Monument record MDO19865 - Newland Timber Yard, Newland; human burials

Human bones have been recorded as coming from a timber yard at the junction of Newland and Hound Street, Sherborne at some time prior to 1815. A town plan of Sherborne can be found on page 75 of the second edition of Hutchins’ ‘The history and antiquities of County of Dorset’. This annotated plan marks a spot at the centre of a triangle formed on the east side of the junction between Newland and Hound Street and describes it as:

‘A timber yard, where human bones are found, supposed the site of a church or chapel.’ [1]

The wording seems to suggest that burials were found at this timber yard on more than one occasion.

This find spot seems to form part of a wider monument. Other finds of W-E aligned burials have subsequently been recorded to the south of Newland and at its junctions with St Swithins’ Road and Hound Street (monuments 1 101 146, 1 101 147, 1 101 144A). It has been suggested that this forms a Christian cemetery, possibly associated with a putative old chapel site of St. Swithin. [2]

<1> Hutchins, J, 1815, The history and antiquities of the County of Dorset. Volume 4. 2nd edition, pp.74-5 (Monograph). SDO10233.

<2> Bean, C E, 1955, Remains of old road metal and other discoveries in Sherborne; Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society (Article in serial). SDO10247.

Record last edited

Aug 23 2024 1:08PM