Newsletter Home

Useful Links

St Olave Church Excavation Summary
Autumn 2002 by Nigel MacBeth

The archaeological investigations at the St Olave church site are drawing to a close, so it is timely to report again on our findings. The Editor has published various short articles over the years, but it is now, as we begin to prepare to backfill the site, that the importance of this tiny church is beginning to be appreciated.

Firstly, I would like to explain that the excavation has been fully sanctioned - not only by the Parish, but also by the Suffolk County Archaeologist, and that it has been conducted in accordance with professional archaeological methods. The resulting archive will be a testament to a very successful community project, which will be accessible both at the County Record Office in Ipswich and on our website.

Kick Started

Those of you who have been following our progress will be familiar with why we began on this trail of discovery. The whole idea was kick-started by the Millennium celebrations in 2000, although fieldwork had already started in 1998. A grant from the Millennium Commission came through in 1999 and this allowed us to begin historical research at various locations such as Eton College & Norwich, to conduct geophysical surveys at All Saints and St Olave, test-trench for the lost church of St Olave (in a field opposite to where the OS map located it) and to erect professional information boards on or near both church sites.

All of these tasks were completed within the projected time scale and on budget by local volunteers. I think that the community owes a debt of gratitude to the project members (and especially those who are not Creeting residents) for all their hard work and dedication to the project.

Millennium

After the Millennium celebrations, the site was backfilled and during the winter it was decided that as the site was under the plough (and most probably being damaged by it), we would ask Tim Broom, the farmer, if we could return later in the year to try and reveal the whole church. This he agreed to, and as the field was to be put into set-a-side, we would have a full year to complete the work. Well, it has taken two years and a lot of negotiation, and even now we’re 'pushing it' to finish. One great bonus to the community is that after the foot and mouth outbreak last year, the site is now being put down to grass under a scheme which will protect the church and the cemetery for the future.

The Church

The first priority was to record the full extent of the church: did it have a chancel and nave, or just a chancel similar to a chapel; did it have a tower? As we continued to clean towards the west, the flint stopped quite abruptly about half-way down. With careful cleaning, foundation trenches could be seen continuing towards the west, from where the flint stopped, but these trenches contained demolition material of mortar, painted window glass, tile and medieval pottery. These turned out to be the result of 18th/19th century stone-robbing prior to agriculture. Most of the stone was probably used for wall building at Woolney Hall, opposite the site. These robbed-out trenches seemed to map out the rest of the church, but it was not all plain-sailing.

Bell Casting

We soon discovered that towards the western end of the nave was a circular feature which was heat-reddened and looked like a kiln or furnace. This feature turned out to be a casting pit for a bronze bell. Large quantities of bell mould and bronze waste have been recovered. When we have the resources, we should be able to have the bronze assayed and possibly dated. Indications are that this is an early medieval bell, cast using the ‘lost wax’ process. During this first cleaning process, we saw clear evidence of plough furrows. This ploughing had dragged quantities of bell mould, bronze and human bones across the site. The date of this plough damage is difficult to determine, but suffice to say that any modern ploughing would not help with the preservation of what remains.

Round Tower

Now that we had cleaned an area which covered the whole church from east to west, our next problem was whether this had been a one-phase building or had there been earlier structures? Looking at the area around the bell pit we started to realise that we had another wall running north south — could this be the west wall of an earlier church? This would make a very small single-cell church, perhaps of early medieval date. We then realised that the bell pit was in fact cut into a circular feature which was outside the west wall and very central to the church. Was this a round tower for an early medieval church? We are now confident that this was a small round tower and that a bell casting pit was dug into the base of it, at a later date, when the church was expanded to incorporate a nave. There is no evidence of a later tower at the west end of the expanded church, so the bell must have been hung from a bell housing.

Saxon Church

Our earlier historical research had shown that Woolney Hall was probably a Saxon manor (Wulfrith in Domesday) which could indicate the existence of a wooden church. Saxon buildings used a method of construction called ‘earth fast’. Wooden beams were dug into the ground and post holes were dug for uprights at either end, to support the walling of wattle and daub, sometimes churches & larger buildings used split wood instead of wattle and daub. When these buildings were replaced in the medieval period, the post holes and sometimes the beam slots survive under the later stone wall foundations.

Post Holes

During mid-August, we started to cut a section through the east wall. This has revealed a large post hole cut into the natural clay. We are also investigating a dark linear feature on the edge of the south wall which could be the remains of a decayed beam. It will take until October or November before we can say that there was a timber Saxon church under the medieval church, but it is looking very likely.

Although the excavations are nearly complete, the work of analysis and publication is only beginning. Plans are well developed for publication of a popular booklet to be sold in aid of St Mary’s church. Rev Christine Everett has shown a great interest in the project, and is keen to see a permanent exhibition in the church. Villagers are invited to take part in this new Project, which would include: desktop publishing, exhibition design and illustration. Fieldwork such as a landscape survey of the Jordan valley and field-walking are also in the pipeline.

So, if you are interested in any of these activities and pursuits, please contact me via csmnews@yahoo.com. Over the winter, I will be giving an illustrated talk at the Village Hall which should help to put all these things into context.

The site has been closed throughout September due to the director being put out of action for five weeks, when a Muntjac deer decided to cross the road while he was riding his motorcycle near Onehouse. Alas, both deer and bike are dead, but luckily he got away with only a few fractures to his right foot and no - his freezer is not full of venison!

This page created by Jerry Clarkson, November 2002