Description

Excavations at 2-4 Old Church Street revealed prehistoric activity, a Roman rural settlement, and medieval gardens and domestic occupation associated with a medieval manor house, although most of the evidence for settlement related to the post-medieval period, when Chelsea changed from a village to a riverside resort and finally a suburb. A churchyard occupied the southern half of the site; here were recovered the skeletons of 290 parishioners buried between c.1700 and the mid 19th century, including two members of the Hand family who ran the Chelsea Bun House. The report considers various aspects of the cemetery, including its layout, and analysis of 198 skeletons provides demographic data for comparison with other London cemeteries and information on the health of this community.