'A State of Things Which Ought Not to be Permitted': Excavation of 19th-century slums (Bull Yard, Horn Yard, Swan Yard and Market Alley) surrounding Bank Street at 'The Charter', Gravesend

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 Circumstances of the project
  • 1.2 Overview
  • 1.3 Prehistoric to medieval
  • 1.4 Finds
  • 1.5 Initial development
  • 1.6 Phasing
  • 1.7 Bricks and mortar
  • 1.8 Trade directories
• 2. 'That Elysium, Market Alley' (Gravesend Reporter, 13 November 1858)
• 3. Crime
• 4. Sanitary Provision. 'Every preparation is made for the incubation and fostering of… diseases. … one of the worst plague spots in the town' (Gravesend and Dartford Reporter, 12 July 1879)
• 5. Swan Yard. 'A very uncomfortable place to live in' (words of the mayor reported in the Gravesend and Northfleet Standard, 14 September 1905)
  • 5.1 Fire. 'A splendid opportunity for speculators to improve the town' (Gravesend and Dartford Reporter, 12 July 1879)
• 6. Bank Street
• 7. Coach Manufactory
  • 7.1 Elder Robert Gates and William Izzard Gates
  • 7.2 Louisa Gates senior
  • 7.3 Trust
  • 7.4 Louisa Miles, Mayoress of Lewes
  • 7.5 'Bobby' Gates
  • 7.6 Robert John Adams Gates
• 8. Horn Yard
  • 8.1 Ice
• 9. Bull Yard
  • 9.1 Foundry
• 10. Crooked Lane
• 11. Queen Street
• 12. Conclusions
• Acknowledgements

Figure 1: Site location

Figure 1b: Excavation results compared to 1866 Ordnance Survey town plan (interactive map)

Figure 2: Plan of discrete features in Trench 2

Figure 3: Group shot of pits 229 and 237 and postholes 231 and 235. 1 x 1m scale. View from south-east

Figure 4: Excavation results overlaid on 1840 tithe map

Figure 5: Excavation results overlaid on 1866 Ordnance Survey town plan

Figure 6: Clickable map of thoroughfares within the site

Figure 7: Extract from the Gravesend and Dartford Reporter, 12 July 1879. The British Newspaper Archive is © The British Library Board, reproduced by kind permission.

Figure 8: Excavation results overlaid on 1909 Ordnance Survey map

Figure 9: Excavation results overlaid on 1932 Ordnance Survey map

Figure 10: Plan of cesspits, wells and tanks

Figure 11: Cesspit 1027. 1 x 1m scale. View from south

Figure 12: Cellars north of Bank Street (1178, 1179=308, 1168 etc.) with well 1174 in foreground. View from west

Figure 13: Tank 1016. 1 x 1m scale. View from north-east

Figure 14: Cellar 1005=808 showing unusual concrete lining. 1 x 0.8m scale, 2 x 1m scales and 1 x 2m scale. View from east

Figure 15: Staircase accessing cellar 1050 with treads removed. 1 x 1m scale. View from south

Figure 16: Cobble surface 814 surrounded by walls 811 and 812. 1 x 2m scale. View from west

Figure 17: Cellar 1042. 1 x 1m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from west

Figure 18: Cellar 1240. 2 x 1m scales, 2 x 2m scales. View from south

Figure 19: Coal chute, part of 1062. 1 x 1m scale. View from north

Figure 20: Staircase 1066. 1 x 1m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from east

Figure 21: Pit 1188 and associated brick-lined structure. 1 x 1m scale. View from north

Figure 22: Excavation results overlaid on 1955 Ordnance Survey map

Figure 23: Working shot. In left of shot, cellars fronting Bank Street (1167, 1168, 1178, 1179=308 and 1182) with yard surface 1165 and wall 1166 in foreground. In right of shot, yard surfaces (1171, 1176 etc.) with house foundations 1169 and 1181 in foreground. 1 x 0.5m scale, 2 x 1m scales, 1 x 2m scale. View from east

Figure 24: Figure 24: Cellar 1167 and 1168 partially excavated. 2 x 2m scales. View from west

Figure 25: Coach works front range 1102 and 1103 (also cesspit/well 1092). 1 x 1m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from east

Figure 26: Coach works east range cellars 1127 and 1129 (in foreground). View from north-east

Figure 27: Machine base 1077 within larger construction cut 1078. 1 x 0.5m scale, 1 x 1m scale. View from north

Figure 28: Cellar 1101 (8 Bank Street). 1 x 1m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from south

Figure 29: Wall 1094 at rear of 8 Bank Street. 1 x 1m scale. View from north

Figure 30: Foundation 1238. 1 x 1m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from north

Figure 31: Cellar 1220 on Bull Yard square. 1 x 1m scale. View from east

Figure 32: Cellars 1135 and 1148 (centre left of shot) with 20th-century surface of Bull Yard (centre right). 2 x 0.5m scales, 2 x 1m scales, 2 x 2m scales. View from east

Figure 33: Cellars 1237 of terrace north of Bull Yard. 2 x 0.5m scales, 1 x 2m scale. View from east

Figure 34: Extension 1139 (yellow brick) with main terrace 1140 (red brick) on right. 1 x 1m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from south

Figure 35: Surfaces of Bull Yard, including cobblestones 1221 (centre). 1 x 1m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from east

Figure 36: Red brick wall 1203/1210 replaced by unusual granite sett and Portland cement wall 1204. 1 x 0.5m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from north-west

Figure 37: Yellow brick surface 1213, red brick wall 1210 and later textured concrete surface 1211. 1 x 1m scale. View from east

Figure 38: Cellar 1033 on Queen Street. 1 x 1m scale and 1 x 2m scale. View from south-east

Figure 39: Cellars 1036=1112 and 1113-1117 fronting Queen Street. 1 x 1m scale, 2 x 2m scales. View from south

Figure 40: Cellar 1112 excavated to floor, showing concrete repair to stairs. 2 x 2m scales. View from south-east

Figure 41: Coal chute in cellar wall 1113. 1 x 0.5m scale, 1 x 2m scale. View from we

Figure 42: Privy 1084. 1 x 0.5m scale, 1 x 1m scale. View from south

Figure 43: Cellars 1119-1121. 2 x 2m scales. View from north

Table 1: Number of households recorded by census

Table 2: Identified newspaper references to selected categories of crime committed with the site or by residents of the site

Table 3: Cesspits and wells