Undated timber sill bridge beams and cobbled surface, Finchingfield Bridge, Finchingfield (EHER 80130)

Archaeological monitoring on evaluative test pits to assess the foundations of the existing Finchingfield Bridge revealed a timber sill beam under the Western abutment of the bridge arch, and two 19th to 20th century alluvial layers.

November 2015. Watching brief. Archaeological monitoring on evaluative test pits to assess the foundations of the existing Finchingfield Bridge revealed a timber sill beam under the Western abutment of the bridge arch. It measured 1.5m+ long and 0.28m deep and may relate to an earlier phase of bridge on the site. It may have been retained as a foundation for the later brick structure. Two silty clay layers are thought to represent the accumulation of deposits in the Finchingfield Brook close to the Finchingfield Bridge in the 19th and 20th centuries. The present bridge is thought to be 19th century. <1> February 2019. Watching brief. A second instance of archaeological monitoring on geotechnical test pitting revealed square-sectioned wooden beams beneath the East and West abutments of the bridge. It appeared that these elements of the bridge were resting directly on these wooden beams. A further timber sill beam was recorded beneath what is now the Greedy Duck Cafe. This was different in form to those revealed beneath the bridge abutments, not having the square-cut form of these and appearing to have been comparatively unworked. Cobbles were identified in three separate locations and in one location were shown to be stratigraphically earlier than the timber sill beam upon which the bridge rested. It is suggested that this cobble layer may represent reinforcement of the river bed to form a ford. Both the timber beams and the cobble layer remain undated. <2>