Excavations at Aldgate, 1974

Abstract

The site lies to the south of Aldgate High Street and to the east of the Minories. It was used for sand- or brickearth-quarrying in the 12th century, but for most of the medieval period was open land. The first major development took place in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and was represented by substantial, though fragmentary, lengths of wall. Nevertheless, much of the ground probably still remained open, since it was used as a tip for refuse from a nearby slaughter-yard and for waste and crucibles from a factory producing Venetian-style glass.The most significant remains to be uncovered were parts of a row of terraced properties which were built in the 1670s and demolished in the mid 18th century. To the south of these lay a further building whose cellar was the only room surviving. All these structures are visible on contemporary maps; the archaeological evidence shows that they included both domestic units and workshops involved in clay tobacco-pipe manufacture and, possibly, metalworking. They were built wholly of brick, in a style which became common after the Great Fire. The associated finds seem to represent an accurate sample of the tools, personal possessions, household and kitchen utensils and structural fittings actually used in the buildings; these, together with the faunal remains, suggest that the occupants of the terraced properties enjoyed a relatively poor standard of living, but that the owners of the material found in the cellar were slightly more prosperous.