The Minster Church of St Thomas, Newport, Isle of Wight

In August 2019 OA was commissioned by Thomas Ford & Partners
on behalf of The Faculty of the Consistory Court of the Diocese of
Portsmouth to undertake an archaeological evaluation at the
Minster Church of St Thomas, Newport, Isle of Wight. The work
involved the excavation of 12 test pits within the existing floor of
the church to investigation the remains of the early medieval
church and to help inform the design of a new floor and lift
installation. The evaluation revealed a number of archaeologically
significant deposits and structures associated with and pre-dating
the existing mid-19th century church, enabling the potential
impact of the proposed scheme to be determined. Two
foundation structures were stratigraphically earlier than the
present church, while test pits 3, 5, 9 and 10 revealed the
foundations of the latter. In-situ burials were discovered in test pits
6 and 12 at the southern edge of the church, the former relating
to a lead coffin and the latter to articulated human bones.
Archaeological remains survived beneath the wooden raised floor
and it is likely that additonal remains are present immediately
beneath the tiled floor surface.