Great Houses, moats and mills on the south bank of the Thames

Abstract

• Regeneration in the 1980s–90s on the south bank of the Thames resulted in archaeological and historical investigations at Platform Wharf, Rotherhithe, and next to London Bridge, in Southwark. The first was the site of a house acquired by 1349 by Edward III and rebuilt by him in 1353–61; the second contained tidal mills on the waterfront and three notable residences during the medieval period – the 14th-century Dunley’s moated house and Edward II’s Rosary, and the 15th-century Fastolf Place. Both sites were subsequently built over with small properties. Moat infills produced exceptionally rich assemblages of domestic artefacts and ceramics; the waterside location preserved a wide variety of plants, timber structures and woodworking evidence.