Monument record NDM 003 - Alleged site of a Post Medieval plague pit.

Please read our .

Summary

Site of Plague Pit (Alleged).

Location

Grid reference Centred TM 0917 5455 (51m by 50m)
Map sheet TM05SE
Civil Parish NEEDHAM MARKET, MID SUFFOLK, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (3)

Full Description

Site of Plague Pit (Alleged).
An ill-defined mound, circa 35m in diameter and circa 1m high, near the road edge of a field (Town Lands on Tithe Map) is said to cover a Plague pit. Needham is said to have been hit very hard by a plague 1663-1665. Barriers are said to have been placed at either end of the town to contain the plague (hence the name Chain Bridge). 'Tradition says that the dead were buried in a field near the Lion Inn and also in a field near the Chain Bridges on the Stowmarket Road' (R1).
Machine section cut through mound, 1981, under supervision of K Wade. Mound proved to be natural. Three pits cut into the subsoil contained medieval sherds. Two fragments only of human bone were recovered.

Sources/Archives (3)

  • <R1> (No record type): Platten E W, Rambles round and jottings about Needham Market, 1925, 18.
  • <M1> Unpublished document: Suffolk Archaeological Service. Parish Files.
  • <R2> (No record type): Wade K, SAU, excavation, 1981.

Finds (1)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (1)

Record last edited

Aug 20 2013 3:03PM

Comments and Feedback

Do you have any more information about this record? Please feel free to comment with information and photographs, or ask any questions, using the "Disqus" tool below. Comments are moderated, and we aim to respond/publish as soon as possible.