St Mary's Church, Langley Marish, Slough

Oxford Archaeology (OA) undertook an open area excavation and extended watching brief at ST Mary's Church, Langley Marish on behalf of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) during construction work for a new outbuilding in October and November 2000. The excavations involved the removal of burials on the north side of the church within the footprint of the new building. The earliest burials appeared to be of late 18th- and early 19th-century date; the remainder dated to the Victorian period. Two brick vaults were discovered dating to the early part of the 19th century; a substantial crypt dated to c. 1821 belonging to the Ivy family had been blocked-up in the middle of the 19th century. Specialist contractors were responsible for the removal of three 20th-century burials located within the development area. No structural evidence for a precursor to this 12th-century church was forthcoming, and no evidence for medieval or earlier burials was recovered. Evidence for scaffold holes and repairs to the church during the post-medieval period was observed during the construction of a new doorway in the north wall of the church in January 2001.