ULAS
University of Leicester Archaeological Services

Annual Report 2001

The Hospital of St. John the Baptist - Excavations at Mill Farm, Lutterworth

The hospital of St. John the Baptist, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, was founded on land known locally as ‘the warren’ during the reign of King John in 1218, and was dissolved in 1577. The hospital complex was a wealthy institution in its day, its revenue being greater than that of the contemporary parish church of St. Mary’s. Much of this wealth was doubtless generated by two mills, documented as belonging to the estate upon its dissolution in 1577, and from farming land at Gilmorton, Cotesbach, Shawell and Bitteswell. It is, however, unclear whether the hospital mills occupied the ‘warren’ site itself.

In the 1890s, rubble and human bones were discovered during the construction of what is now the A426 main road. Not only had remnants of the hospital buildings been unearthed but, for the first time, there was evidence that the hospital had its own cemetery.

A small team of excavators from ULAS had undertaken evaluative trenching of the land, now occupied by Mill Farm, in 1996 on behalf of the new landowners, Hallam Land Management, who were proposing to redevelop the site. The discovery of five graves confirmed the existence of the hospital cemetery, while spreads of cobbles also hinted at the presence of structures, although their character was unclear.

In 2001 ULAS was commissioned to carry out more extensive work to ensure satisfactory recording of the areas of archaeological importance which would be affected by the proposed development. In particular a large area was stripped to better define the cemetery and the possible cobble structures.

Twenty-two complete graves were identified in a very overgrown plot of land to the south of the farmhouse. There had been much disturbance to this cemetery in the years since its abandonment, including modern ditches and sand quarrying pits, which had clearly destroyed many more graves, judging by the large quantities of disturbed human bones in their backfills. The excavated graves all contained well-preserved skeletons, all but one of which were interred according to Christian tradition, with their heads at the west end of the graves. One individual, the only juvenile, was buried the other way round, with the head at the east.
Despite the Christian rules banning the inclusion of grave-goods in burials of this date, some interesting artefacts were recovered from the grave fills.

One individual was found to be wearing a very plain ‘penannular’ style brooch, commonly used as a fastening for clothing, while another was found with six 14th-century floor tiles, four of which were decorated with the Arms of Beauchamp. Although most of the burials appeared to be simple interments, without coffins (the bodies may simply have been wrapped in shrouds that have since rotted), one burial was found to incorporate a wooden coffin held together with iron nails. Interestingly this coffin burial was also the only double interment, found in ‘double-decker’ style below the burial containing the tiles.

Detailed laboratory analysis of the skeletons indicated that the population consisted primarily of mature adult males, bearing the obvious signs of old age, arthritis was a very common finding. Only one female and one juvenile, of 15 years, broke the trend.
To the south-west of the cemetery area, a simple track was identified running in a north-west to south-east direction. This made use of small rounded pebbles embedded in clay, presumably to stabilise the ground and to prevent rutting by cartwheels. This track may have led from the hospital buildings to the cemetery.

Adjacent to the pebble track lay a large cluster of cobbles which appeared to form the internal flooring of a cobble building, built in a similar style to the local parish church. A slate-lined drainage channel could be seen below the floor and the remnants of some external mortared walls were also visible. Unfortunately, much of this structure had been destroyed by a modern farm building. Few datable finds were recovered although some fragments of floor tiles (similar to those found in the grave) were identified. It is, however, uncertain whether the 14th-century tile fragments were contemporary with the structure or whether they had been incorporated into its fabric at a later date. Additional cobble structures, including a long enclosure wall, were also identified within the excavation area.

A great deal of analytical remains to be completed on the finds from the site at Mill Farm, and it is hoped that in the near future a more detailed picture may be formed of the nature of these remains. What is already apparent is that the latest excavations have succeeded in locating at least part of the lost hospital of St. John’s.

We would like to thank Hallam Land Management for their help and co-operation with this project.