Convoys Wharf - Post-excavation Assessment Report and Updated Project Design - Part 1

Aug 20, 2026

Post-excavation assessment of the Deptford Royal Dockyard at Convoys Wharf (Prince Street, London SE8) reports what was found, what post-excavation work has been completed, what remains to be done, and how results should be published. The study follows post-excavation analysis standards aligned with English Heritage guidance, integrating earlier assessments and excavation data. Evidence spans prehistoric use with palaeoenvironment reconstruction, unexpected Roman enclosure and burial, and detailed interpretation of dockyard development from Tudor origins through Georgian, Victorian industrial rebuilding, and eventual closure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages222

Reading Time9 h 19 min

AccessFree to download

Executive summary

Reporting aims and methodology

Key findings by period

Planning and excavation background

Data assessment and research potential

CONVOYS WHARF Prince Street London SE8 London Borough of Lewisham Post-excavation assessment report and updated project design November 2013 © Museum of London Archaeology 2013 Museum of London Archaeology Mortimer Wheeler House 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7ED tel 020 7410 2200 | fax 020 410 2201 [www.museumoflondonarchaeology.org.uk](www.museumoflondonarchaeology.org.uk) general enquiries: [enquiries@mola.org.uk](enquiries@mola.org.uk) DEPTFORD ROYAL DOCKYARD CONVOYS WHARF PRINCE STREET LONDON SE8 LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM Site Code CVF10 Post-excavation assessment report and updated project design Sign-off History: | Issue No. | Date: | Prepared by: | Checked/
Approved by: | Reason for Issue: | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | 25 March
2013 | Antony Francis | David Bowsher Project Manager | Draft for client review | | 2 | 2 May 2013 | Antony Francis | David Bowsher Project Manager | Revised draft after client comments | | 3 | 10 May 2013 | Antony Francis | David Bowsher Project Manager | | | 4 | 29 October
2013 | Antony Francis | David Bowsher Project Manager | Revised draft after curator comments | | 5 | 20 November
2013 | Antony Francis | David Bowsher Project Manager | Revised draft after curator comments | Author: Antony Francis Project Manager: David Bowsher Graphics: Carlos Lemos 􀂔 Museum of London Archaeology Mortimer Wheeler House, 46 Eagle Wharf Road, London N1 7ED tel 0207 410 2200 fax 0207 410 2201 email [generalenquiries@mola.org.uk](generalenquiries@mola.org.uk) Executive summary This report is intended to inform the reader of the results of the excavation at the site of Deptford Royal Dockyard at Convoys Wharf in Lewisham: what was found ; what post-excavation assessment work has been done so far; what work still needs to be done and why; and how and where the results of the excavation should be made public. The report is written and structured in a particular way to conform with the standards required of post-excavation analysis work as set out in Management of Archaeological Projects (English Heritage, 1991) . This report draws on and refines the results of excavations and earlier assessments, principally the Scheme of Archaeological Resource Management (SARM, Hawkins 2009), the Written Scheme of Investigation (Francis 2010b), previous evaluations (Divers 2000, Francis 2010a) and an interim publication (Hawkins et al 2013) . The report describes the planning background and excavation history for the site (Section 1) . The historical and archaeological background is contained in Section 2, and the archaeology discovered on site has been described in Section 4. In Section 5 the finds and environmental evidence is quantified and assessed. The dating evidence has been integrated with the stratigraphic data enabling the latter section tobe set out in terms of the provisional periods represented on site. Sections 4 and 5 are the foundations from which Section 6, Potential of the Data has been developed. This potential is discussed in terms of how well the site can answer the original and additional research objectives (Section 7) . There was no strong evidence for prehistoric settlement, although finds indicate that the site was used by prehistoric peoples. Geoarchaeological investigation was able to reconstruct in part the environment from the prehistoric period to the 19th century specifically in relation to a palaeochannel that crosses the site. The remains of a late 2nd century to 3rd century Roman enclosure with part of a skeleton in its fill (the only burial on site) were unexpected discoveries. A concentration of ex situ building material suggested that there may have been a Roman building on site. The Dockyard was founded in 1513 with the construction of a Storehouse (now a Scheduled Ancient Monument) . A wide ditch nearby may have preceded this building. As the Dockyard developed through the Stuart period (1603–1714), a Dockyard Basin

FAQs

What is the purpose of this post-excavation assessment report?

It summarizes excavation results at Convoys Wharf, states what post-excavation assessment has been done, identifies remaining work, and sets out how the findings should be made public.

Which archaeological periods and discoveries does the report highlight?

It notes prehistoric use, partial reconstruction of the environment via geoarchaeology, an unexpected late 2nd–3rd century Roman enclosure with the site’s only burial, and evidence for dockyard development from Tudor and Stuart phases through later rebuilding.

How is the site evidence evaluated for future research?

Finds and environmental evidence are quantified and assessed, with dating integrated into stratigraphic interpretation to frame provisional periods and support evaluation of the data’s research potential.

Aug 20, 2026

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