SDO21148 - All Saint's Church, Hampreston, Dorset: Archaeological Watching Brief

‘Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by RLM Architects Ltd on behalf of the Parochial Church Council of All Saints Church (‘the client’) to carry out an archaeological watching brief during groundworks associated with the renovation of the church heating system at All Saints Church, Hampreston, Dorset, centred on NGR 405520 098803. The groundworks monitored comprised two hand dug test pits, situated on the east and west of the existing concrete plinth upon which the oil tank sits. Both test pits encountered cemetery soils, beneath a thin layer of topsoil in Test Pit 1 and made ground in Test Pit 2, with small quantities of disarticulated human remains being retrieved from the cemetery soil and topsoil. A mid-18th to 19th century coffin handle was also recovered. The natural gravels were present at 0.85 m below the existing ground level. Features recorded were the exterior of a brick vault and a drainage pipe in Test Pit 1 and the outside wall of the church in Test Pit 2. No evidence for grave cuts was observed. The disarticulated remains represent a minimum of two individuals and include the remains of one adult and an infant. The remains were reburied within the churchyard after all works were completed. The archaeological watching brief successfully met the aims and objectives set out in the written scheme of investigation and showed that no in situ burials were present within the areas of the proposed development. The disarticulated remains recovered from the test pits are the result of burials being disturbed when the church was underpinned and drainage was installed.’