Saxon church found underneath place of worship

A 900-year-old Saxon place of worship has been discovered underneath a church during excavation work.

St Cuthbert's in Darlington has been undergoing a £2.5m restoration project to make it more accessible and the archaeological discovery was made while lowering the Victorian floor.

The Archaeological Practice of Newcastle (APN) has worked with the Parochial Church Council of St Cuthbert's and Pinnacle Construction to ensure all archaeological remains are recorded and preserved.

APN project officer Marc Johnstone, said the uncovered walls likely belong to a church built "just after the Norman conquest" following the eviction of the community of St Cuthbert from Durham.

He said: "Although the walls could be earlier, associated with Anglian sculpture of the 10th and 11th centuries previously found on the site, it is likely that the recently discovered walls are those of a church built in or around 1080.

"A century or so later, the present church was built by the Normans using the 11th century walls as the bases for arcade columns."

A 3D image of the work area has been produced to record the findings made so far and revised plans are being drawn up by the architect to ensure the remains are preserved.

Digital imagery of the findings and a visual reconstruction will be available in the church when renovations are complete.

Johnstone said the uncovered walls underneath the north and south arcade columns were "slightly askew to the lines of later columns above".

"The walls are approximately 1.2m wide (3.9ft) wide and consist of roughly-worked facing stones either side of a rubble core, sitting on deep foundations chiefly of cobbles," he said.

"While no clear remains of the east end wall have been detected, there are hints of western walls perhaps associated with a tower."

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