Narrow Wall was, by the Tudor period, a road on the line of the old earth embankment of the River Thames.
By 1593, there was a wide border of marshy ground between Narrow Wall and the water on the sharp bend of the Thames between Stangate and Paris Garden. This indicates that a considerable amount of silting up had occurred there during the mediaeval period.
By the 16th century, the foreshore along this area was covered in rushes and willows, but it was still prone to frequent flooding at high tide. No buildings were constructed there, although there were some attempts to drain the land through several ditches leading to the river. This land was considered "property" and most of it was regarded as "waste" belonging to the manor of Lambeth, hence the property of the Archbishop of Canterbury. However, by 1504, a portion of it, just over an acre in size near Stangate, had been given to Lambeth Church. It was known as the Church Osiers or Church Hope, with "hope" indicating a piece of enclosed ground in the midst of fens, marshes or wasteland. In the late 17th century, the name was changed to Pedlar’s Acre. After passing through the same hands as the three acres of Cuper’s Gardens on the site of Waterloo Road, it was bequeathed in 1685 by Sir Leoline Jenkins to Jesus College, Oxford.
The land between Stangate and Pedlar’s Acre was sold to the Trustees for Westminster Bridge. The area between Pedlar’s Acre and the Hopes (known as Bishop’s Acre and the Four Acres) and between the Hopes and Cuper’s Bridge (part of Float Mead) was leased in the early 18th century to Sir William East. At this time, it was described as a wall and bank leading from Stangate to the bank and wall called Prince’s Wall, with all the properties on or near the wall being used as timber yards, wharves, etc., and sublet to several tenants. Some of these tenants are named on Morden and Lea’s map printed in 1682, which clearly shows that while the riverfront was in use, the hinterland remained open marsh and pasture land with numerous drainage ditches.
From 1760 onward, Thomas James, the lessee of the Feathers Tavern near Cuper’s Bridge and others, sought permission from the Sewer Commissioners to "arch over" or pipe the sewers or ditches by their houses on Narrow Wall. Several industrial projects were initiated in the area, but the general appearance remained largely unchanged until the formation of Waterloo Bridge approach between 1813 and 1816 and the widening and straightening of Narrow Wall to create Belvedere Road between 1824 and 1829.
During the excavations for the Festival of Britain buildings and the new river wall, efforts were made to keep watch for archaeological finds. These findings, in conjunction with recorded sources, have contributed to the detailed story of the development of this riverside area.
