St Clement’s Churchyard The Plain Oxford

Between the 3rd and 5th September 2007, Oxford Archaeology (OA)
carried out an archaeological watching brief on The Plain roundabout,
Oxford (NGR SP 523 059). The work was commissioned by Jacobs on
behalf of Oxfordshire Highways, and was carried out during roadworks
on the south- eastern area of the roundabout.
The watching brief revealed part of the churchyard of the old St Clement’s
Church, which stood on the site until 1828. Sixteen earth- cut graves and
one brick shaft grave were revealed. A small assemblage of human bone
was also recovered as charnel and from graves truncated by Trench 1.
The burials, all roughly west- east aligned, are thought to date to the later
18th- early 19th centuries. The quality of the coffin remains and coffin
fittings are consistent with the historical information that described the
population of St Clement’s parish as poor and of low status.
The distribution and density of burials revealed during the watching brief
was greatest in the western half of the site closest to the site of the church,
but the absence of graves in the eastern half suggested that the eastern
limit of the churchyard was encompassed within the study area.