Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from Church Road, Croydon, Greater London
Author(s): Dr Martin Bridge
The remains of an early crown-post truss, a rare survival in urban Croydon, were studied dendrochronologically. Previous study of the typology of this truss suggested a date ranging from the late fifteenth to sixteenth centuries. The timbers (all oak) were found to be made from fast-grown young trees, but two samples were dated. The tie beam sample (AD 1320-1377) had no sapwood on it, although careful study of the timber at the time of sampling suggests that there was sapwood on other, less accessible, parts of the beam. This suggests a felling period in the late-fourteenth or early-fifteenth century, which makes the likely construction date much earlier than previously envisaged. The central stud was made from a tree possibly felled even earlier than this (AD 1361-1393), so if this was not a re-used timber, it seems likely that the stud was part of the original construction of the truss.
- Report Number:
- 52/1998
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 6
- Keywords:
- Dendrochronology Standing Building
