|
BAJR Host
BAJR
United Kingdom
5939 Posts |
 Posted - 24/04/2009 : 14:50:52
|
HISTORIC DISCOVERIES AT HEREFORDSHIRE CHURCH
More than a hundred and fifty people crammed into a Herefordshire Church to hear about the historic finds following a unique archaeological dig. St Peter’s church in Peterchurch is being partly redeveloped as a Centre for Children’s Services, library branch and community meeting space alongside a worship area for church goers. Archaeologists have been working in the nine hundred year old building before the builders move in next month.
Those in the church heard from Neil Shurety of Border Archaeology that the most significant find was the discovery and exposure of a course of stonework at the bottom of the tower. “This consists of irregularly coursed, roughly hewn sandstone slabs bonded with a coarse sandy silt which differed markedly in construction method from the masonry of the rest of the tower,” Neil Shurety told the crowd. “It is possible that this could represent the footings of an earlier tower, which were subsequently re-used when the present tower was built in the late 13th-early 14th century. Even more exciting though, the date of this earlier structure is uncertain; it could be of early 12th century date, this being contemporary with the construction of the existing Nave and Chancel, but there is a real possibility that it’s of an earlier Saxon origin.”
The Church has been stripped back to the time before the Victorian restoration. The floor level has been reduced in the nave and the vestry to its original level before 1867. The new building and development work provided archaeologists with a brief window of opportunity to explore the earlier church, although time constraints have prevented further investigations.
“It has been fascinating to get this opportunity to have a look at the earlier building and learn more about our history,” said Simon Lockett, the vicar at St Peter’s. “There is some documentary evidence of a church on this site from as early as the 7th century and this new discovery adds weight to that. The other amazing thing is the number of people who turned up - we were expecting between 30 and 50 and five times that number came along to have a look.”
Other findings included the discovery of a fire in the past predating surviving churchwarden accounts which start around 1840 and a mortar floor which was probably medieval. Building work starts next month on the new developments. It is hoped that it will reopen in the autumn. Church services are taking place in the village hall.
"Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage."
Niccolo Machiavelli
|
|
HISTORIC DISCOVERIES AT HEREFORDSHIRE CHURCH
