Digging Liberty

Today Merton Abbey Mills, on the banks of the River Wandle in south London, is a bustling craft market, which draws its name from the huge, dominating abbey that once stood on the site. Time Team, however, did not come to Merton to investigate monks and ecclesiastical buildings. Merton was also a base for Arthur Liberty, founder of the famous Liberty's shops and one of the most influential and eminent Victorians in the Arts and Crafts movement.

From the late 1800s, the Liberty works on this site produced thousands of yards of hand-printed silks that made Liberty a household name. The Arts and Crafts movement rejected the new mechanised techniques that were revolutionising the industry and pioneered a return to quality hand-made objects.

Under the craft market
The buildings that house the market today are the remains of a reluctant redevelopment of the original works, when Liberty was forced to move with the times. What could be under the modern concrete and pylons that now cover the site?

With just the usual three days in which to dig, the Team was hoping that the archaeology wouldn't be too deep or disturbed. Fortunately, the Victorian factory remains were just inches under the surface. One of the problems facing the Team, however, was the fact that the original buildings had been professionally cleared and demolished, rather than having just fallen into decay. Would there be anything to find?

Under the river
Sub aqua divers were called in to scour the River Wandle, which runs past the site. The first watery finds were beer glasses from a nearby pub and a huge mobile phone from the 1980s, but perseverance eventually paid off. Even Tony Robinson swam the river and among the finds made beneath the water were a number of fine gold pins used in the printing process.

Back on land, the highlight of the dig was the location of track marks worn into the floor of an uncovered print room. The excavation of Arthur Liberty's factory and the accompanying finds had opened a window onto a 19th-century movement that has left its mark on many of the prints and designs still in use today.

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