PCA Warwick was commissioned to undertake an archaeological evaluation at the Church of St Mary, Wollaston in advance of a proposed two storey extension, to be built in the angle between the nave and the chancel at the north side of the church. The church dates to the 13th – 14th century and is Grade II listed. Following the collapse of the original tower the nave was rebuilt in 1737, and the chancel and north transept were remodelled in 1902. The north elevation of the nave is of negligible heritage value, comprising a 20th century lean-to vestry.

A Written Scheme of Investigation was prepared and approved by the Local Planning Authority prior to the commencement of fieldwork which comprised three hand excavated test pits, each measuring 1m x 1m located in the area north of the chancel. The principal aims were to determine the presence and extent of the north wall of the original Norman chancel, as well as whether any burials remained in-situ within the proposed area of development. All three test pits yielded positive results, with twpo of these revealing medieval foundations and one exposing the lower half of an in-situ east-west oriented inhumation. Across all three test pits, the archaeological remains were overlain by a backfill deposit of 20th century date, likely to derive from archaeological excavations known to have taken place in this area of the churchyard in the 1960’s, and suggesting that the remains had previously been exposed, and possibly disturbed, at this time. A report has been produced and submitted to the Parochial Council to inform future work associated with this project.