NHER 337 (Monument record) - Churchyard to St John the Baptist's Church, St John Maddermarket

Churchyard to St John the Baptist's Church, St John Maddermarket (NHER 565) [1].
St John the Baptist's Church dates to the 14th and 15th century.
The surrounding churchyard covers a triangular piece of land including a small strip fronting Pottergate Street which is now paved and a long, narrowing strip to the north of the church contained by St John Maddermarket and St John's Alley. This is clearly depicted on Cleer's 1696 map of Norwich (S1).
H. Hamilton (HES), 13 October 2022.

1977. Rescue Excavation.
Human remains were discovered whilst excavating a pipe trench along the outer edge of the pavement outside St John Maddermarket Church (NHER 565). These were recovered by Norwich Castle Museum staff.
The human remains were encountered at a depth of approximately 70cm and were aligned east-to-west within the cut. Portions of up to six skeletons were recovered.
The most in tact burial was of a strongly built male aged aproximately 35-40. This individual suggered from a displaced septum and had accute sinusitis. The teeth were also in a very poor condition. The burial was associated with two sherds of 17th century pottery.
The other remains were identified as fragments of one additional male, one female, and up to three children.
Information from internal recording form (S1).
M. Atkin (NCM). Amended H. Hamilton (HES), 13 October 2022.

October 2022. Casual Observation.
Workmen encountered human remains whilst undertaking work to the footpath in front of St John Maddermarket Church.
As per protocol, the bones were immediately removed from the site by the police and examined by a specialist who confirmed that their condition is consistent with remains recovered from medieval and post-medieval cemeteries and are likely to be of archaeological significance (S5).
The remains included two femur fragments and a portion of a tibia (two joining pieces) which may have belonged to a single individual, likely an older adult and possibly male.
The remaining fragments are likely to represent an additional two or three individuals. A near-complete mandible has been attributed to an adult female, and a tibia shaft and a humerous shaft are the remains of one or two small adults or older sub-adults.
A fragment of a large mammal rib, possibly cattle, was also identified amongst the remains.
See web newspaper article (S4) for an initial press release and unpublished report (S5) for further details.
See also digital photographs from time of discovery (S6).
H. Hamilton (HES), 14 October 2022.