thames discovery programme

Surrey Docks Farm FSW08

The zone is approximately 450m long and up to 40m wide; the zone extends from Acorn
Stairs downstream to the entrance to Greenland Dock. Access to the site is via a flight of
brick built stairs (Acorn Stairs) at the upstream end of the zone or a similar flight of stairs at
Lower Odessa Wharf towards the downstream end of the zone; both stairs can be slippery,
especially at the base. The ground conditions on the site are generally firm towards the top
of the foreshore but can be very muddy towards the low watermark.

archaeological and historical background

prehistoric and roman

Evidence for prehistoric activity has been recorded to the southwest of the site, including trackways and plough marks. The
nearest archaeological evidence for Roman activity is an antiquarian record of Roman bricks recorded during work
underpinning the tower of St Marys 1.5km to the west, and it seems likely that occupation was focused further west and to
the south, on areas of higher ground.

early and later medieval

The origins of historic settlement in Rotherhithe are far from certain. The name Rotherhithe is considered to be of Saxon
origin, derived from Rederheia, meaning a place where cattle are either embarked or landed. Rotherhithe is not
mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and it is not until 1127 that the first reliable reference to Rotherhithe
(Retherhith) occurs in the Annals of Bermondsey, when Henry I granted the manor of Rotherhithe to the monks of
Bermondsey Abbey. The origins of the church of St Mary are believed to lie in the Saxon period, although the existing
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building dates to 1715 (replacing a 12 -13 century structure). Excavations at Platform Wharf to the west provide evidence
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for occupation in the early and later medieval periods; during the 14 century a moated manor house was built here for
Edward III.

post medieval
During this period, Rotherhithes waterfront became a bustling hive of maritime activity with many shipbuilders, ship-
breakers, commercial wharves, chandleries and mast-makers. In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Rotherhithe for
America in the Mayflower. Immediately to the south and west of the site, Howlands Great Wet Dock was constructed at
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the turn of the 18 century as the largest commercial dock then in existence, being capable of accommodating 120 ships.
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By the middle of the 18 century it was primarily associated with the whaling fleets and renamed Greenland Dock. From
the 1740s much of the area immediately west of the site was occupied by one of the largest of the Rotherhithe shipyards;
owned, or co-owned, over time by the Stanton, Wells, Barnard and Randell families- it is likely that the associated slipways
would have extended onto the foreshore. After the end of the Napoleonic War in 1815 the shipyard went into decline, the
area of present day Surrey Docks Farm becoming a timber yard in around 1818, and appears to have finally fallen out of use
by the 1840s along with most of the Rotherhithe shipyards- the few survivors concentrating on the repair of smaller
vessels. Prior to this Rotherhithe was at the forefront of marine technology; in 1792 an experimental steamship, the Kent
Ambinavigator, was built at Nelson Dock, and in 1821 the Aaron Manby was assembled at Rotherhithe to become the first
iron vessel to go to sea. While shipyards had probably always been involved in ship breaking, this latter industry appears to
have survived a little longer in the area; among the famous ships broken up here were the Trafalgar veterans Bellerophon
and Temeraire- the last ship of any size known to have been broken in Rotherhithe was the Queen in 1871.

As late as the 1830s, the area behind the waterfront was still largely open and used for market gardening, although the
completion of Brunels tunnel in 1843, and its subsequent use for the East London Line in 1869 led to rapid development in
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the later 19 century, while by 1860 Greenland Dock had been joined by Canada, Albion, Baltic, South and Norway Docks as
well as the Surrey Basin. In the 1880s the timber yard at the now Surrey Docks Farm was replaced by the South Wharf
Receiving Station, from which the Metropolitan Asylums Board (MAB) transported feverish and smallpox patients
downstream to isolation hospitals. During WWII the docks suffered more damage from bombing than any in the country,
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the receiving station sensibly being abandoned after the very first raid on the night of the 7 of September 1940. The

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Auxiliary Fire Service moved into part of the MAB site using it as a river station for the remainder of the war. The docks
nevertheless played a part in the push to victory, South Dock being pumped dry and used to build the concrete caissons for
the Mulberry harbours used in the Normandy landings. The Surrey Docks were finally closed in 1969.

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Alpha
Type Description
No.
A101 Structure (unclassified) Cluster of large posts- possible pier support?
A102 Structure (unclassified) Jetty? Causeway? Timber. Line of stakes running down to river. Also timbers at
right-angles to jetty at river end.
A103 Shopping trolley.
A104 Timber Nautical? Part of ship working scatter?
A105 Artefact scatter Building material. Bricks.
A106 Shopping Trolley
A107 Timber Nautical? Large timber. Part of ship working scatter?
A108 Artefact scatter Nails. Shipyard scatter?
A109 Timber Nautical? With chain attached. Part of ship working scatter?
A110 Timber Nautical? Part of ship working scatter?
A111 Timber Nautical? With chain attached. Part of ship working scatter?
A112 Artefact scatter Nails. Shipyard scatter?
A113 Artifact scatter Industrial. Kiln Furniture
A114 Artefact scatter Nails. Shipyard scatter?
A115 Mooring feature Block. Timber
A116 Timber Nautical? Part of ship working scatter?
A117 Timber Nautical? Part of ship working scatter?
A118 Vessel Barge. Lee board
A119 Artefact scatter Nails. Shipyard scatter?
A120 Vessel Rudder
A121 Timbers Timbers. Uncut. Part of ship working scatter?
A122 Timbers Timbers. Uncut. Part of ship working scatter?
A123 Shopping trolley.
A124 Artefact scatter Nails. Shipyard scatter?
A125 Drain Timber and Brick Construction.
A126 Artefact scatter Nails. Shipyard scatter?
A127 Timber Timbers. Uncut. Part of ship working scatter?

A128 Timbers Nautical? Part of ship working scatter?

A129 Timbers Nautical? Part of ship working scatter?

A130 Shopping trolley.
A131 Shopping trolley.

A132 Consolidation? Stone Dump Granite Blocks.

A133 Mooring feature Block. Timber
A134 Timber Nautical? Part of ship working scatter?
A135 Structure (unclassified) Slipway? Timber
A136 VOID VOID
A137 Access Stair. Brick and stone. Part of riverwall.
A138 Shopping trolley At foot of stair A108
A139 Mooring feature Mooring posts by A106
A301 Timbers Four large posts- possible river ambulance jetty.
A302 Timbers Seven large posts- possible river ambulance jetty.

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