In 1957 during the clearance of houses on the East side of Middleborough, when a new garage was erected, Hull who received the information second hand, records ' When a pit was sunk for the petrol tank a large excavation was made 15ft deep, reaching down into the mud of an ancient river-bed. In this was a row of oaken piles, with pointed ends, but the tops cut off quite flat, and not showing marks of having been driven. Some where in the hole also there was found a solid pier of masonry 5 or 6ft thick, which had to be broken with pneumatic drills. The row of piles was parallel to the modern street. Hull speculates that the position of the discovery was more directly opposite the North Gate than the modern Bridge where older masonry footings have also been recorded.<1>

The 1964 1:1250 map (TL9925NW) held in the museum resource centre Map Room has a T shaped trench marked on the garage site which could be this discovery.<2>