West Orchard, Bridge etc.

January 1933

III. EXCAVATIONS IN WEST ORCHARD (BRIDGE, &c )

Having dealt with part of West Orchard in Article II. will readers keep the Leather Hall in mind while reading this. The bridge just destroyed was not the first bridge standing there, for the Leet records that in 1448 Will Pier was keeper of the bridge and 'reparation' of same, and was ordered to keep the bridge clean. During excavation in 1932 the oak posts of the old bridge were discovered. The bridge just destroyed was probably built about 1700, and part of the 'feather' which supported centre of arches was of stone from the city wall or gates, as was also the river wall on the Co-op side. Some of these stones bore marks of bullets. The under part of the feather was of much earlier construction being made with rough stones round the sides, the inner part being filled in with gravel from the river bed. It contained quite a number of interesting articles, viz., a pig of iron, a lady's spur of six spikes, two iron knives, a blacksmith's punch, a pewter spoon with name on handle but defaced - all of 15th to 16th century. The second oldest and important ditches ran to the river, and carried the sewage from the alms-houses or sege houses, and Peacock Inn that stood where our Market Hall stands at present, and also from the Leather Hall. This ditch was still intact, but dry. An open gutter ran by the houses from the Peacock Inn to the ditch and in 1447 all householders who were in the line of the gutter had to keep it clean by digging out the rubbish twice a year. On the west side of the river a roadway several feet below the present road into Corporation Street was found, and possibly led to the mill that stood about the middle of Corporation Street where the piles and foundations were found. This mill was driven by the little stream called the river Albert, which has just been turned into the Sherbourne at the corner, and the stone culvert carrying the water away to the Priory Mill dam was found underneath the new hotel at corner of Corporation Street. The Millhouse stood at the top corner of Well Street, and has been taken down of late. A mill-stone was found near this house. On the Co-op side of the bridge and actually under the causeway at a depth of 9 feet from present level a ford was discovered. The road above the water was made of pebbles from the brook, and after discovering this a search was made for horse shoes, as it was found that the bed of the river at that spot was a very fine sample of clay and most suitable for pulling shoes off the feet of horses crossing the ford. The search was rewarded by finding twenty or more shoes all in very good condition though made of much thinner iron than those used to-day. Large horses could not have been used in those days, possibly 500 to 1000 years ago, as no shoe found measured more than 5-ins. long by 41/2-ins. wide, while to-day the larger horses shoes would be at least 2-ins. bigger each way. Several of the shoes had been shaped for lame horses. Very few nails were discovered, as hand-made nails with square heads were not counter-sunk, and as soon as the heads were worn thin the shoe parted from the hoof.

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