ASE's investigations took place at Stepney Way between 2015 and 2019 in advance of the redevelopment of the site. Our team examined approximately 7,300m2 of archaeological stratigraphy, yielding huge finds assemblages and exciting discoveries. These tell a rich story of continuous change and reinvention over thousands of years, much like that of the wider environs of Whitechapel and east London. Our evidence includes
- Iron Age dwellings and fields
- A medieval manor
- The earliest purpose-built playhouse in Britain called the Red Lion Playhouse
- Georgian taverns including the White Raven
- Victorian houses
- Brewing and bottle making industries
Building work at the site is now complete comprising a mixed development of flats and commercial units called The Silk District, owned by housing association L&Q. It features public open spaces designed in reference to the archaeology that once lay beneath. ASE and project partners are continuing to use the discoveries at Whitechapel to build community projects and partnerships in the area.
PATTERNS exhibition @ UCL East Culture Lab
Patterns Beneath Our Feet tells the story of the Whitechapel excavation; the people, the buildings, the objects, from the past, present and future. It celebrates the exciting discoveries made during the dig, from lost 16th century playhouse the Red Lion, to 17th and 18th century inn assemblages possibly related to the White Raven tavern. The latter especially has important connections to the history of Black Londoners.
By working with community historians from East London, this project asked some wider questions about the public benefit of commercial archaeology and how archaeological sites are interpreted - and by whom.
Visit the displays of artefacts and stories at the UCL East Culture Lab, or scroll down for the online exhibition, featuring creative performances and more information.
Visit the exhibition
PATTERNS is open now on Wednesdays 1-4pm, the first Saturday of the month 11am-4pm, and by appointment.
Plan your visitRemember Us - Alim Kamara
The White Raven was one of the taverns from which members of London’s Black community began coerced journeys of resettlement to West Africa in 1786. Over 400 people sailed to the newly-established colony of Sierra Leone as part of a project arranged by an organisation calling themselves The Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor. It was a journey of intense hardship, which only 315 survived. British-Sierra Leonean storyteller Alim Kamara was inspired by their stories.
Tower Hamlets March - Anneke Scott
During the Whitechapel excavations ASE archaeologists discovered a copper-alloy mouthpiece for a French horn, dating to the second half of the 18th century. In this video, Anneke Scott, a leading exponent of historical horn playing, performs the Tower Hamlets March, a piece documented in an 18th-century horn tutor book. Could this have been a piece played at the multiple taverns in the area?
Red Lion Playhouse Reconstruction
What did the Red Lion Playhouse, the earliest purpose-built playhouse in England, look like? In this video we take you through the process of reconstruction, starting with the archaeological site plan. Working with lead archaeologist Stephen White and other specialists in historic buildings and early theatres, ASE Illustrator Hannah Faux built up the elements of the playhouse to create this 3D reconstruction.
Silk District Heritage Walk
Explore the Hidden Histories of the Silk District (as the site is now known) with our self paced walking tour! This short wander around the site stops at all the archaeologically sensitive landscaping and explores what once lay beneath. You can download the Heritage Walk below, with different versions depending if you want to print it as a leaflet or view it on a phone or tablet screen (digital).
Project Team
- Mercedes Baptiste Halliday, Co-Curator, artist, public archaeologist and engagement expert. Mercedes is founder of Black Archaeo, which aims to increase the engagement of urban Black and Brown people in archaeology, heritage, creative industries, ecology and natural spaces
- Dr Sarah Byrne, Co-Curator and Camella Ramjet, UCL Culture Lab (UCL East – Part of the School of cultural and creative industries)
- Sarah Wolferstan, Co-Curator, Archaeology South-East, drawing on the expertise of the entire team at ASE especially Elke Raemen, Hannah Faux and Stephen White
- Harry Cumberbatch and Fabian Tompsett, representing the Tower Hamlets Afro-Caribbean Mental Health Organisation, the Communities of Liberation project, as well as Newnham African and Caribbean Heritage Reference Group.
- Dorothy du Boulay, representing the Communities of Liberation Steering Group
- Alim Kamara, founder of international storytelling organisation Storie Storie
- Susana Parker, archaeological consultant
- Anneke Scott, musician, scholar, teacher and leading exponent of historical horn playing
- Richard Nevell, Wikimedia
- Sanjida Alam and Tamsin Bookey, LBTH Local History Library and Archives
- Staff from the LBTH Ideas Store and Global Engagement team
- Historic England – GLAAS and HER team
- L&Q, Mount Anvil – the developers and owners of the site
- Northeastern University: Libby Collard and Renee Landell, Mapping Black London and London Counter Tenor Project
- ArchaeoTheatre Collective: led by Dr. Callan Davies, University of Southampton, Prof. Catherine Richardson University of East Anglia, Heather Knight MoLA, Grant Cox of ArtasMedia, Ben Blyth Theatre Director, Performer, Scholar, University of Caglary, Laurie Johnson, University of Southern Queensland.
- Claire Murphy, professional storyteller and facilitator.
- BA Students from Archaeology, Institute of the Americas, Law and School of Slavonic and East European Studies
- Elly, Elizabeth and Sam, MA/MSc students from the Digital Humanities master's programme
- Dr Johanna Zetterstrom Sharp, Associate Professor in Heritage Studies
- Dr Rachel King, Associate Professor of Cultural Heritage Studies
- Dr Adam Crymble, Associate Professor in Digital Humanities, Department for Information Studies
- Dr Adam Harris, Associate Professor in Development Politics, Department of Political Science, Faculty lead for Access and student success
- Jo Baines, Academic Liaison Librarian / Archivist and Wiki data Champion LCCOS
- Widening Participation and Student Success Team
- Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences EDI team
Publications
- White, S, 2020 Introducing the excavation at Stepney Way, Whitechapel, London Archaeologist, 15(12), pp. 34-349
- White, S, 2020 Finding the Red Lion: the latest on the earliest playhouse found in Whitechapel, London Archaeologist, 16(2), pp. 44-46
- White, S, & Rayner, L, 2024 A Middle Iron Age Settlement in Whitechapel: Excavations on Stepney Way, London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Transactions, 74, pp. 35-62
- Baptiste Halliday, M, du Boulay, D, Cumberbatch, H, Tomsett, F & Wolferstan, S, 2025 Theatres of Resistance: buried stories and black radicalism at London’s earliest playhouses and tavern, British Archaeology, 203, pp.19–27
- Wolferstan, S, In press Community Archaeology in Whitechapel, London Archaeologist
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