Putney Key Site Information

8/9/2019 Putney Key Site Information

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thames discovery programme

Putney FWW03This small zone is approximately 110m long and 50m wide, and is boundedby Putney Bridge and Putney Railway Bridge. There is access to the site viastairs immediately downstream of Putney Bridge or from the slipway at theend of Brewhouse Lane, both at the upstream end of the zone. Theforeshore surface is generally firm and safe although there are some areasof modern scour.

archaeological and historical background

prehistoricPutney would have been an attractive location for prehistoric settlement, as it is possible that theThames was fordable at this point. However, the scale and continuity of any early settlement is notknown and most of the evidence for occupation during the Mesolithic period comes from isolated finds,including a concentration of flint flakes noted on the foreshore near Putney Bridge, possibly representingthe erosion of a formerly dry-land area. The Neolithic period is represented on several riverside sites, inthe form of flint assemblages, axes and scrapers. The evidence from the Bronze Age is more limited, asonly a single palstave has been recovered from Burstock Road. However, the existence of a barrowcemetery at Tibbets Corner, the highest point of land in the area, is intriguing. Unfortunately the site

was destroyed in the 18th century but its presence may suggest the existence of a settlement in thearea, which remains undiscovered. For the Iron Age, excavations at Felsham Road revealed pot sherdsdating to early part of the period, with a later phase of occupation in the late Iron Age / early Romanperiod. A possible pile dwelling was excavated on Putney Bridge Road and a coin hoard was recoveredfrom the foreshore near Putney Bridge itself.

romanExcavation in areas to the west of the church has found evidence for both settlement and burial.Structures have been excavated at Bemish Road and Felsham Road, as well as more isolated remains

such as a mosaic fragment from Howards Lane. Part of a cremation cemetery was discovered at thePlatt and further cremation burials have been recorded at Bemish Road. There is also excavatedevidence for road building at Felsham Road and it has been suggested that the importance of the rivercrossing led to the construction of a bridge between Putney and Fulham during this period.


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later medieval

As mentioned above, the Domesday Bookprovides the first documentary reference to Putney; it was

part of the manor of Mortlake, which was held by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Among the assetslisted for the manor are the tolls for the ferry at Putney; the fact that the Bishop of London held thesettlement at Fulham could be a contributing factor to the continued maintenance of the route. It isknown that Putney also played a role as an embarkation point for ferry trips to London and Westminsterduring this period for goods and people, including royalty.Excavated evidence for the later medieval period, with the exception of the church (which wasinvestigated by the Wandsworth Historical Society during the early 1970s) appears to be somewhatlacking, although the area is well documented historically. It is highly likely that a chapel existed atPutney prior to the first documented reference to St Marys in 1291, given the prominent location of thechurch next to the ancient crossing point. By 1302, the church was well established and was the site of

an ordination by Archbishop Winchelsea. The community was largely agricultural in nature; although amore nucleated model probably replaced the earlier dispersed pattern of settlement, with housesclustering around the focal points of church, ferry point and high street. Evidence for industry isprovided by a tax list of 1332, which includes a glazier and a brewer, however the Black Death of themid 14

thcentury probably led to a reduction in population and the contraction of the settlement. This

trend was reversed during the 15th

and 16th

centuries as the village was patronised by governmentofficials, London merchants and, prior to the Reformation, servants of the Archbishop of Canterbury.Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIIIs chief minister was born in Putney in 1485, and was the first courtier tohold the manor of Mortlake after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536.

post medievalAdditions to the body of the church included a chantry chapel constructed in the early 16

thcentury for

the Bishop of Ely, Nicholas West, who was born in Putney. A porch was added on the south side of thebuilding in 1623 and a vestry was built at the north-east corner in 1629. Internally, the church was alsorefurbished during the early 17

thcentury and a gallery was built at the western end. In 1647, the village

was the headquarters of the New Model Army and the Putney Debates were held in the refurbishedchurch. In 1836, the church was demolished and rebuilt to the designs of Edward Lapidge, architect ofKingston Bridge, St Peters Hammersmith and St Andrews Ham. In his survey of riverside parish

churches published in 1897, AE Daniell disparagingly comments of the restoration that the church wasonly redeemed from absolute dreariness by Bishop Wests chapel, which had been resited on thenorth side of the building. The body of the church was rebuilt in the 1980s after it was gutted in anarson attack and now has an unusual layout with the altar on the north side of the church, rather than inits traditional location at the east end, so that the congregation sits facing the river.


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FWW03 A101 Viaduct Timber structure Chelsea Waterworks Viaduct? Large, close-set piles with cut joints.

FWW03 A102 Consolidat ion Chalk below gravel. Construction of Putney Bridge?

FWW03 A103 Bridge South bridgehead/tol l house, Putney Old Bridge. Brick.

FWW03 A104 Structure (unclassi fied) Crane base? Stone/concrete structure. Associated with A105.

FWW03 A105 Hard Hard. Large re-used stones, including vousoirs.

FWW03 A106 Timbers Scattered. Random, angled into foreshore. Demolition of Old Bridge?FWW03 A107 Drain Timber plank. Rectangular section. Plank-buil t.

FWW03 A108 Structure (unclassi fied) Causeway? Timber and stone

FWW03 A109 Deposit Peat/organic clay. High on foreshore.

FWW03 A110 Timber Rectangular post. Vertical. Putney Old Bridge?

FWW03 A111 Artefact scatter Timbers. Boat yard?

FWW03 A112 Access Slipway. Cobbled. Brewhouse Street. Probably Medieval access point.

FWW03 A113 Access Stair. Stone. Putney Bridge, ds. Rail damaged at bottom.

FWW03 A114 Riverfront defence Brick and stone. Putney Church

FWW03 A115 Riverfront defence Brick with timber fenders and mooring chain.

FWW03 A116 Riverfront defence Brick

FWW03 A117 Bridge Putney Railway Bridge.

FWW03 A118 Jetty Modern

FWW03 A119 Hard Modern

FWW03 A120 Drain Apron. Timber and stone. Below Putney Bridge. For stream outlet.

FWW03 A121 Drain Outfall. Below Putney Bridge. Metal grilled outlet for stream.

FWW03 A122 Deposit Dump. Stone rubble. Associated with drain outlet?

FWW03 A123 Artefact Moulded window mullion. Putney Church?

FWW03 A124 Bridge Putney Bridge.

Documents

Putney Key Site Information