Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks, Newham, London

Client: Pre-Construct Archaeology for Temple Group

Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks was developed on a 170-acre site at Bow Creek, beside the River Lea, between 1871 and 1882. It was Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company’s largest gasworks, comprising a group of nine gasholders and a valve house. During WWII (1939-45), two gasholders suffered significant damage. The gasworks closed in 1976 but its gasholders continued to store gas until were final decommissioning in 2012. Seven standing gasholders became Grade II listed buildings in 1984.

St William Homes LLP plan a comprehensive redevelopment of the site to provide a mixed-use development. The proposed works include the dismantling, restoration and reassembly of the gasholders, together with the provision of public open space and landscaping, parking and servicing arrangements, sustainable energy measures, the formation of new pedestrian and vehicular access routes and other site preparation works.

Our work included preparation of an archaeological desk-based assessment and the Archaeology chapter of the planning application’s Environmental Statement. Supported by a geoarchaeological deposit model, our desk-based research determined that the principal archaeological interests of the site lay in the geoarchaeology of the Lea Valley floor and the below-ground remains of the gasholder tanks. The former comprises a high gravel surface, possibly an intervening gravel bar within the floodplain. Similar locations have proved foci for human activity during the prehistoric period. The latter comprises the below-ground remains of the gasholders. These may incorporate arches between piers in the front face, as used in railway retaining walls, as well as the use of mass concrete faced with brick. Another area of possible interest on the site would be any remains of post-medieval river defences, and structures which may have been associated with the pioneering Abbey Marsh Congreve Rocket Works.

Our assessment of impacts on the known and possible archaeological remains relied on a bespoke in-house 3D model in which all available sources of information were combined. This allowed us to accurately determine the level of previous impacts, and the interfaces between the proposed development, the identified archaeological assets and the principal strata.

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