Eight boreholes and one trial pit were excavated ahead of the proposed development of the St John's Street Multi-storey car park. The boreholes were 200 mm nominal diameter and were drilled with shell and augur equipment to a depth of 25.0 m. The trial pit was excavated by hand to a depth of 1.0 m. The strata encountered at the boreholes can be summarised as between 2.0 to 5.0 metres of 'made ground' overlying 1.0 to 4.25 metres of sand and gravel with bands of clay or silt. This in turn overlay the London clay proved to a depth of -4.10 ordnance datum in borehole 6. Groundwater was struck within made ground, gravel and London clay at depths ranging from 2.5 metres to 16.3 metres. The highest recorded standing water was in Borehole 4 where an evening observation showed water standing at a depth of 2.5 m. The 'made ground' consisted mainly of black organic silty clay, flint gravel, sand, brick fragments, shells and occasional bones.<1>