NHER 69202 (Monument record) - Medieval or later burials and other, undated and medieval to post-medieval remains within churchyard of St Wandregesilius' Church

November 2016.
Archaeological evaluation undertaken ahead of the proposed restoration and conversion of St Wandregesilius' Church (NHER 1859), which had been gutted by fire in 2004. A total of four trenches were excavated - one within the north transept of the church, two immediately to the north of the church and one in the north-west part of the churchyard.
The trench to the north-west of the church revealed a ditch and bank of likely medieval date which had possibly formed the original boundary of the churchyard. Single sherds of Middle Saxon and Late Saxon pottery were recovered from this feature, which, although clearly residual, were both unabraded – indicating some form of pre-Conquest activity in the vicinity. This feature produced the largest single assemblage of medieval pottery, along with fragments of animal bone and oyster shells. A small medieval pit was also recorded in this trench, a sample from the fill of which was found to contain carbonised cereal grains and other charred plant macrofossils likely to represent domestic waste.
There was only one feature that potentially predated the medieval period – an undated pit revealed at the base of one of the trenches excavated adjacent to the church. There was therefore no evidence for a Saxon precursor to the church itself (the possible existence of which is suggested by its unusual dedication). The small trench excavated within the church itself did encounter a series of compact banded footing deposits, but these were probably associated with the nave of the medieval church. These foundations were overlain by material likely to have been deposited during the rebuilding of the church in 1868. Deposits containing ceramic building material, flint cobbles and mortar observed in the trenches immediately to the north of church were also probable associated with the Victorian works. One of these deposits was found to be the uppermost fill of an east-to-west aligned linear feature interpreted as a possible robber trench marking the line of a medieval wall.
The trenches excavated outside the church encountered a total of eight east-to-west aligned burials, three of which were adults and the remainder infants and children. There was some evidence for zoning within the churchyard, with the infants and children all being encountered within the trench excavated between the upstanding walls of the vestry and north transept. The age of these burials is uncertain, with no grave goods or furnishings identified and no dating evidence recovered from the grave fills. The depth and condition of the burials and the lack of evidence for coffins does though suggest that most were probably medieval. A charnel pit encountered to the north-west of the church was though of a much more recent date, being cut through a layer containing late post-medieval material.
The bulk of the finds recovered during this work were post-medieval in date, medieval material being limited to a small pottery sherds, several brick fragments and a single Flemish floor tile.
See report (S1) for further details.
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2017.354).
P. Watkins (HES), 30 June 2025.