NHER 596 (Monument record) - Site of St Peter Southgate's Church, Norwich

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Summary

St Peter Southgate was part of the large and straggling medieval suburbia of the Conesford parish, which at one point has as many as nine parish churches of its own. It is known to have been in existence by 1175 to 1186, and the remaining ruins of the tower show rebuilding in the 15th century. However, apart from the substantial tower, the church never appears to have grown particularly large, and by 1887 it had fallen into use and was demolished. The rectory of St Peter's Southgate stood on the west side of the churchyard, and it is known that Roger the Rector dwelt here in 1217. The rectory probably lies under the gardens of Nos 1, 2 and 3 Southgate Lane.

Protected Status/Designation

Listed Building (II) 1051210: REMAINS OF ST PETER SOUTHGATE CHURCH

Location

Map sheet	TG20NW
Civil Parish	NORWICH, NORWICH, NORFOLK

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Full Description

Former parish church of medieval date demolished in 1887. Fragment of flint rubble west tower springing of west window opening in brick. 'Alias St Peter de Bither' in existence by 1175 - 1186. 'Ecclesian Sancti petri in Cuningesford prope portem civitatis Norwici'. Demolished 1887. (Plaque on ruins wrongly says 1387)
Compiled by R. R. Clarke (NCM).

For more information see (S1) and (S2).

The rectory of St Peter's Southgate stood on the west side of the churchyard. Roger the Rector dwelt here in 1217.
Probably under gardens of Nos 1, 2 and 3 Southgate Lane.
Information from NAR records.
Compiled by M. Leah (NAU), 25 February 1991.

September 1997. Watching Brief.
Monitoring of groundworks revealed walls of church porch and nave, dated to late medieval. Medieval pathway also uncovered, and post-medieval graves.
See report (S3) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S9).
Compiled by E. Rose (NLA), 18 December 1997.

Human bones afterwards found on surface - see file.
See reference (S4) for further details, including removal of furnishings to St Etheldreda and sale of font.

Press cuttings (S5) and (S6) in file.
T. Sunley (NLA), 7 November 2007.

April-May 2011. Watching Brief.
This work revealed 23 articulated burials as well as disarticulated remains collected from grave fills which had been truncated. Most were identifiable as 19th century coffin burials but others could be earlier. Evidence for localised chalk extraction was observed to the rear of the site in the form of chalk waste that could relate to medieval activity along Ber Street. Finds from the site included worked flint flakes and a core dating from the Late Neolithic to Bronze Age; Late Saxon, medieval and post-medieval pottery; medieval ship penny jetton (AD 1490-1550) and oyster shell; and post-medieval coffin furniture.
See report (S7) for further details. The results of this work are also summarised in (S8).
S. Howard (HES), 11 August 2011.

Associated Sources (14)

--- SNF4550 Monograph: Batcock, N. 1991. The Ruined and Disused Churches of Norfolk. East Anglian Archaeology. No 51. Microfiche 5:G12. No N44; p 175.
--- SNF58263 Monograph: Pevsner, N. and Wilson, B. 1997. Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East. The Buildings of England. 2nd Edition. p 251.
--- SNF87229 Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Norwich - Post Roman.
--- SNF57204 Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 20 NW 10; TG 20 NW 108 [2].
--- SNF8804 Secondary File: Secondary File.
<S1> SNF48662 Designation: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. List Entry 1051210.
<S2> SNF51708 Unpublished Document: Carter, A.. 1987. Building Survey.
<S3> SNF68921 Unpublished Contractor Report: Hutcheson, A. 1997. Report on a Watching Brief at St Peter's Southgate, Norwich. Norfolk Archaeological Unit. 281.
<S4> SNF6453 Article in Serial: Hutcheson, A.. 1998. Norwich St Peter Southgate.. Church Archaeology. Vol 2, p 58. p 58.
<S5> SNF68920 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1997. Gruesome find in play area. 11 November.
<S6> SNF68919 Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 1997. Archaeologists glimpse buried church. 13 September.
<S7> SNF81314 Unpublished Contractor Report: Emery, G. 2011. Archaeological monitoring at Argyle Street Play Area on the former site of St Peter Southgate, Norwich, Norfolk. Norvic Archaeology. 15.
<S8> SNF93150 Article in Serial: Gurney, D. 2012. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk in 2011. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLVI Pt III pp 421-428. p 427.
<S9> SNF86456 Article in Serial: Gurney, D. and Penn, K. (eds). 1998. Excavations and Surveys in Norfolk 1997. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLIII Pt I pp 193-210. p 203.

Site and Feature Types and Periods (11)

Object Types (11)

CORE (Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 701 BC)
FLAKE (Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 701 BC)
RETOUCHED FLAKE (Late Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 3000 BC to 701 BC)
HUMAN REMAINS (Unknown date)
POT (Late Saxon - 851 AD to 1065 AD)
HUMAN REMAINS (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
OYSTER SHELL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
POT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
JETTON (Medieval to 16th Century - 1490 AD to 1550 AD)
POT (Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)
HUMAN REMAINS (18th Century to 19th Century - 1800 AD to 1899 AD)

Related NHER Records (0)

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Norwich (Parish Summary)

Record last edited

Jul 16 2019 2:09PM