SWX8623 - Proposed Environmental Improvement Scheme, Town Bridge (Scheduled Monument 830), Christchurch, Dorset: Archaeological Impact Assessment

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Christchurch Borough Council to undertake an archaeological impact assessment of a proposed environmental improvement scheme to Christchurch Town Bridge, Christchurch, Dorset, centred on SU 1608 9276. The ridge is a Schedule Monument (SM 830), a Grade I Listed Building and lies within a Conservation Area. The environmental improvement scheme proposes to restrict traffic flow over the bridge and to widen the pavements. The aim of the archaeological impact assessment was firstly to appraise the historical and archaeological context of the bridge and secondly to assess the impact of the proposed scheme on any buried archaeological remains. The assessment was commissioned in October 2000 prior to the submission of an application for Scheduled Monument Consent. The assessment established that the bridge was constructed in the 15th or 16th century. It also collated and discussed the historical evidence for the repair and maintenance of the bridge. Some of the main events include the thorough refurbishment of the bridge in 1834-8, the widening of the north side by 10 feet in 1899-1900 and the addition of a metal footbridge to the north side in 1949-50. According to the information supplied by Christchurch Borough Council, the environmental improvement scheme will involve removing between 0.1m to 0.2m of the current pavement and road surfaces and underlying deposits across the bridge. A trial pit survey carried out in 1995 and 1996 by W.S. Atkins Consultants Limited in advance of a Nynex duct laying operation suggest that solid concrete and services are likely to be encountered below the tarmac roadway and pavements across the bridge. The shallow depth of the proposed disturbance is unlikely to have any impact on any buried archaeological remains. This includes the historic structure of the bridge.Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Christchurch Borough Council to undertake an archaeological impact assessment of a proposed environmental improvement scheme to Christchurch Town Bridge, Christchurch, Dorset, centred on SU 1608 9276. The ridge is a Schedule Monument (SM 830), a Grade I Listed Building and lies within a Conservation Area. The environmental improvement scheme proposes to restrict traffic flow over the bridge and to widen the pavements. The aim of the archaeological impact assessment was firstly to appraise the historical and archaeological context of the bridge and secondly to assess the impact of the proposed scheme on any buried archaeological remains. The assessment was commissioned in October 2000 prior to the submission of an application for Scheduled Monument Consent. The assessment established that the bridge was constructed in the 15th or 16th century. It also collated and discussed the historical evidence for the repair and maintenance of the bridge. Some of the main events include the thorough refurbishment of the bridge in 1834-8, the widening of the north side by 10 feet in 1899-1900 and the addition of a metal footbridge to the north side in 1949-50. According to the information supplied by Christchurch Borough Council, the environmental improvement scheme will involve removing between 0.1m to 0.2m of the current pavement and road surfaces and underlying deposits across the bridge. A trial pit survey carried out in 1995 and 1996 by W.S. Atkins Consultants Limited in advance of a Nynex duct laying operation suggest that solid concrete and services are likely to be encountered below the tarmac roadway and pavements across the bridge. The shallow depth of the proposed disturbance is unlikely to have any impact on any buried archaeological remains. This includes the historic structure of the bridge.