In 1999 PCA undertook an archaeological excavation in advance of a development by St James Homes, on Narrow Street in the Limehouse area of London. Our excavations revealed pits and gullies of Bronze Age date, Iron Age pottery and a Roman ditch, periods not previously identified at in the area. However, the most extensive and interesting discoveries were those of much later date: a late 15th-century brick clamp, which demonstrated the site was still open ground at this time, and the remains of the brick-built houses which covered the street frontage by the early 17th century. These proved to be former properties of people deeply immersed in piracy and privateering; the associated pits and ditches, particularly those of 17th-century date, were filled with pottery, glass and other objects, a significant proportion of which originated in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Iran and China. Many of the examples recovered have otherwise rarely if ever been found in Britain.
The site thus provided a fascinating window into London’s expansion into a prosperous maritime centre during the 17th century, shedding light on an era of exploration, global trade and the pursuit of wealth and adventure.
General view of the excavations at Narrow Street.
A late medieval clamp dated by archaeomagnetic techniques to 1465-85; the scorching of the ploughsoil was the result of firing bricks.
The economic importance of Limehouse began to increase from the mid-14th century, when shipbuilding grew in importance. Ships were constructed there for Edward III and Henry IV and a dock was built in 1401. The provisioning of ships provided employment, particularly in the meat industry; cattle were grazed on the marshes before being dispatched and the meat salted in barrels. However, the ineffectiveness of the river defences deterred the development of settlement to the east of Limehouse in the late medieval period. Royal commissions to review and repair the river wall are known to have operated from 1298 onward, implying that river defences of some sort were already in existence. Floods were frequent in the Stepney area, the most catastrophic being a breach that occurred in March 1448, which flooded 1,000 acres. Flooding continued to be a problem until the establishment of an effective river wall in the late 16th century.
Stow, writing in the 1590s, comments on the ribbon development along the line of the Thames from the Tower of London through Wapping to Limehouse. He further states that “Radcliffe itselfe hath been also encreased in building eastward (in place where I have knowne a large high way, with fayre Elme trees on both sides) that the same hath now taken hold of Lime Hurst, Lime Host, corruptly called Lime house, sometime distant a mile from Radcliffe … But of late years shipwrights and (for the most part) other marine men, have builded many large and strong houses for themselves, and smaller for Saylers, from thence almost to Poplar, and so to Blake wal.“
Documentary sources suggest that settlement expanded eastward rapidly following the establishment of an effective river wall. Houses crowded along both sides of Narrow Street in the 17th century, appearing on the maps of Faithorne and Newcourt in 1658 and Gascoigne in 1703. Shipbuilding continued to be the dominant trade of the Limehouse waterfront in the 17th and 18th centuries, and through its wharves and shipyards, the connections of Limehouse stretched out into a whole world of trade and empire. Many of the voyages of discovery of the late 16th century began at Limehouse. In May 1553 Sir Hugh Willoughby and Richard Chancellor set off from here to find the Northeast Passage to Cathay, and established trade with Russia through Archangel. In June 1576 Martin Frobisher sailed to find the Northwest Passage. In 1589 William Burrough, Comptroller of the Navy and a Limehouse resident, equipped another fleet for Frobisher. John Davis sailed from Limehouse to America, and William Adams to Japan.
The mid-17th century was the period of greatest prosperity for the seafarers of Limehouse. This was reflected in the replacement of smaller timber-framed houses with more substantial masonry structures. The residents of Narrow Street, particularly those of the mid-17th century, were undoubtedly some of the most prosperous of east London at that time. The acquisition of exotic pottery gathered pace dramatically, and the archaeological record paints a picture of meals served on exquisite Mediterranean tableware, and wine sipped from glasses sourced from renowned production centres of the time, including Venice and the Netherlands.
The basement of one of many brick-built houses. Research established that many of these were occupied by sea captains.
The backfilled cess and rubbish pits contained a remarkable assemblage of the highest quality pottery and glass.
By the middle of the 17th century large town houses were being built along the north side of Narrow Street. The Hearth Tax assessments relevant to the site frequently mention houses containing four hearths, and some of the larger dwellings were equipped with seven to eleven. This contrasts markedly with the situation of some contemporary inner east London boroughs where houses had an average of only 2.7 hearths. It is apparent that the inhabitants enjoyed a more comfortable lifestyle than that which could be expected for an area which 50 years previously had been little more than a riverside hamlet. Their conspicuous wealth was beyond that of ordinary merchant seamen and any but the highest echelons of the emergent Navy, and few English merchants prospered as they did.
The acquisition of high-quality tin-glazed tableware was a noteworthy phenomenon, observed among English sea captains residing in New England, including some with origins in east London. This penchant for fine tableware appeared to be common among the privateers of Limehouse, who shared a similar milieu. It is likely that the Caribbean, North America, and the Portuguese Atlantic possessions served as the primary sources for the Mediterranean imports discovered at Narrow Street.
During this period, privateer captains and merchant adventurers, taking advantage of political and religious differences between Spain and other European powers in the 16th and 17th centuries, operated in two main areas: the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean. Documentary research has linked individuals in and around the excavated area to both regions. The early success of the East India Company was short-lived, as Dutch competition and the hazards of Far East voyages reduced its profitability. As a result, English expansion in the Caribbean and the settlement of North America seemed more appealing. These ventures offered shorter journeys, more welcoming ports, and almost guaranteed rewards.
Life as a privateer was undeniably perilous, but it presented a more attractive option than serving in the Navy, where discipline was exceedingly harsh, and rewards were minimal. Those who chose the privateer’s life enjoyed greater autonomy, freely entering into contracts for their ventures.
The existence of identifiable, closed communities of pirates and privateers, as seen at Narrow Street, has been recognized previously. These communities had a distinct social structure with recognisable subcultures, where social connections and family ties were the norm. Geographically defined areas where these communities interacted formed the foundation for an international network of such groups. This network played a pivotal role in the success of pirate, buccaneer, and privateer activities from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Some of these core communities, such as those in Tortuga, Jamaica, the Caymans, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone, are well-documented. Consequently, the Limehouse area in the 17th century can now be viewed as a part of this pattern and a constituent of this network.
The site today. While Narrow Street may no longer be the stomping grounds for privateers and adventurers, it remains an intriguing blend of the past and the present.
The pottery
The remarkable pottery assemblage has no parallels in 17th-century England, and the range of the assemblage is atypical of most London assemblages. Some imports such as the Rhenish stoneware and French Martincamp flasks are predictable for the period, but the frequency of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese wares is striking. Smaller, but no less significant, quantities of pottery produced in China, South-East Asia, Persia and Turkey are indicative of the widest possible international links with Limehouse.
The assemblage from the site reveals a sustained appreciation for specific foreign fashions and fits in with the material culture of mariners known for appreciating showy items. The extensive use of foreign crockery and glassware was not confined to a single household, nor was it a short-lived occurrence. Numerous neighbouring families engaged in similar activities, collectively exhibiting a preference for these ‘exotic’ items for over a century. Obtaining such exotic items would have been challenging and costly for the average English household of the time, assuming they were even interested in acquiring them.
The identification of a ware produced in the Caribbean is unparalleled in England and may indicate the most probable area from which much of the pottery was sourced possibly through piracy, besides other means, to meet a localised demand for showy colourful ceramics. Eclectic ceramic assemblages of this composition have seldom been found in England and when collections with such similarities to that of Narrow Street do occur they are invariably associated with ports. The 529 sherds of Italian pottery recorded at Narrow Street, representing 247 MNVs (minimum number of vessels), cannot be matched by any other London excavation, and it is significant that Narrow Street produced more pieces of Persian, Iznik and Martabani jars than the combined excavations of Castle Street in Plymouth, an assemblage of more than 60,000 sherds.
