EDO5060 - The SW corner of All Hallows Church, Sherborne; excavations in 1965

J.H.P. Gibb conducted excavations for the Sherborne School Archaeological Society immediately west of Sherborne Abbey church during 1964 and 1965 in order to gather further information on the appearance and structure of the parish church of All Hallows. The second of these excavations was conducted in the summer of 1965 at the projected SW corner of the parish church of All Hallows in order to see if the extant north aisle wall is a true representation of the total length of the church. A further small excavation was dug at the junction of the 4th and 5th bays of the south aisle wall. Significant discoveries included an 18th century brick vault which cut the south projecting corner buttress and 30 skeletons which were subsequently deposited in the brick vault. The total length of the church was found to match that of the extant north aisle wall. Furthermore, a coin of Edward I/II (1305-10) was found embedded in the foundations of the west wall indicating that the church can have been completed no earlier than 1305 AD.