Greenwich Armoury, former Royal Naval College SE10 TQ 38468 77908 MoLAS (Julian Bowsher) evaluation July 2002 Time Team / Greenwich Foundation KIC02
The excavation was started under the auspices of Channel 4 Time Team and designed to find the "grete armery" established by Henry VIII in 1515. This was known to be to the west of Greenwich Palace and thought to be located under the (former) tennis courts and lawns just west of the present King Charles Quarter. Three trenches were laid out, largely on the basis of geophysical results, along the eastern edge of the lawns. Trench 1, at the southern end, reached natural gravel at 3.10m OD. Directly above this was a stone wall with associated chalk floor that may be late medieval. The wall was later rebuilt in brick and further such walls and surfaces to the south were probably Tudor in date although within the limited area examined, no definite identification as to use could be made. The major construction on the site was a large barrel vaulted cess chamber known to have been built for Greenwich Hospital in the 1730s. Retaining walls of the 19th century were the most recent features. Trench 2 revealed a number of fragmentary structures, layers and drains dating from the 17th to 19th centuries. Trench 3, to the north, was entirely taken up by another 18th century cess chamber. The complexity of post-Tudor remains within these two trenches left insufficient time to examine any earlier strata.