The Charter Quay excavations in Kingston focused on an area adjacent to, and just to the South of the historic Market Place under what is now several large blocks of luxury flats and new shops and was Kingston largest archaeological excavation to date. Phil Andrews’s informative talk took us through how this area of Kingston developed and flourished during the period from the Middle Ages to the present.

Whilst Kingston is known for its Anglo-Saxon associations, little evidence for any activity from this period was found at Charter Quay.

The story really begins in the Middle Ages as the Market Place was laid out, probably in the late 12th Century. By this time it appears that there were already properties filling the gap between the Market Place and the River Thames. Subsequent basements had removed many of the earliest riverside frontages but excavations revealed substantial timber revetments dated by dendrochronological methods to well before 1232. Analysis of the timber jointing methods employed revealed that these were reused timbers from buildings, presumably nearby, given that one timber was nearly 7.5 metres in length.

These revetments had been formed as part of a land reclamation process behind the Market Place properties being some 50 metres back from the original riverside frontages. Pottery and further tree ring dating evidence confirmed an early 13th Century dating of the revetment structures. One of the revetments incorporated an unusual structure jutting out into the river that may have been used as a “wet store”.

During the 14th and 15th Centuries Kingston prospered and continued to grow and more land was reclaimed. The pattern of buildings around the Market Place altered with longer narrower properties resulting. Access to the river was via a number of narrow alleyways thus maximising the number of traders with access to both the marketplace and the river. The excavations revealed many phases of rebuilding and reuse of foundations of earlier structures.

The area to the south of the Hogsmill tributary appears to have had a more industrial character at this time with substantial buildings incorporating larger hearths suggesting baking or malting uses.

Yard surfaces for buildings fronting onto what is now the High Street revealed a possible malting kiln and also dumps of cattle bone (skulls and foot bones) which could indicate processing of hides on site.

Kingston continued to expand during the 16th and 17th Centuries. It was already known that a number of Inns fronted onto the Market Place in the vicinity of the excavations and brick cellars associated with these were duly found. These inns were substantial masonry structures and were probably frequented by courtiers visiting the Palace at Hampton Court. One of the larger of these inns was “The Castle”. Its elaborately carved oak staircase (dated to 1651) has survived with only minor alteration and has now been incorporated into the Borders bookshop that fronts onto the Market Place.

Rubbish dumps from this time give us an insight into what was eaten in these establishments. Animal bones were from young animals and represented only finer cuts of meat, seeds from fruits and nuts such as walnuts, figs and grapes suggest high quality dining.

Businesses south of the Hogsmill included by this time timber yards, brewers and coopers and further re-building resulted to accommodate them. Additional revetments pushed out yet further into the river, some formed using the remains of clinker built boats. The wharves formed by these structures served helped bring in the raw materials required. Much evidence was found for animal processing with some pits yielding up to 700 tightly packed animal bones, primarily horse but also cattle sheep and deer. It was noted that the bones were of older animals that had seemingly come to the end of their useful lives.

The most personal object found on site was a set of false teeth with a gold upper plate and a porcelain tooth, which is likely to date to the early 19th Century.

The Charter Quay excavations, together with detailed historical research, have revealed the steady evolution of the town landscape through the cycle of building, demolition and re-building and steady land reclamation into the Thames. They have also given in insight into the lives of the people who lived and worked in this part of Kingston from it’s founding period to the present day.

Mike Lapworth