Thames discovery programme

Chiswick FHL20
The zone is approximately 485m long and 109m wide at its greatest extent. It
includes Chiswick Ait (an island at high tide). There is good access to the
foreshore via the recently repaired Church causeway, and the slipway
adjacent to the Mall (opposite the Ait). The ground conditions on the site are
generally firm and very safe but the surface undulates considerably across
the site.

archaeological and historical background

prehistoric
The earliest evidence of human activity in the vicinity dates to the Neolithic period, from
excavations to the south-west of the zone, where pits and gullies containing Peterborough ware
and flint artefacts were discovered during 1989-95. In the immediate area, further evidence for
Neolithic activity has been recovered in the form of a large number of lithic artefacts from the
foreshore at Chiswick Ait. Bronze Age weaponry has also been recovered from riverine
contexts. These discoveries suggest significant prehistoric activity in Chiswick.

roman
There is little Roman activity in the vicinity of the site. The main Roman road running west from
Londinium, the Silchester road, passed through Notting Hill, Holland Park and Goldhawk Road,
well to the north of the river, also a smaller road has been traced as running from Ludgate to
Hammersmith. Evidence for Roman use of the immediate area is limited to a single pit,
ceramics recovered from the foreshore at Chiswick Ait and a coin found at Black Lion Lane.
The antiquarian Montagu Sharpe enthusiastically postulated the presence of a Roman temple
on the site of the medieval parish church, based on the discovery of part of a quern and some
tiles nearby, however there is no archaeological evidence to support this.

early medieval
Burial evidence together with artefacts recovered from riverine contexts indicates a Saxon
presence in the local area. Artefacts from the Thames include examples of weaponry,
including a shield boss, swords and spearheads. Although Chiswick is not mentioned in the
Domesday Book of 1086, it is possible that a settlement of reasonable size existed during this
period. Place-names containing the element wic (OE wic - a dwelling, a building or collection of
buildings for special purposes) have a noteworthy distribution. Chiswick, Lundenwic, Greenwich
and Woolwich are all located on the outer curve of a river-bend and are thus clearly visible to
ships and boats travelling up and down the river. A high degree of visibility and regular spacing
along the river may suggest that these settlements were specifically sited to exploit the
topography and to provide a function in the local area, potentially as centres of trade, a function
clearly evidenced by Lundenwic, Bede’s ‘mart of many nations’. Place-name evidence also
indicates a variety of agricultural and commercial activities, such as at Chiswick, the ‘cheese
making dairy farm’. The name Chiswick first occurs c. 1000, when probably the whole parish
formed part of the estates of St. Paul's.

later medieval
While documentary evidence demonstrates activity in the area during the later medieval period
(particularly relating to fishing), there is little excavated evidence for occupation in Chiswick
during this period. However, the Grade II* listed parish church dates to the medieval period and
is dedicated to St Nicholas, the patron saint of fishermen and sailors. A description of the
church dating to 1705 notes several different phases of construction, including rebuilds dating
to the 15th century (tower and chancel surviving in 1845), mid 17th century brick rebuild of
nave and that the lower parts of the north wall are built of flint and chalk, suggesting a date of
construction during the 12th or 13th century. The church was largely rebuilt in 1882-84, but the
15th century tower of the church survives and the GLSMR records other medieval houses and
an inn. The importance of the church in relationship to the river is clearly shown at Chiswick,
where the causeway is aligned with the east-end of the church. Although this structure is not
datable to the medieval period, its presence and the street pattern of the rest of the village
suggest a long history for the alignment. The location and alignment of the causeway is also
significant with regard to its use as a landing place for the ferry, which crossed the Thames
here. Foot ferries at Old Chiswick and Kew were mentioned in 1659 and presumably had long
been in use, since there were no medieval bridges over the Thames in Middlesex. There was
no other bridge nearer than Fulham in 1826, however, and Chiswick ferry was still used in the
1890s. The settlement apparently grew up immediately east of the church, and away from the
river. Church Street ran northward from the ferry, with a continuation across open fields, which
lay between the village and the high road to London and Brentford. A little to the east of Church
Street and close to the river stood a stone building of c. 1100, the oldest known part of the
prebendal manor house (later College House). Presumably that building and its neighbours
were reached by a road leading eastward from the ferry along the river bank, (the forerunner of
Chiswick Mall), although it is not clear how far the medieval road extended.

post medieval
Riverside settlements were fashionable as rural retreats for wealthier members of society and
the area had offered a country retreat for Henry VI, and later for prelates in the 15th century
and for courtiers and the scholars of Westminster from the 16th. By 1706 its 'sweet air and
situation' had brought it many noble seats, although it was after the building of Chiswick House
that it became most popular. In common with other Thames-side villages Chiswick saw a
number of large riverside mansions constructed, such as the Grade I listed Walpole House
(16th / 17th century). Most of the houses formed a ribbon along the riverfront, stretching from
the church to the parish boundary, and there were handsome buildings in Church Street.
Chiswick Eyot was unoccupied and used for the cultivation of osiers. The remains of a jetty on
the island, probably used to load osiers, survive. From the early 17th to the 19th centuries the
village was known as Chiswick town or simply as 'the town'. The description perhaps served to
distinguish its more elegant part from a cluster of riverside cottages forming the western end of
the village, and known by 1723-4 as Sluts Hole (by 1865, it was called Fisherman's Corner).
Surviving houses recall the wealth of 18th century residents, as do historic prints and drawings
of the period. The built up riverside had an almost urban appearance, although the name Mall
was perhaps not adopted until the early 19th century.

Despite much rebuilding, the village spread very little between the mid 18th and late 19th
centuries. Chiswick Mall houses retained large back gardens in the 1860s, when they also had
their existing plots along the riverside verge. Changes in the village itself arose mainly from
industry: the Griffin brewery had expanded beside Chiswick Lane, the Lamb brewery had
grown up off Church Street, and the cottages made way for the workshops of Thornycroft and
Co., the shipbuilders. Brewing, in the late 20th century perhaps still the best known local
activity, was among the earliest, with its origins in the late medieval period. The river, providing
access and an outlet for waste, played a large part in the growth of brewing and of later factory
industries. Thomas Mawson had opened his brewery (the Griffin, later part of the Fullers
complex) near the foot of Chiswick Lane, c. 1700 and the brewery's Red Lion, perhaps the only
inn facing the river, had been licensed by 1722. The inn stood close to a draw dock, where
barges were still unloaded in the late 19th century. The late 19th century saw the village joined
by housing both to the suburbs along the high road and to the western districts of
Hammersmith. Its declining importance as a centre of parish life was accelerated by its
remoteness from the railways and by the rise of new suburbs, with their own services. Old
Chiswick thus became a residential backwater, varied by some thriving industry. The departure
of Thornycrofts, completed by 1909, perhaps secured the village's future as a residential area.
The north corner of Church Street was demolished in the 1930s, when part of Burlington Lane
became Great Chertsey Road, and further demolitions accompanied work on Hogarth Lane
and Mawson Lane in the 1950s. Heavy traffic along the widened roads helped to cut off the old
village from the suburbs inland.
A101 Artefact Flint flake. Black. In shingle close to undergrowth
A102 Artefact Oyster shell from 'cliff' face’ A118.
A103 Artefact scatter Clay pipe. stem. x 6. 1 bowl, 1 sherd pottery, glazed.
A104 Deposit Peat/organic clay.100 x 80mm. Probably = A117.
A105 Artifact scatter Ceramic. Pottery rim sherd, reddish glaze. From cliff face A118.
A106 Deposit Tufa. 2 pieces from A108 and 2 from adjacent area.
A107 Forest Peat/organic clay.With wood c. 40 - 90mm diam. 7.0 x 5.0m Probably a continuation of FHM01 A101
A108 Deposit Gravel. Pebbles, containing tufa, cemented with orange sand.
A109 Drain Outfall.
A110 Riverfront defence Granite kerb stones.
A111 Riverfront defence Ashlar stone. Chiswick side.
A112 Jetty/wharf Timber. Jetty/wharf.
A113 Riverfront defence Erosion protection. Wattle hurdle. Modern.
A114 Timbers Scatter. Nautical timbers. Boatyard?
A115 Structure (unclassified) Riverfront defence? Bargebed? Timber Vertical planks.
A116 Artefact scatter Building material. Brick/stone. Failed defence?
A117 Deposit Peat/organic clay. same as A104. 18.0 x 3.0m.
A118 Artefact scatter Clay pipe. stems 1 190mm long.
A119 Deposit Peat/organic clay. 'Cliff' around ait.
A120 Hard Stone. Chiswick Wharf.
A121 Furniture Railing. Chiswick Mall.
A122 Access Stair. Stone. To Chiswick Wharf.
A123 Access Causeway. Church Lane. Probably Medieval access point.
A124 Structure (unclassified) Timber. Vertical posts adjacent to A123.
A125 Bargebed Timber revetment.
A126 Structure (unclassified) Riverfront defence? Timber. Posts. Adjacent to A127.
A127 Riverfront defence. Timber revetment
A128 Riverfront defence. Timber revetment
A129 Riverfront defence. Timber revetment
A130 Hard Hard. Concrete bag.
A131 Access Causeway. Rubble. Modern.
A132 Access Causeway. Rubble. Modern.
A133 Structure (unclassified) Timber. 12 small stakes. No apparent pattern
A134 Drain Pipe. Metal in concrete.
A135 Drain Modern drain with concrete surround
A136 Revetment Stone hard with timber revetment
A137 Structure? 3 eroded timber posts at low water