Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London Borough of Camden - Post-excavation Assessment and Updated Project Design

Wessex Archaeology

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to undertake an archaeological evaluation and excavation prior to below ground works associated with a basement extension to The Shaftesbury Theatre. The archaeological investigations were carried out at The Shaftesbury Theatre, 210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London Borough of Camden WC2H 8DP, centred on NGR 530132 181352.

The evaluation comprised the excavation of three trial trenches which identified archaeological remains and deposits across the site, including walls, a culvert, pits and a posthole dating to the 16th to 19th centuries; a single possible medieval feature was also identified. Multiple layers of made ground, measuring between 1.4 m and 2.54 m thick, suggested build up and alteration of the site. The earliest feature, a posthole that which contained medieval pottery, was investigated in trench 1. Two pits of 16th to 18th century date and two walls, one located high up within the made ground deposits and a second close to the natural geology, completed the sequence. Trench 2 exposed a 19th century brick culvert and a wall, surviving as a single course of unfrogged bricks, at the horizon of the natural geology. Trench 3 identified one brick wall, which had been cut by the
foundations of the theatre close to the surface of the trench.

The subsequent excavation comprised the excavation of approximately 220 m2 between the western wall of the theatre, the site boundary and Shaftesbury Avenue. The excavation identified additional remains including at least six drainage features, seven walls, a cess pit, five other unidentified structural features, two pits, a ditch and a robber trench dating between the 17th and 20th centuries.

Pottery recovered during the investigations suggest the post-medieval activity dates from the 16th to 19/20th centuries, broadly focused on the 17th–early 18th century. A pit found towards the centre of the site may represent an early phase of post-medieval activity and produced 16th to early 17th century pottery. A second pit and a brick-built cess pit found in close proximity probably date to the later 17th century to 18th century, suggesting gradual development of the area.

Other earlier post-medieval elements include a drain, brick walls, and a floor. A large culvert truncated these earlier post-medieval structures, crossing much of the excavated area. Elsewhere, additional drainage structures, short sections of wall and a large trench which contained a possibly robbed out wall also form part of the post-medieval development of the site.

Later activity was represented by a probable Victorian culvert and a small pit, both found high in the sequence. The vault of the theatre’s basement, dating to its construction in the early 20th century, occupied the northern end of the site, and remains in use by the theatre.