An Eighteenth Century Road at The Dog in a Doublet, Thorney

During June and July 1994, the Archaeological Field Unit of Cambridgeshire County Council undertook an archaeological assessment at the Dog-in-a-Doublet pumping station (TL 2746 9947), between Whittlesey and Thorney in Cambridgeshire. The work was carried out on behalf of the Transportation Department of the County Council, with the kind permission of the North Level Internal Drainage Board.

The pumping station is adjacent to the Thorney to Whittlesey road, just to the north where is crosses the river Nene. The present bridge was constructed in the 1930s slightly to the east of its predecessor, and its approaches were re-aligned accordingly.

The assessment revealed the original road, constructed on a causeway to raise it above the surrounding peat as it approaches the bridge. A sub-structure of wooden planking and uprights formed the foundation of the causeway, with layers of re-deposited peat, silt and gravel being used to build up the road. Finally, the road was surfaced with limestone cobbles.

Pottery, clay tobacco pipes, and glass bottles, found within the road structure, date its construction to the first part of the eighteenth century. It appears to have remained in use until the present bridge over the Nene was built in 1932.