Coquet Street, tanning pits

During a watching brief in 2015 three tanning pits were revealed just south of Stepney Tannery (HER 5455). Two were relatively complete. The pits consisted of a rectangular foundation trench with a bed of puddled clay c.0.5-0.5m thick on top. The timber linings of the pits were then set on this bed. The linings consisted of tongue-in-groove planking laid horizontally. The butting corners of the pits were fixed together with flat shanked iron nails. Pit 1 was not fully excavated but was probably c.2.35m square with a minimum depth of 1.44m. Pit 2 was also nearly square (2.35-2.4m). The dimensions of pit 3 are unknown other than a minimum depth of c.1.4m. The gap between the foudation trench and the lining was packed with clay forming a water tight seal. At least along the west face of Pit 1 and possibly in pit 2 was a brick floor.