NHER 10116 (Monument record) - Site of St Andrew's Chapel at Fairstead

Parochial in 1065; mentioned 1379; still extant 1805 'long demolished' in about 1900 (S1); Ordnance Survey card. Chicken house stands on site.

4 September 1980. Visit.
Owners absent so a detailed search could not be made, but the site appears to lie in a farmyard.
E. Rose (NAU).

Medieval pottery scatter over site; Mrs. S. Addington in (S2) (plan).
The Ordnance Survey as above are assuming that this is one of the two parish churches in Domesday Book.
[1]'s dissertation dates this chapel later and places second church at NHER 15909, but evidence really seems better for this site.

(S3) (Norfolk Record Office MSS Rye 17) mentions an 'old will' referring to this chapel at 'Suffairshed apud Hempnall'; in other words, South Fairstead. This was formerly wrongly numbered NHER 16511.
E. Rose (NAU), 29 November 1985.

In (S4) [1] decides this is the church site and says six skeletons were excavated here 'many years ago'.
E. Rose (NAU), 26 October 1987.

Appropriate section from reference (S5) in file.

1987. Documentary research and fieldwalking.
Shown on 1767 Grimston map next to Chapel Close; possibly not the Domesday Church because of St Mary's Church. No Saxon sherds found.
No reference to St Andrew's in 14th century court rolls (S6).
(S7) mentions The Runhill alias St. Andrew's Hill, April 16 Aliz, 1573 to 4.
Visited by Blomefield, 11 to 17 July 1726.
Information from [1].
A. Cattermole (NLA), 24 May 2005.

June 2003. Surface collection in garden of Fairstead Farm.
Prehistoric flint flake.
Medieval and post medieval pottery sherds.
See list in file.
A. Rogerson (NLA), 15 July 2005.