Oakford Archaeology was commissioned by the current owners to undertake a desk-based assessment and heritage statement of No. 126 Stonhouse Street, Clapham in the London Borough of Lambeth. The aim of the assessment was to define the archaeological potential of the site. The information will be used by the Greater London Archaeological Advisory Officer to Lambeth Council to determine the archaeological potential of the site and subsequently the scope of any further archaeological investigation. The desk-based assessment has established that there is evidence for prehistoric activity and findspots within the study area, although these do not represent clearly defined settlement or industries. Any new evidence would be considered informative at local or regional level and therefore of medium to high Significance. However, given the limited representation of such material within the immediate environs of the site itself, the potential for survival of similar assets within the site is considered to be low. Despite the proximity to the London to Chichester Roman Road and its Archaeological Priority Area (APA), the very limited evidence of Romano-British activity recovered to date within the study area, suggests there is low potential for the recovery of archaeological material of this period. However, any Romano-British activity recovered would be considered informative at local or regional level and therefore of medium to high significance. The site lies immediately to the southeast of the historic core of the medieval settlement of Clapham and therefore within its APA. Numerous materials of early-medieval and later medieval date have been recovered within the study area, though the site appears to have been located on the eastern edge of the Medieval settlement, in an area likely given over to agricultural activity until at least the end of the 18th century. However, its proximity to the medieval settlement, from which Clapham grew out of, and the number of medieval activities identified within the study area, suggest that the potential for recovery of further such finds is of medium potential. It is considered that the location of the site outside the medieval village core, would render these to be of local and low to medium significance. The site lies in an area that saw extensive development over the course of the late 18th and 19th centuries and has remained occupied since. The current building is of mid-19th century date with extensions in the late 19th century. Any archaeological evidence would probably relate to foundations associated to the post-medieval development of the site and therefore be considered as only locally informative and of low significance. However, given the extensive representation of material from these periods within the immediate vicinity, the potential for survival of similar assets within the site is considered to be high. Given the proximity to the historic medieval core of Clapham and its APA, alongside the relative proximity to the London to Chichester Roman Road and its APA, it is considered likely that the Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service (GLAAS), the archaeological advisors to London Borough of Lambeth, will require an archaeological watching brief undertaken as a condition of planning permission in order to record the nature and state of preservation of any below ground archaeological deposits within the site. Archaeological desk-based assessment and Heritage Statement of No. 126 Stonhouse Street, Clapham, London Borough of Lambeth
Steinmetzer et al. (Wed,) studied this question.