Excavations at medieval Cripplegate, London : archaeology after the Blitz, 1946-68 : based on the work of Professor W.F. Grimes for the Roman and Mediaeval London Excavation Council, and related research by the Museum of London and by University College L

Based on the work of Professor W. F. Grimes for the Roman and Mediaeval London Excavation Council, and related research by the Museum of London and by University College London. With contributions by Tony Dyson, Jacqueline Pearce and Mike Webber. Illustrations by Susan Banks. Ebook (PDF) published 2012. The Cripplegate area of London was the site of a Roman fort and later of medieval structures and artefacts. Excavations between 1946 and 1968 by Professor W. F. Grimes for the Roman and Medieval London Excavation Council were carried out on 25 bomb-damaged sites, and were preliminarily reported by him in 1968. As part of a major post-excavation programme funded by English Heritage from 1992 to 1997, the archived material from these excavations are being fully published in a series of five volumes, of which this book is one. This report analyses the material afresh and re-appraises Grimes' work. It discusses the post-Roman structures and artefacts of the medieval defences, secular buildings (including evidence of Saxon London), parish churches, and a medieval hospital. Finally, these structures are put into a more contextual framework in a discussion of the dating and development of the street pattern of medieval Cripplegate. List of Illustrations vi Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations x Summary xi Resume xii Zusammenfassung xiii 1. War and peace Medieval archaeology after the Blitz 1 RMLEC excavations in Cripplegate 3 2. London Wall Revealing the City's medieval defences 9 City ditch, with Mike Webber 9 Pottery sequence from the City ditch at Cripplegate Buildings (WFG18) by Jacqueline Pearce 19 Bastions: Blla, B12, B13, B14 and B15 24 Discussion 30 City Defences viewed from Cripplegate 35 3. Houses and halls by Nathalie Cohen and Gustav Milne Secular medieval buildings in Cripplegate 37 Sunken-featured buildings at Addle Street 38 Sunken-featured buildings in the City 39 Town House: Neville's Inn by Nathalie Cohen 40 Brewers' Hall by Nathalie Cohen 45 Barber Surgeons' Hall by Nathalie Cohen 53 Company Halls 66 A settlement development pattern for medieval Cripplegate 66 4. Parish church Church archaeology in the City 69 St. Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury 70 St. Alban's, Wood Street by Natalie Cohen 86 St. Alphage and Elsing Spital 100 St. Mary Elsing 105 5. Townscape and topography Using RMLEC data for topographical studies 119 The archaeology of micro- and macro-topography 119 Saxon street plans 120 Fields and streets within the walls 120 Dating the Cripplegate streetscape 122 Churches and settlement expansion 126 The tradition of a Saxon palace at Cripplegate with Tony Dyson 127 Dating the wards 129 6. 'Si Monumentum Requiris, circumspice' Cripplegate's medieval monuments 133 Archaeology after the Blitz: excavation or evaluation? 133 Bibliography 137 Index 141 Excavations on bombsites between 1946 and 1968 uncovered remains of Saxon and medieval structures on top of a Roman fort. This well-illustrated volume is one of five to publish in full the results of these excavations by W F Grimes. In this volume Milne discusses the methodology of `archaeology after the Blitz' and reappraises Grimes' work and, in brief, the date of finds before reporting on the post-Roman archaeological discoveries. These include medieval defences, Saxon buildings, three parish churches and a medieval hospital. An excavation monograph on the post WWII W.F. Grimes' excavations in the bomb-damaged sites of the Cripplegate area of London between 1946 and 1968. It is a companion volume to the English Heritage post-excavation reports of archived materials from post-war excavations in London. Contains part of the archived material from excavations carried out between 1946 and 1968 in the Cripplegate area of London, the site of a Roman fort and later of medieval structures and artefacts.