Archenfield Archaeology Ltd

Royal Worcester Porcelain

St Peter's church and school archaeology

Trench 10

Trench 10 was located in the main car park of Royal Worcester Porcelain, immediately west of the Old St Peter’s School building. It was orientated roughly north-south and measured 10 x 2 metres.

Below the modern layers the stratigraphy within the trench can be divided into two areas defined by the line of the east-west medieval wall (735). The wall was covered by degraded sandstone and mortar that was 0.15 metres thick. Below this was red sandstone similar to that from the north-south section of the wall recorded in trench 5 (Stage 1). The wall was cut by a robber trench (730) which was filled by loose light brown silty sand (731) with crushed sandstone, fragments of sandstone, clay pipe and 19th century pottery. The external face of the wall was completely robbed, removing any evidence of a plinth.

Below the single course of faced stone from wall 735 were roughly coursed foundation blocks. A possible cut for the wall (776) was observed in the west-facing section and filled with mid grey silty clay with a single inclusion of green glazed pottery dating from the late 12th to 14th centuries. The base of the wall was at a depth of 1.80 metres (17.42 metres OD).

A rectangular structure was partially built on top of the wall and comprised three green sandstone blocks (742). The structure was approximately 0.70 metres wide and extended into the east-facing section. It was covered by the hardcore make-up of the car park surface. Within the confines of 742 were two fills cut by robber trench 730. The fills were loose sandy mortar (726), dating from the 19th century, and were firm grey black silty clay with heavy coal and ash inclusions (739). Below these was light grey blue sandy silt (740) that butted the wall and covered heavy mid red brown silty clay (751) dating from the 17th century.

Immediately below the cuts for the modern services was a 17th century spread of a brick and tile mix (724). This was over a compact mortar floor (725) that ran east-west through the trench. The mortar was laid over a foundation of compact red brown gravel and clay (738) that overlay brown silty clay 751 (again dated to the 17th century).

Two sondages were excavated inside the line of the medieval wall, one either side of two service pipes that ran roughly north-south through the trench. In the western sondage the mortar floor was cut by a shallow u-shaped post-hole (765) filled by loose creamy white mortar (766).

In the eastern sondage two sub-circular post-medieval pits cut layer 751. The earlier pit (736) was filled by reddish brown silty clay (764) with inclusions of 18th century pottery. Environmental sampling suggested that the fill largely consisted of cess. This pit was cut by later pit 747 that also dated to the 18th century. This was filled by light sandy silt (748) that was also sampled and suggestive of cess.

Below 751 was heavy black silty clay with pebble, cobble and sandstone inclusions (752) (dated to the late 2nd century AD) that covered light grey silty clay (755) and a compact, possibly metalled layer of brown clay with red and yellow lenses (758) that dated to the late 2nd century. This compact metalled layer overlay a cobbled surface in a clay matrix (759).

The cobbled layer and overlying contexts 758, 755, 752 (all contain pottery predominantly from the late 2nd century but also shreds of medieval and post-medieval) and 751 (17th century) were recorded in both the eastern and western sondages.

In the east and west-facing sections of the west sondage was metalled greyish green heavy silty clay with evidence of iron-pan build-up (754). The deposit was very vague and the limited amount of space within the sondage made difficult to interpret. It was possibly a banked deposit against the internal face of the wall. Pottery dates the deposit to the late 12th to 14th century. Its relationship with the possible Roman deposits was unclear.

Once the cobbles were removed a roughly circular pit (780) was exposed cutting what appeared to be natural red clay and gravel (778). The pit, sectioned between the east and west sondages, was filled by compact mid grey sandy silt with clay lenses (781). Environmental evidence from the fill included charred cereal grain, grass seeds and some hammerscale, while pottery dated the backfill to the 1st to 2nd century AD.

The natural clay and gravel was excavated to a depth of 1.90 metres below the car park surface (17.52 metres OD). The Roman pit (780) was 0.23 metres deep (17.29 metres OD) at its base.

Outside the line of the wall and within the backfill of the robber trench was grave cut 732. The cut had vertical sides and was filled by coffin 749, skeleton 750 and backfilled by loose light-brown silty sand (733) that contained 19th century pottery. The skeleton was lying in a prone position orientated east-west and with the head facing north. The bones and teeth were well preserved. Two copper alloy pins were recorded near the clavicles and are suggestive of a shroud. A single porcelain button was recorded on the left side of the skeleton. The skeleton was contemporary with coffin 749. The coffin remains were of fragmentary, degraded wood, iron handles and name plate found resting above the pelvic area.

At the far south of the trench and within this layer, was a dump of three grave memorials.

A sondage was excavated in this area of the trench and established that layer 762 was 0.70 metres thick and covered dark brown silty clay (771). This layer was cut by two graves.

Two graves were partially excavated in the sondage and both were aligned east-west. The later grave (767) contained the skeleton of a child/young adult (770) which was buried in a wooden coffin with iron handles and plate (769). The later grave (772) contained a well-preserved adult skeleton (775) lying in a prone position. The position of the exposed section suggested that at the time of burial the coffin (774) was tilted, the body sloping towards the left side of the coffin. The left arm of the skeleton was underneath the left rib bones.

The skeleton of a cat was also recovered from the burial ground.

The rectangular structure in the west section

The cobbled surface inside the line of the medieval wall

The post-medieval burial within the robber trench of the medieval wall

Trench 12

Immediately below the car park surface was loose demolition rubble (595) from St Peter’s Church. The rubble filled walls, a brick tomb and the floor of the Victorian crypt.

The west north-south wall of St Peter’s Church formed the western edge of the trench. The foundation of the wall was made of mixed red and green sandstone (597) that would only have been visible within the crypt of the church. The exposed walls of the church would have been of red brick and a single course survived in the south-west corner of the buildings. The brick wall followed the same line as the sandstone foundation.

Trench 12 - within the footprint of the church of St Peter the Great in July 2005

The entrance to the Victorian church was from the west, where steps led up to the church and down into the crypt. The entrance (600) was found roughly in the centre of the wall and had two phases. The first phase of doorway was through the stone wall, this was narrowed by the insertion of brick walls and a narrower second phase entrance.

A concrete floor (602), approximately 1 metre wide, led east from the entrance along with a brick wall (613) and, after turning a dogleg to the north, passed through north-south brick walls 604 and 606 and concrete beams 603 and 605. Below the concrete floor and abutting walls 604 and 606 was a blue-brick crypt floor (598) that covered the exposed trench with one area of later repair (608/609).

In the south-west corner of the crypt was a red brick vault, possibly associated with the heating system of the church. The bricks had frogs, were bonded in modern concrete and were clearly fairly modern. Three areas of the crypt floor were lifted and sondages excavated.

The west and south walls of the church

The northern sondage measured approximately 3.30 x 2.40 metres. The brick floor was laid on top of loose mid brown silty sand mixed with mortar, charcoal and rounded pebbles (607). Below 607 was compact brown silty clay (612) that covered a thin layer of compact green sandstone (629) from a possible floor.

Linear cuts for walls 597 and 606 (610 and 614) ran north-south and were filled by mixed orange red sandy clay with mortar, pottery, and human bone inclusions (611) and mixed red brown sandy clay (615). Both of these construction trenches have been dated from the 18th to early 19th century and cut earlier features within the sondage.

Three areas of the brick floor were opened for investigation

The main features within this sondage were five graves orientated east-west. Some of the graves were cut by the later walls of the Victorian church and some were truncated by the construction of the crypt floor.

The removal of the brick floor revealed the archaeologically-rich deposits immediately beneath.

There was only one skeleton (662) fully exposed within the sondage and its grave (664) was cut into the backfill (626) of earlier grave 625.

The fully exposed skeleton was orientated east-west in the prone position with the skull facing south and hands laid to the side. A small iron ring was preserved in the area of the left hand. The bowed nature of the leg bones suggested that the individual almost certainly had vitamin D deficiency, but it is hard to say if the changes visible were residual from a childhood disease (rickets) or due to adult deficiency (osteomalacia) or a number of episodes of deficiency. There was a lot of evidence for vitamin D deficiency from St Martin's Church, Worcester from a similar date so it may be that environmental/living conditions in Worcester were conducive to vitamin D deficiency (Dr M Brickley, consultant osteoarchaeologist, pers comm).

The earlier skeleton 667 was only partially exposed as it was below the later skeleton 662. The skull had been truncated by the construction trench (610) of the later west wall of the church. The arms of the skeleton were laid to the side and copper alloy studs formed a small ‘†’ and an initial ‘M’ on the remains of the coffin (668). Pottery from the backfill of the grave has been dated to the late 12th to 14th century.

A central sondage was also excavated (below the crypt floor and its make-up layer) there were more graves and a brick-lined tomb.

Two inter-cutting skeletons, with the lower cut by the wall of the later church of St Peter the Great. This must be associated with the earlier church.

The southernmost of the sondages was devoid of burials and below the make-up for the crypt floor was a layer of pebbles and fragmentary sandstone (649). This layer, or dump, was in the area that marked the southern limit of the burials within the trench. It was not substantial enough to be a wall foundation but may well represent a very fragmentary floor or stone-working deposit.

Below layer 649 was compact dark brown silty clay (624) that covered soft brown silty clay with sandstone, cobble, animal bone and pottery inclusions. Pottery from the layer dated from the 14 to 15th centuries. This layer covered features cut into what appeared to be natural compact red clay (641).

The features were inter-cutting ditches and a post-hole. The earliest feature stratigraphically was a large east-west ditch (634) that was cut by a post-hole (636) and a small gully (632). Ditch 634 was only partially exposed in the sondage and its full extent was not established. The sides were approximately angled at 45º and would have probably formed a large v-shaped feature. The primary fill of the ditch was compact red brown silty clay (642) that was probably water-washed natural clay redeposited within the trench. The later fill was friable dark brown silty clay (633) with slag, pottery and CBM inclusions. This context could be accurately dated to the 2nd century AD from recovered Nene Valley ware pottery (Alan Jacobs, pers comm). A small gully (632, fill 631) orientated roughly north-east/south-west cut the larger ditch and was filled by mid brown silty clay. The fill of this feature suggests a date between the 1st and 4th centuries, making it the latest of the Roman features in this area. The gully continued through the north section and was cut by construction trench 610.

In the east end of the sondage, the ditch was cut by a roughly circular post-hole (636). Within its fill (635) was post-pipe 639 filled by mid brown silty clay (640) with red clay mottling and mixed slag, animal bone and pottery inclusions. The fill of the post-hole (636) dates to between 150 and 200 AD. The eastern edge of the post-hole was cut by construction trench 619 for brick wall 604. The fill (620) of the construction trench dated to the 18th century.

The base of the church wall was established within this sondage. It was at a depth of 2.50 metres (16.62 metres OD) below the current ground surface. The first course of sandstone blocks projected out from the wall forming a plinth on top of which the wall was constructed.

Roman deposits before excavation

Two Roman ditches were cut by the west wall of St Peter's Church

reporting

unpublished report - The archaeological evaluation of Royal Worcester Porcelain, Severn Street, Stage2 - by Daniel Lewis