Edinburgh, Anderson Place, Crawford's Biscuit Factory

NT 2631 7592 A large scheme of archaeological works was required in advance of a residential development at 2–4, 6, and 14 Bonnington Road Lane and 200 Bonnington Road, Edinburgh. The works took place from July 2020 to June 2021.

A historic building survey recorded a former L-shaped building that was demolished and its remains left free standing. The survey confirmed that three phases of construction was evident. These comprised the remains of a rubble-built structure that was cleared leaving some parts standing and later used as the lower walls of a brick-built structure of a single storey. This building was further heightened with the addition of a new hipped roof.

A watching brief and trial trenching evaluation uncovered that the foundations of the recently demolished buildings had deeply truncated the natural sand and no earlier features had survived in the southern part of site. In the northern part of the site, between The Biscuit Factory and the John Lewis Distribution Centre, the watching brief noted two locations where the removal of concrete foundations had exposed sandstone structures.

The subsequent evaluation exposed a range of structural remains and cut features associated with the previous industrial uses of the site. These include possible remains of the Leith Distillery; buildings associated with the later railway sidings; and other railway structures. Elements of the Vulcan Foundry were recorded. These former buildings had been subjected to extensive demolition; the surviving walls were foundation courses only and very few internal or external surfaces survived. The surviving remains matched up well with the OS mapping for the area and indicated a date range for these structures from perhaps the earlier 19th to early-mid 20th century.

The archaeological excavation revealed the truncated remains of the late-19th-century Vulcan Foundry, along with some features at the southeastern edge of the site likely relating to the later 20th- century use of the site. The majority of the structures identified appear to relate to the Vulcan Foundry, with the external walls depicted on the 1894 OS map matching those uncovered on site. None of the internal walls, or the well within the courtyard which was uncovered, are noted on OS maps.

Only one heavily truncated floor surface (013 and 014) was uncovered within any of the internal rooms of the foundry. The larger, northeastern part of the foundry contained a possible water tank. The large amount of disturbance within this area is likely down to the removal of machines associated with the foundry processes, suggesting that this was the main working area of the foundry.

The gully (064) uncovered on site which was truncated by the exterior wall (005) of the Vulcan Foundry was similar to the plough scores and furrows uncovered during the evaluation. It is therefore possible that it relates to this phase of agricultural activity on site. A fragment of Scottish white gritty ware was recovered from the fill of this gully, suggesting a late-medieval date to this feature.

Archive: NRHE and CEC HER Funder: Edinburgh Abode S.à.r.l.

Michael Cressey – CFA Archaeology Ltd

(Source: DES Vol 22)