Thomas Soane's buildings near Billingsgate,London, 1640–66

Abstract

Excavations at Billingsgate in the City of London in 1982 uncovered extensive remains of the 17th-century buildings of Botolph Wharf. Changes to the structures, and an exceptionally rich array of artefacts datable to 1620–66 (the Great Fire of London), are attributable to the tenancy of Thomas Soane, grocer, and later of his widow. The artefacts and buildings demonstrate differing domestic and warehouse uses just before the Fire, and complement the documentary record. When taken with plan evidence from the Treswell surveys of c. 1612, the excavations prompt discussion of how warehouses fitted into the configuration of buildings in the pre-Fire City.