ARCHAEOLOGY students from Worcester are searching for the remains of an 18th-century bridge in the grounds of a stately home.

Students and staff from the University of Worcester are excavating the grounds of Croome Court, near Upton-upon-Severn, where it is believed there once stood an ornate Chinese-style bridge over Croome river.

The bridge was designed by William Halfpenny in the early 1750s.

Dr Jodie Lewis, course leader in archaeology at the university, said: “We know that there was a Chinese-style bridge over the river, which was one of the very first of its kind in Britain.

“We have seen paintings depicting the bridge and we also have the architectural plans by Halfpenny.

“We have carried out a geophysical survey in the area we believe the bridge was located and we are now starting to dig to see if we can find any foundations, abutments or buttresses.”

Croome Court is within Croome Park, which was Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s first complete landscape design. The park has often been described as one of the single most influential landscapes in Europe.

Dr Lewis said: “The National Trust is undertaking a huge programme of restoring the park to how it was. To do this they need to carry out archaeological excavations and we are delighted to be working with them to do this.

“The bridge is believed to pre-date Brown’s design so is of massive historical importance to the area.

“The National Trust would like to reinstate it, and also the footpath that would have led to it, so we will be looking for remains of that as well.”

A team of up to 20 students and staff from the University are working on the site over the next few weeks.

Dr Lewis said: “It’s very exciting for our students to have the opportunity to work on such an important excavation. Whatever we find will inform how the National Trust reinstates the landscape of this internationally important park.”

National Trust archaeologist Jeremy Milln said: “I am really pleased to be able to provide this opportunity for the university’s archaeology students to gain experience in excavation techniques at Croome this year.”

The site of the Chinese Bridge is not in an area open to visitors to Croome Park.