The original bridge over the Monnow at Monmouth was constructed of wood in the mid-12th century.[7] In 1988, work on flood defences revealed remains of the wooden bridge directly under the existing one,[8] and dendrochronological analysis indicated that its timber came from trees felled between 1123 and 1169.[9][lower-alpha 1] An early account in the Flores Historiarum by Roger of Wendover may indicate that the wooden bridge and the nearby Church of St Thomas the Martyr were damaged by fire in the Battle of Monmouth in 1233, fought between supporters of Henry III and the forces of Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke.[11] Both the site of the battle and the specific bridge involved are debated—the local historian Keith Kissack argued that the battle was fought on Vauxhall Fields, below Monmouth Castle and some way from Monnow Bridge,[12] while other modern historians continue to place the battle at Overmonnow.[13][14]