evaluation that identified two areas where significant archaeological remains survived.The first of these excavation areas, on the site of the Trinity House almshouses, revealed three major phases of building. The earliest structural remains correspond to the documented 16th-century origins of the complex, while subsequent buildings date to the 17th and 18th centuries.The second area revealed the structural remains of a dockyard, founded by the East India Company in the early 17th century. Excavation exposed slipways and wharves of the dockyard, and waste products associated with shipbuilding activities were recovered. Evidence for the medieval river embankment pre-dating the dockyard was also recorded.The manufacture of pottery is another known activity on the site during the 18th century. No structural remains of any pottery were found, although a large quantity of pottery wasters and kiln waste was retrieved from land reclamation dumps.