Elizabeth House, York Road, Waterloo, SE1 London Borough of Lambeth - Archaeological Desk-based Assessment

Wessex Archaeology

This Desk-based Assessment has utilised publicly accessible and archive sources to investigate, as far as is reasonable and practicable, the nature and extent of any known or potential archaeological resource within the Site and a surrounding Study Area. The synthesised results of the study are set-out below.

There is potential for the Site to contain important Mesolithic (c.10,000 – 4000 BC), and Neolithic (c.4000 – 2700 BC) remains, including possible evidence for settlement, within or below riverine and estuary alluvium. Unexpected important discoveries (including waterlogged remains) of Later Prehistoric, Roman and post-Roman date cannot be ruled out. Particular attention should be taken of the discovery in 1910 of a Roman boat at County Hall, west of the Site. Remains of mapped Post-medieval buildings, and deposits laid down for land reclamation may also be present.

There are extensive modern structures and impacts within the Site which are likely to have removed all archaeological remains within their footprint (double-basements, cut and cover underground railway tunnel). However, there are also areas where archaeological remains may remain in-situ. These include un-basemented and single-basemented areas.

This report recommends that in the first instance geotechnical investigation of un-basemented and single-basemented areas be carried out by specialist contractors in order to assess the presence or absence, depth and extent of any potentially surviving archaeological strata. Such information would inform on the requirement, if any, for consideration of mitigation strategies prior to and/or during the envisaged redevelopment of the site.