8 Lynton Road, Southwark, Greater London

In May 2011 Oxford Archaeology carried out an archaeological evaluation followed by a geoarchaeological watching brief at 8 Lynton Road, Southwark, Greater
London. The evaluation comprised two trenches and a test pit excavated within the footprint of the redevelopment area; the watching brief consisted of monitoring five
bore holes.
Historic map regression indicated that the site was once part of a garden associated with a large Victorian dwelling. A Baptist chapel was constructed at the site during the late 19th century. The area was heavily bombed during WWII and no indication of the chapel exists on post WWII maps. Terraced houses were replaced by a single
storey building, the former Neighbourhood Office, which was destroyed by fire in 2009 and demolished prior to the site's current redevelopment.
The results of the investigation demonstrate that modern overburden is present across the site ranging in thickness from 1 - 2 m, with corresponding truncation of
the underlying deposits. Trench 1 contained former services, probably associated with the surrounding late post-medieval buildings or Baptist Chapel, and two
discrete features which may be tree-holes associated with the post-medieval garden once present on the site. In addition, three late post-medieval concrete bases were
observed which either relate to the post-medieval building or Baptist Chapel or perhaps the garden features. Trench 2 contained modern overburden to a depth of 2
m below current ground level overlying a deep negative feature extending 4 m into the trench and reaching a maximum depth of -4.71 m OD. The function of this
feature remains uncertain; it may be a quarry pit or perhaps a bomb crater or feature associated with emergency water storage in WWII. The test pit in the extant
grass area demonstrated that the modern overburden extended beyond the footprint of the former building. A possible linear feature, orientated NW-SE, was observed at
the base of the 2.30 m sequence. Interpretation of this feature, however, remains extremely tentative due limited visibility as a result of Health and Safety access
restrictions.
The results of the geoarchaeological watching brief on five bore holes confirm that feature 205 is a large discrete feature confined to the south west corner of the site.
Although limited dating evidence was recovered in the course of the evaluation and watching brief, it appears that all features are late post-medieval or modern in date.