Bankside: excavations at Benbow House, Southwark, London SE1

The multi-period site of Benbow House lies next to the Thames, and is a fine example of the multifarious and colourful activities that took place in London over the centuries. The earliest extant evidence of human activity within the excavation area was an attempt at land consolidation in the 12th or 13th century. This was followed by three periods of building from the 13th century onwards. Nine or ten buildings can be dated to the 13th and 14th centuries, and probably included the remains of stews - inns or brothels known from documentary sources. Further buildings were constructed in the 16th and 17th centuries, including a possible animal-baiting arena. The final phase of the excavated evidence included the remains of 18th- and 19th-century brick buildings reflecting the later use of the site as a foundry and metalworks

Great Houses, moats and mills on the south bank of the Thames

Regeneration in the 1980s–90s on the south bank of the Thames resulted in archaeological and historical investigations at Platform Wharf, Rotherhithe, and next to London Bridge, in Southwark. The first was the site of a house acquired by 1349 by Edward III and rebuilt by him in 1353–61; the second contained tidal mills on the waterfront and three notable residences during the medieval period – the 14th-century Dunley’s moated house and Edward II’s Rosary, and the 15th-century Fastolf Place. Both sites were subsequently built over with small properties. Moat infills produced exceptionally rich assemblages of domestic artefacts and ceramics; the waterside location preserved a wide variety of plants, timber structures and woodworking evidence