Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

An excavation of Bath Hard Wharf on the Rochester Riverside development site recorded evidence relating to 18th and 18th century industrial use of the area. The earliest use of the site was in the 18th century when a causeway was constructed. A coal wharf was constructed in the 19th century with the site changing to a timber yard in the mid 19th century. Bath Hard was constructed in the first half of the 20th century.

Monument Types

• CAUSEWAY (Post Medieval - 1700 AD to 1825 AD?)
• COAL DEPOT (Post Medieval - 1825 AD? to 1875 AD?)
• TIMBER YARD (Post Medieval to Modern - 1875 AD? to 1925 AD?)
• HARD (Modern - 1925 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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An excavation of Bath Hard Wharf on the Rochester Riverside development site recorded evidence relating to 18th and 18th century industrial use of the area.

The earliest use of the site was in the 18th century when a causeway was constructed. This was a chalk packed wooden structure which contained some 18th century pottery. This structure was repaired following probable erosion damage to the eastern side. The structure is possibly recorded on an 1816 map of the site. It is possible that this structure may have been the origin of the later name 'Bath Hard Wharf'. The channel the causeway crossed was infilled in the early 19th century with waste, much of it domestic.

Wood clad brick foundations were built on the reclaimed land in the 19th century and probably relate to the coal wharf recorded on the Ordnance Survey maps of 1866 and 1869. Five rooms in two separate buildings were excavated. A tramway was also built at this time, represented by stains of the timbers on which the rails were set.

The timber framed buildings of the coal yard were removed when the yard fell out of use in the late 19th century. The ground level was further raised at this time. A wooden wharf was built as part of this. A warehouse was built on the site in the late 19th century, part of a timber yard recorded on the 1896 Ordnance Survey map.

Bath Hard was constructed in the first half of the 20th century (1).

AOC Archaeology, 2008, Archive Report on Archaeological Works (Phases II-V): Rochester Riverside Kent (Unpublished document). SKE31289.

<1> AOC Archaeology Group, 2006, Rochester Riverside, Kent: Post Excavation Assessment (Unpublished document). SKE15936.

Sources and further reading