Archaeological mitigation was undertaken by Worcestershire Archaeology at St Martin in the Cornmarket, Queen Street, Worcester (NGR SO 85137 55000), between 2015 and 2022. This comprised watching brief and building recording. The project was commissioned by Caroe and Partners on behalf of the PCC of St Martin in the Cornmarket, during consolidation and refurbishment works for which a Faculty has been granted by the diocese of Worcester. Fifteen trenches were opened external to the church, and a single trench was opened in the base of the tower, where building recording was undertaken of the medieval sandstone base of the tower. The deposits uncovered during the fieldwork were characteristic of those outlined in the desk-based assessment. Below modern surfacing and levelling deposits, a damaged cobbled surface was the most recent archaeological horizon observed which appeared to seal a mix of post-medieval and churchyard soils across the frontage of the church. These deposits extended to the rear of the church, where the current churchyard limits are defined, and contained an assemblage of pottery broadly ranging from Roman to the 18 th and 19 th centuries. A series of brick vaults were identified surrounding the southern and western sides of the church, within the tower itself, and externally in the churchyard. It appears that the internal vaults post-date the late 18 th century, when the churchyard was deemed to be full, and were inserted to accommodate the continuation of interments at the site. Articulated human skeletal remains were only identified within the current churchyard. They provide a typical and varied range of the sample expected within the formal churchyard, and are considered likely to date to the late 18 th century. The desk-based assessment considered that other remains would exist below the current church foundations, and this was confirmed in the 14 th century church tower within its first storey and foundations. Similar green sandstone was observed as footings for the nave, but it was not possible to determine whether these remain in situ from a medieval church building, or if they have been re- used from earlier demolition prior to the 1780 remodelling such as that of the upper storeys of the tower, due to the limited area of visibility during excavation. The potential for further survival of these and other medieval remains on this site is considered to be high and St Martin's status as one of the earliest churches in Worcester, would mean that any further mitigation works would potentially reveal remains of great importance to the Church itself and even for the evidence of early ecclesiastical settlement within the city of Worcester.
Jesse Wheeler (Sat,) studied this question.