Sunday 11 August 2002 7.35am
The churchyard from ST Georges used to extend far back to past
Tennis Street, burial grounds seemed to get used for the same purpose over the centuries, so perhaps more Roman remains have been found.
In the fantastic John Harvard library there iss a book called Ancient and Promiscous burial grounds, that tells you where a lot of Southwarks burial grounds were.
I found out a few years ago that the land which is now Chaucer's school football pitch is covering up possible tens of thousands of bodies.
I live in
Bartholomew Street and it always puzzled me why the gardens which had been there for two hundred years almost were about fifteen feet lower than the school playground, apparently when a burial ground was full they just used to 'top' up the level with earth and re-use!
so you would have layer upon layer or bodies! No wonder I was always finding bits of bone at the end of the garden!
There was also a roman burial ground in
Deverell Street.
Lets hope if they do find anything of interest they will give local people the chance to see it!