Piling in London – A History

As part of the work to develop Crossrail 2 is was necessary to develop means of establishing whether buildings have piled foundations. To inform the decision-making process a review of piling in London was undertaken. This review considered the development of foundation design and construction from the nineteenth century onwards, focusing particularly on the developments in piling technology and design practice from the 1950s onwards. This period includes the first piles in London, the rapid adoption of large diameter bored piling, use of underreamed piles and their disuse, the rise of continuous flight auger piling and the more recent use of piling to Thanet Beds (and chalk) following successful trials at Canary Wharf. This paper presents the results of this review and includes an extensive list of references enabling details of specific works to be readily accessed. As well as assisting design of Crossrail 2, the information may be useful to designers of future tunnels in London.