Monument Type(s):

• WHARF (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1066 AD to 1901 AD)
• QUAY (17th century to Early 20th century (pre-war) - 1608 AD to 1913 AD)

Summary

Waterfront activity at Frankwell has probably been carried on since the early Norman period. Burghley's map of 1575 shows structures which are probably timber jetties both upstream and downstream of the old Welsh Bridge. A stone quay was constructed in 1608.

Related records

Associated Finds

• FSA1814 - TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• FSA393 - VESSEL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• FSA1917 - WORKED OBJECT (Medieval - 1066 AD? to 1540 AD?)

Associated Events

• ESA2012 - 1993 evaluation of proposed flood alleviation scheme at Frankwell and Greyfriars by Giffords
• ESA4628 - 1994 WB on geotechnical trial pits for proposed flood alleviation scheme at Frankwell
• ESA4789 - 2000 Desk Based Assessment of Frankwell Quay by Nigel Baker
• ESA5879 - 2003 assessment of Builder's Yard, Frankwell Quay
• ESA5895 - 2002-2003 WB on Frankwell Flood Alleviation Scheme
• ESA6025 - 2005 Evaluation and WB at Shrewsbury NEV by GGAT
• ESA7197 - 2006-2007 Archaeological Investigations at the Old Welsh Bridge, Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury by MOLA
• ESA7943 - 2005 DBA on NEV (Theatre Severn site) by Nigel Baker

Description

Mardol Quay (PRN 01473) was built in 1607 by Mr Rowland Jenks….Frankwell Quay was erected the following year <1a>

There has probably been waterfront activity at Frankwell since the early Norman period, as the suburb appears to have originated as a centre for free traders outside the town. Burghley's map of 1575 [<4>] shows structures which are probably timber jetties both upstream and downstream of the old Welsh Bridge. A stone quay was constructed in 1608. Rocque's Map of 1746 [<5>] shows the main Frankwell Quay area lying west of the old Welsh Bridge, immediately south of the former Methodist chapel which fronts onto Frankwell, opposite Whitehorse Passage. The river is shown as being wider than today, so that the site of the post medieval quay probably lies inland of the present river bank, perhaps being traced where buildings give way to gardens on the 1:500 scale 1884 OS map of the area. West of the old Welsh Bridge, the area between the quay itself and the roadway appears to have formed a continuation of the quay area, containing a number of warehouses, at least one of which may still survive. Archaeological traces of waterfront structures may therefore be expected in this area. The authors suggest that the area was essentially similar in the medieval period, not being built up, with the main settlement of Frankwell stretching along the road to the north. Open pasture or cultivation may have occupied some of the open ground between the quay and the street, although it is also possible that such features as workshops, wooden jetties and refuse pits may have been present. ->

-> Trial trenches were excavated by Giffords in 1993 in connection with this evaluation for the proposed Shrewsbury Flood Alleviation Scheme. Trial trench 1, located in the Frankwell Car Park at SJ 48988 12827, found silt deposits containing fragments of medieval pot and tile and a probably medieval worked stone object. These were interpreted as most likely to be river deposits, though they could also (less plausibly) be related to the fishponds known to have existed in the vicinity. Two trial trenches Trench 2 and Trench 3 excavated further south nearer the present river bank revealed only mixed modern deposits for the area east of the modern day Welsh Bridge <2>

During the 1994 watching brief on geotechnical test pits, a wall was encountered in Trial Pit 1 which might have been the wall of a post medieval quay. This test pit was some 55m west of the present Welsh Bridge. Trial Pit 2, which lay some 25m east of the present Welsh Bridge, contained only made up ground; this fits with the cartographic sources, which indicate that the riverfront lay further back until the late 18th century. In Trial Pit 3, some 20m west of the present Welsh Bridge, the remains of a more substantial wall, of sandstone and at least 300mm in width, were seen: the wall was presumably part of the post medieval quay, though the direction of the observed fragment was north-south <3>

The wall noted in Trial Pit 1 in 1994 [<3>] is about 50m west of what Rocque's map [<5>] shows as the main quay area in the 18th century. The SMR's mapping of possible quay areas has been extended westward on the basis of this find. <6>

Frankwell's river quays were important in the medieval period, as the Severn was at this time navigable all the way down to Bristol and upstream as far as Pool Quay. Most of the medieval river trade from Frankwell was probably largely conducted from the river bank downstream of the medieval Welsh Bridge. A formal quay was built by Rowland Jenks in 1608, as shown on Rocque's map [<5>] and possibly encountered by the 1993-1994 work [<3>]. The central building shown on Rocque's map may have been the quay office, though it is not so named. An early 18th century print of the downstream quay area is [crudely] reproduced in the report. <7>

Observations of the quay were made during a 2002-2003 WB on the Frankwell Flood Alleviation Scheme. Observations to a depth of 4.7m below modern ground level provided only post medieval dating evidence, though parts of the quay side could be medieval in origin <8>

Archaeological evaluation carried out at the site of the proposed new entertainment venue in Shrewsbury during May and June 2005. Archaeological structures relating to the medieval settlement of Frankwell and the former river front were discovered in trenches 6 and 12. Several sandstone masonry features were identified including a walls believed to be a revetment associated with the former river frontage along with a significant rubblestone wall with putlog holes in denoting that it was of considerable height above the contemporary ground surface when first constructed. Refuse deposits of probable late medieval date were discovered, indicating the close proximity of medieval settlement and or industry, relating to the settlement of Frankwell. Sandstone masonry of an undetermined nature and extent noted in the area adjacent to the Welsh Bridge could relate to the 19th century buildings on the site or a former waterfront structure. The findings also provided a good indication of the location and minimum extent of St George’s Hospital and Frankwell Quay and also indicated that a large amount of masonry relating to these structures survives on the site, both above and below ground level. <9>

Full report on the 2005 assessment, evaluation and watching brief on the New Entertainment Venue (NEV) site. Includes a discussion of the fieldwork (<9a>), further documentary research [see also <9d>] <9b> and specialist finds reports (<9c>). <9a><9b><9c>

Detailed historical background research was undertaken in 2005 ahead of and in conjunction with the evaluation (see <9>) of the site of the New Entertainment Venue (NEV). This included an assessment of the layout, architecture, engineering and construction of the quay, as recorded by the documentary and cartographic evidence. The Burghley map of c.1575 shows a gap between the end of the Welsh Bridge and the beginning of the built-up frontages, A wooden float is shown (timber for transport downstream lashed to form a raft), drawn up on the vacant riverbank. A couple of references in 1585 to saw pits in the Horsefair suggest that the riverbank was used for processing as well as landing timber. When one of these saw pits was being dug, a skull of a dismembered body was found with what sounds like a poleaxe injury. The remains were regarded at the time as those of a likely murder victim of the distant past. ->

-> Frankwell Quay was established, and probably built, in 1608 by Rowland Jenks, a mercer. In the 17th century, goods leaving the quay would have included wool, cloth, ale and mead, cheese, honey, rope, hides and leather; goods arriving would have been wine, alum, pig-iron, teasel staffs, coal and malt. In the middle of the 17th century, complaints were made about Frankwell Quay being 'much out of repair' and 'very ruinous and dangerous' at high water. ->

-> Not until almost the end of its life can any topographical details of the quay be found in the documentation. The 1795 sale particulars of the Old Welsh Bridge describe the quay as being about 1000 square yards, with a roadway twenty feet wide running across it from the street to the river and, in front of a warehouse, to the properties abutting the bridge. The twenty-foot wide roadway is easily identifiable as the present lane running down the west side of the former chapel, but the recorded area of the quay in 1795 cannot yet be precisely reconciled with the topography of the early 1880s. <9d>

DBA at Frankwell Quay in conjunction with a planning proposal for the site. The area lies just outside the build up area of the suburb of Frankwell and adjacent to the site of the medieval St George’s hospital. Virtually the entire site remained open land until shortly after 1900 with the exception of the building known as ‘The Stew’ [also as the Holland Broadbridge building PRN 20695] to the south west which is thought may contain an 18th century core. A building has stood on this site for at least two centuries with the name ‘The Stew’ associated with it. The use of these buildings is unclear prior to the arrival of the Potter Brothers in 1888 who produced waterproof wagon covers, rope and other woven industrial goods. The Atlas Foundry, built in 1901 [PRN 06771] and the former Gallier’s Yard are also built in this area. <10>

A number of features associated with Frankwell Quay are discussed in a report on excavations at the Theatre Severn site, 2005-2007, which recorded substantial structural remains associated with the northern end of the Old Welsh Bridge (PRN 01471). <11>

Full report on the investigation at the Old Welsh Bridge, published in Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Historical Society in 2015. Includes extensive reports on the background history of the site, tracing the development of the area from the 11th century through to the 21st century. Incorporates a number of specialist reports on the material from the site. ->

-> The documentary and archaeological evidence for the development of Frankwell Quay is discussed in detail. ->

-> The construction in 1608 of a barge quay at Frankwell adjoining the Welsh Bridge was apparently connected with foreshortening the gatehouse bastions to allow the formerly concealed northernmost arch of the bridge to be opened up to provide vehicular access to the quays. This access necessitated the construction of quayside retaining walls. Various buildings and a possible animal mill were constructed along the bridge approach road during the 17th and 18th centuries. <12>

<00> Shropshire County Council SMR, SMR Sheets Collection, SMR Sheet for PRN SA 04696 (Card index). SSA20723.

<01a> Ward A W, 1935, Bridges of Shrewsbury, p132 (Monograph). SSA5617.

<01> Ordnance Survey, 1960, Ordnance Survey Record Card SJ41SE105 (Card index). SSA5622.

<02> Gifford and Partners Ltd, 1994, Report on an archaeological evaluation ... proposed Shrewsbury Flood Alleviation Scheme, p9-10, p13, p15-16, p19 (Excavation report). SSA5615.

<03> Gifford and Partners Ltd, 1994, Archaeological Watching Brief ... Proposed Shrewsbury Flood Alleviation Scheme, p8-9 (Watching brief report). SSA5616.

<04> Burghley (for Burghley, by ?Symonds J), 1575, The Burghley Map of Shrewsbury (Map). SSA5543.

<05> Rocque J, 1746, Rocque's Plan of Shrewsbury (Map). SSA5727.

<06> Gathercole E Clare, 1999/ 2002, Comments by SMR compiler in SMR database, 14/07/2003 (SMR comment). SSA20725.

<07> Appleton-Fox Nic, 2003, Builders Yard, Frankwell, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: report on an archaeological assessment (Deskbased survey report). SSA22109.

<08> Not established, Frankwell Flood Alleviation Scheme, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: a report on an archaeological watching brief (Watching brief report). SSA22134.

<09d> Baker Nigel J, 2005, Frankwell Quay: an archaeological & historical assessment of the Shrewsbury N.E.V site (Deskbased survey report). SSA28974.

<09a> Higgins Jo, 2005, Shrewsbury NEV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: report on archaeological evaluation, watching brief and further historical study. Vol 1: archaeological evaluation and watching brief (Archaeological fieldwork report). SSA28975.

<09b> Baker Nigel J, 2005, Shrewsbury NEV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: report on archaeological evaluation, watching brief and further historical study. Vol 2: further historical study (Archaeological fieldwork report). SSA28976.

<09> Higgins J, 2005, Shrewsbury NEV, Shropshire: Archaeological Evaluation and Watching Brief Summary Report (Excavation report). SSA22443.

<09c> Evans, G, Higgins, J, Locock, M, Lodwick, M, Ratkai, S, Sell, S and Sherman, A, 2006, Shrewsbury NEV, Shrewsbury, Shropshire: report on archaeological evaluation, watching brief and further historical study. Vol 3: specialist finds reports (Archaeological fieldwork report). SSA28977.

<10> Baker Nigel J, 2000, Frankwell Quay, Shrewsbury: an Archaeological Evaluation (Deskbased survey report). SSA20806.

<11> Watson B, 2010, Archaeological investigations at the New Entertainment Venue, Frankwell, Shrewsbury: post-excavation assessment and updated project design (Project design). SSA28059.

<12> Watson B and Phillpotts C, 2015, The Old Welsh Bridge, Shrewsbury: Excavations at the Severn Theatre Venue, Frankwell, Shrewsbury, 2006-7 (Volume). SSA28665.

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.