Bunbury Inner Relief Road: Stages II & III. Archaeological Excavations North of Bridge Street.

Excavations were carried out north of Bridge Street by the Oxford Archaeological Unit in January/February 1990 in advance of the construction of the Bunbury Inner Relief Road. The excavation was located on the eastern limit of the medieval town at the foot of the causeway to the medieval bridge across the river Cherwell. The investigation located the river cliff of the Cherwell, a major topographical feature which determined the extent of the medieval town.
The earliest evidence of settlement consisted of a stone based building and a scatter of small pits of approximately 1200 AD.
A sequence of building foundations fronting onto Bridge Street was found beneath No.s 59-60 which probably began in the late 16th century. From about 1800 AD buildings associated with the new Oxford Canal expanded over the infilled floodplain of the Cherwell.