New Drainage Works St James Church Somerton Oxfordshire

In September and October 2008, Oxford Archaeology (OA) carried out an
archaeological watching brief at St James Church, Somerton, Oxfordshire
(NGR: SP 4965 2860). The work was commissioned by the Parochial
Church Council in advance of the installation of new drains along all four
sides of the church. The watching brief revealed deposits of made ground
probably originating during the construction of the north aisle in the
14th-century and from the restoration of the church in the 1850s,
including the addition of the buttresses. Also exposed were probable
19th/early 20th-century repairs to the foundation plinth of the south wall
of the south aisle. A burial predating the construction of the chapel was
encountered, together with an 18th-century brick vault.