184-186 Fleet Street, City of London EC4 - Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment

Wessex Archaeology

The main archaeological issues directly concerning the site are:

i) The position of the site directly overlying the line of a possible Romano- British/Saxon road. Observations made by Stow in 1595 record the line of a street on the north side of Fleet Street immediately west of St. Dunstan’s. A continuation of this line would run directly through the present development site.

ii) The proximity of the site to the Church of St Dunstan in the West and its location on lands historically occupied by the church. Cartographic analysis shows the medieval graveyard to exist on the east side of the medieval church and associated church buildings depicted as extant on the site. The vestry of the 19th century church occupies the western portion of the present
development site.

iii) The existence of medieval deposits recorded during excavation at 180-183 Fleet Street (FLE82).

In summary, the present development site has the potential to contain significant Romano-British, Saxon, and medieval features and deposits related to known features, those being the Romano-British/Saxon road identified by Stow, the Church of St Dunstan in the West and known medieval and post-medieval activity at 180-83 Fleet Street.