Site of Church and churchyard of St Lawrence, West Street

1 The church was granted to St Mary’s College in 1123 and was united with it in 1367. It apparently continued in use as a church for some time after its appropriation to St Mary’s and the building was still standing in 1632. When West Street was widened in 1837 the churchyard was discovered and a Norman capital found.
2 Workmen reported finding human remains while machine digging two square holes to the rear of no.11. Three more skulls were revealed the next day. In all, the bones amounted to four skulls and several leg bone fragments, but there was no associated material with which to date them. The close proximity of this find to the St Lawrence churchyard suggests that the area of the churchyard be extended southwards.
3 Correspondence from 1983.
4 Archaeological observation close to the site of the medieval church of St Lawrence and within the former graveyard, revealed numerous stone graves and burials. Sandstone foundations were also found on the same alignment, suggesting that they belonged to the church of St Lawrence.
5 Two trenches were dug and at least 10 graves were revealed, generally aligned south-west to north-east. Four distinct rows of graves were identified in Trench 2. No complete skeletons were found as in all cases the graves extended beyond the trenches. Based on the alignment, density and location of the graves, the presence of stone-lined burials, and the condition of the bone, there is little doubt that these form part of the medieval churchyard associated with St Lawrence Church. No structural evidence of the church itself was found.