EDO5604 - St Mary's Old Church, Compton Abbas; survey of monuments 2010

AC archaeology carried out monitoring of minor groundworks and a survey of the monuments in the cemetery of St Mary's Old Church, Compton Abbas. The survey entailed the clearance of vegetation to enable observations to be made. A total of 19 headstones, four ledgers, three tombs and 32 headstone fragments were photographed and recorded. 19 headstones were recorded, of which there were two types present, Purbeck Limestone and Blue Lias. The limestone headstones were as a rule more stable than the blue lias which were affected by weathering to a greater degree, resulting in it’s becoming unstable. 8 blue lias headstones were recorded, the best preserved of which (HS19) had been overgrown with ivy, seemingly protecting it from weathering. All the limestone headstones were sound and in place, though many were covered in orange lichen. Four ledgers of 18th century date or later were recorded in the survey. Again, two were of limestone, and the other two were of blue lias. Three tombs were also recorded, two of these are chest tombs which are Listed Grade 2 tombs, T1 (LBS number 102939) and T2 (LBS number 102938). All were of Purbeck limestone. T2 and T3 are 19th century in date, while the date of T1 is uncertain. A total of twenty three monuments of 18th/19th century date were revealed in this survey. Of these, the limestone examples are more stable than the blue lias.