NHER 9646 (Monument record) - Late Saxon occupation site and medieval church, Thorpe St Andrew

1951 to 1953. During digging of an allotment.
Numerous human skeletons were found and subsequent trenching revealed the remains of a medieval masonry church with underlying Late Saxon occupation. The burials (which are thought to have been Late Saxon) had been disturbed, probably in the early 12th century, by the digging of foundations of a single-cell, apsidal ended church, measuring 55 (16.8m) feet by 25 (7.6m) feet. Little is known about this church apart from the foundation plan. At a later date a rectangular chancel was constructed, extending the total length of the church to 70 feet (21.3m). At this later period, the floor was covered by glazed tiles, and at the west end a brick and flint structure was found, suggesting the base of a font.
Amongst the disturbed building materials were a 12th century grave slab, some crumpled window lead, many fragments of painted wall plaster, some Purbeck marble and numerous bricks of a standard size. Other finds included Late Saxon pottery and a silvered pinhead, bun-shaped loomweights, part of the foundation of a wattle and daub wall and medieval pottery.
It was suggested as the church of St Catherine de Monte by excavators but subsequent research shows this is incorrect. Perhaps this is the old site of St Andrew's church.
See (S1) and details in file.
E. Rose (NAU), 3 October 1990 and A. Cattermole (NLA), 24 January 2007.

Appropriate section from ref (S2) in file.

Clarke’s excavation notes in file include a suggested boat burial indicated by clench nails around a skeleton. There is a separate mention of a stone coffin in another context.
Rose, E. (NLA), 22 March 2007.

1999. Trial Trenching and Watching Brief.
Monitoring of excavation of pond and evaluation of wider area prior to landscape works. Burials were exposed in two of the trenches, helping to define the extent of the churchyard. Late Saxon and post-medieval pottery sherds and daub recovered.
Lynchets on site probably of recent date.
See report (S3) for further details and a good review of earlier work. The results of this evaluation are also summarised in (S13).
An archive associated with this work has been deposited with Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2022.315).
E. Rose (NLA), 30 June 1999. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 5 March 2015 and 5 December 2022.

March 2009. Norfolk NMP.
Fragmentary and indistinct earthwork banks are also visible on aerial photographs (S4) – (S6), centred at TG 2677 0899. There appear to be two sub-square earthwork banks, visible as areas of lower vegetation, the southern-most of which (centred at TG 2677 0898) is the most convincing. This measures approximately 9m by 7m internally, and, although unclear, has a possible extension at its north-west corner. There are also several fragmentary possible bank features to either side of this feature, which may represent churchyard features.

A second sub-square feature, measuring approximately 9m x 10m, is visible centred at TG 2677 0901. This is rather less secure, as it appears to coincide with a former fence line, and may in fact represent a modern feature.

Several sets of aerial photographs (S8)-(S11), appear to show the 1951 excavation in progress. The entire extent of the area, centred on TG 2678 0901 has been mapped, along with four trenches within this area that are visible under excavation. One of these trenches, centred on TG 2676 0901 (S11), appears to contain a stonework structure, although the visible extent of the structure measures 5.7m x 1.7m, and is clearly not extensive enough to represent the entire church (see above). There are a number of other bare patches of soil visible, centred on TG 2679 0900, which may represent graves under excavation, although it is difficult to be certain, in the absence of an excavation plan.

Further evidence of lynchets, excavated during the 1999 excavation (S3), are visible as earthworks approximately 65m to the east of this site on aerial photographs (S6)-(S10), following on from the line of excavated features, which were interpreted as modern (S3), and have therefore not been mapped.
E. Bales (NMP), 18 March 2009.