Planning Case Study 55
4-6 New Inn Broadway, Shoreditch, Hackney, London
Planning scenario(s)
Heritage assets affected
Designated heritage assets with archaeological and historic interest
Type of application & broad category
Local planning authority
Authority: London Borough of Hackney
References: 2016/2895
Development proposal
The original proposal was the construction of a new, modern theatre. This was later changed to an office development with exhibition space at ground floor level.
Archaeological information known about the site before the planning application was made, or before the development commenced, as appropriate
The site was formerly part of Holywell Priory, a 12th century Augustinian nunnery that, following the Dissolution, was sold off in several land parcels. One parcel was developed in 1576 by James Burbidge and John Brayne as The Theatre, an early Elizabethan playhouse and the first successful one. The Theatre hosted William Shakespeare’s company during the 1590s and is likely to have first staged his plays of the period. The archaeological potential of the site, including nationally important remains, was known to the applicants.
Archaeological/planning processes
Two stages of pre-determination field evaluation in 2006 and 2008 identified structural remains contemporary with The Theatre.
As part of a proposed scheme to display the remains in a new basement, the deposits and features later in date than The Theatre were archaeologically excavated in 2010. Portions of the inner and outer walls of The Theatre were identified, along with associated surfaces and structures, some of which were medieval features re-used from the priory. This allowed the extent and form of the playhouse and its ancillary structures to be revealed and mapped for the first time, before the site was backfilled and an acceptable engineering scheme devised.
Outcomes: archaeological
The evidence presented in the post-excavation assessment was a key source in the decision to preserve the remains of The Theatre and to designate it as a scheduled monument in 2016, the first in the borough (The Theatre Playhouse, NHLE no. 1433271).
Further thought was given to various methods both to secure a new theatre at the site and to preserve and display the remains but the small size of the site and other non-archaeological factors led the applicants to re-consider. In 2017, scheduled monument consent and planning consent were therefore granted for a new office scheme with a permanent ground floor exhibition, viewing window and heritage-themed public realm improvements.
Development is underway at the time of writing, and the impact has been managed through the use of a pre-commencement planning condition and a s106 agreement.
Other outcomes/outputs e.g. other public benefit such as public engagement, research and new/changed work practices
A programme of public engagement including public realm interpretation and links with the nearby Curtain Theatre and Hackney’s other Elizabethan heritage was also agreed.
References and links/bibliography
- MoLA 2008, 4–6 New Inn Broadway, London EC2 – A report on the evaluation. Unpublished report.
- MoLA 2009, 4–6 New Inn Broadway London EC2 – A report on the Phase 2 Evaluation. Unpublished report.
- Bowsher, J, Shakespeare's London Theatreland: Archaeology, History and Drama, MoLA 2012
- MoLA 2013, 4–6 New Inn Broadway, London EC2A, London Borough of Hackney, Post-excavation assessment. Unpublished report.
