Rotherhithe Palace

Has been described as a Certain Palace (Royal)

There are no visible remains

NameRotherhithe Palace
Alternative NamesPlatform Wharf
Historic CountrySurrey
Modern AuthorityLondon Borough of Southwark
1974 AuthorityGreater London
Civil ParishBermondsey Rotherhithe And Southwark

The site is on the South bank of the Thames with Cathey Street to the E, Paradise Street to the S and the Millpond Estate to the W. Documentary research, including "The King's Works", shows this site to be that of the Moated Royal Residence known to have been built in Rotherhithe for Edward III by 1361. At the beginning of this century substantial remains of a 5m high medieval stone wall were uncovered on this site. There is documentary evidence for use of the site as a Delft Ware pottery in the C17 with large dump of pottery waste/kiln furniture and associated industrial structures. Trial excavation from July 1986 to January 1987 by the Department of Greater London Archaeology has revealed substantial remains of the stone walls of the Inner Court building (a rectangular structure 30m x 30m with walls 1m thick and a tower at the NW corner), surrounded by an 8m wide moat with remains of a timber bridge, and the division of the Inner Court into small apartments or chambers. Wall survive to a height of window sills and tiled floors have also been found. In the NE corner of the Inner Court the tiled floor was found to overlay at least four earlier medieval surfaces on natural sandy clay of local extraction and containing several sherds of unbraded Roman pottery. "The King's Works" described the Outer Court as being S of the Moat and part of the eastern bank surrounding it has been revealed in excavation together with evidence, from a test pit, of medieval timber buildings. Remains of the C17 Delft Ware pottery have been uncovered in the Inner and Outer Court including two possible kilns and a very large and important dump of Delft pottery in the moat. (Greater London HER)

Gatehouse Comments

Work commenced on this palace in 1349 and Edward III spent considerable time here for the rest of his reign (although not as much after the building was finished). Despite this this was a small palace. The start date of construction suggests this may have been built as a retreat from the Black Death and the smaller recurrent outbreaks and the small size may reflect the difficulty even the king had in obtaining skilled labour after 1348.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceTQ348797
Latitude51.500171661377
Longitude-0.0593400001525879
Eastings534800
Northings179700
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • < >Blatherwick, S. et al, 2009, 'Rotherhithe' in Simon Blathwick and Richard Bluer, Great houses, moats and mills on the south bank of the Thames: medieval and Tudor Southwark and Rotherhithe (Museum of London Archaeology Monograph 47) p. 4-48 < >
  • Emery, Anthony, 2006, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 3 Southern England (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 246
  • Hinton, Peter (ed), 1988, Excavations in Southwark 1973-76; Lambeth 1973-79 (Museum of London Department of Greater London Archaeology no.3) p. 484
  • Colvin, H.M., 1986, 'Royal Gardens in Medieval England' in Elisabeth MacDougall (ed) Medieval Gardens (Washington D.C.) p. 15
  • Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works Vol. 2: the Middle Ages (London: HMSO) p. 989-994

Journals

  • < >Norton, E., 1988, 'The moated manor house at Platform Wharf' London Archaeology Vol. 5.15 p. 395-401 < > online copy
  • Evans, Sarah Jane, 1987 July, 'Rotherhithe's Royal Palace' History Today Vol. 37.7 p. 3-4
  • 1987, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1986' Medieval Archaeology Vol. 31 p. 132 online copy
  • Richardson, B. (ed), 1987, 'Excavation Round-up' London Archaeologist Vol. 5.10 p. 276-7 online copy
  • 1986, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1985' Medieval Archaeology Vol. 30 p. 143 online copy
  • Richardson, B. (ed), 1986, 'Excavation Round-up' London Archaeologist Vol. 5.6 p. 163 online copy
  • Norman, P., 1907, 'Remains of an ancient building at Rotherhithe' Surrey Archaeological Collections Vol. 20 p. 132-42 online copy