NHER 63554 (Monument record) - Site of Baptist burial ground, Broad Street

Eighteen burials were excavated from a small area that corresponded to the Baptists’ Yard, shown on early 19th century maps of the town. Dating of the burials was uncertain, but they broadly ranged from 1773 to 1855, with the bulk probably dating between 1800 and 1841. The Baptists’ Yard was known to be small, and it is probable that most, if not all, of the burial ground was included in the excavation.
The graves were aligned west–east and were fairly regularly spaced, forming three parallel north–south orientated rows. Although the E–W grave orientation concurred with orthodox Christian burial practice, the Church of England and Catholic convention of placing the head to the west was not necessarily followed. Of the fifteen inhumations where orientation was recorded, seven lay with their head to the west and eight with their head to the east.
Dental and osteological analysis suggested poor child health amongst the population buried here. The Baptist assemblage was remarkable for its high prevalence of fractures, and degenerative joint disease, consistent with a population involved in manual labour, particularly the lifting and carrying of heavy loads.
See (S1) for further information.
A. Cattermole (King's Lynn UAD), 4 February 2020.