Monument MPM1955 - Quay Wall, Old Gunwharf

Sections of the Quay Wall to the Old and New Gunwharf and walls thought to have been buttresses to the same observed during the redevelopment of Gunwharf Quays 1998-1999.

A watching brief undertaken during the redevelopment of Gunwharf in 1998 and 1999 recorded sections of the Old and New Gunwharf quay walls. The old walls were constructed 1709-1715 and the new walls 1797-1809. A polygon showing the broad area within which the walls were observed has been recorded, rather than points for the location of each discovery, as the latter was not clear from the archaeological report. Further sections of quay wall were recorded in 2002 (see MPM1661).

Sections of both quay walls were observed on several occasions during the early part of the watching brief. The Old Gunwharf wall was slightly battered and faced with large blocks of Portland stone. Sections of fender pile were observed in front of the wall. The New Gunwharf walls were faced with Portland stone and capped with granite blocks. The walls had a rubble core and had been built on a timber lattice overlying wooden piles. The excavation of the quay wall near the Mill Pond exposed the back filling of the pond. [1]

Substantial sections of the quay wall were revealed on the northern edge of Old Gunwharf. In one section where an extensive length of the back of the wall was exposed, three courses of large stone blocks with a granite capping were observed. Part of the rear of the wall had been truncated by a brick structure, the function of which was not established. At the eastern end of the northern edge of Old Gunwharf a short section of wall on a north-south alignment was observed. This had been constructed using large blocks of roughly cut stone with a rubble core and a section of timber could be seen at its base. This may have been a buttress to the Quay Wall, but it was not possible to establish its relationship to the latter as the back of the wall had been cut by the construction of another wall (Seacant Wall). [2]

The remains of walls interpreted as 12 buttresses to the Quay Wall were also revealed. The walls were observed at regular intervals to the rear of the quay wall and ran at right angles to it. They were interpreted as buttresses, but it was not possible to establish the exact relationship between the two as the quay wall had been cut by the insertion of the Seacant Wall. Internally the walls had been constructed from a timber platform surrounded by rubble. This had been sealed by an outer layer of limestone blocks 0.5m long x c0.4m high. The walls sat on a raft of timber latticework. Two types of walls were identified; a single wall with a square profile surviving between 1.2m and 4m above the timber rafts and between 1.2m and 1.4m in length; a pair of parallel walls with a rectangular profile which survived between 2.3m and 5m in height above the timber raft and c4m in length. The parallel walls projected much further than the single walls. It was thought the walls had been exposed to the elements rather than having been set in trenches and backfilled, as there were signs of heavy concretions in places. Blocks of wood set into the corner of one of the walls suggested it may have been repaired. [2]

A length of quay wall was removed prior to construction of the first stage of the new Ariadne car park. This wall was part of the south line of the wall to Old Gunwharf and also formed the north wall of the Vernon Basin. It had been constructed in two styles. Large blocks had been laid in varying thicknesses of courses at the west end, whereas smaller blocks laid in a more regular course thickness had been used in the upper four courses at the east end. The wall had been damaged where the east and west ends met but there was evidence in the upper courses that it had been rebuilt. Three masons marks were observed on one course of the west end of the wall. [2]

<1> Gifford and Partners, 1999, Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth: Interim Report on Archaeological Watching brief (Unpublished document). SPM552.

<2> Gifford and Partners, 2000, Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth Results of the Archaeological Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SPM550.