Post-medieval burials in the grounds of Church of St Peter, Goldhanger (EHER 82133)

A watching brief in 2010 recorded approximately 88 burials, most of which were encountered on the north side of the church, where excavation was deepest. Although there were no gravestones here, Victorian gravestones from the 1870s that stand against the nearby churchyard wall are likely to have occupied the area in the past.

November 2010. Watching brief. Archaeological monitoring was carried out on groundworks associated with the construction of a new meeting room on the north side of St Peter’s Church. The ground on the north side is artificially high and falls slightly away from the church to the north wall of the churchyard. Approximately 88 burials were found, most of which were encountered on the north side of the church, where excavation was deepest. Although there were no gravestones here, Victorian gravestones from the 1870s that stand against the nearby churchyard wall are likely to have occupied the area in the past. The graves were neatly laid-out in rows on a west to east alignment, as would be expected. Most were adults buried with their spouses, but there were also many adolescents and children and some babies, who were always buried closest to the church. The positions of the graves were marked on a plan and those bones within the trench were lifted and bagged individually for re-burial at a later date. Where possible, graves were left undisturbed. Based on the presence of 19th to 20th century pottery, Victorian coffin fittings and the largely planned layout, none of the recorded graves would appear to pre-date the Victorian period. The deepest graves cut the hard natural gravel subsoil and go no further, meaning that all those discovered were less than the 6 foot depth commonly associated with later burials, and some almost half that. <1>