Bridge House, Mersham, Kent. Archaeological Record in advance of and during dismantling

The Oxford Archaeological Unit (OAU) was commissioned by Balfour Beatty Major Project (BBMP) to carry out an archaeological investigation of the ground beneath the Grade II Listed building at Bridge House, Mersham, Kent (NGR: TR 0506 3932 ).The work was undertaken on behalf of Union Railways (South) Limited, as part of the recording of listed buildings in North East Kent, due to be demolished in advance of CTRL construction. The investigation took place during the preparations for the removal of the house to an adjacent site 80m to the north-west. Due to the listed status of the building, it was decided to move the house, using a slide technique, rather than demolish it. OAU excavated several test pits within the house to determine the existence of early floor levels, and also carried out a watching brief on the trenches dug by hand by the engineers (Abbey Pynford) along the slide route and on the ring beam trenches under wall foundations.