Monument record 13/1/2 - Little Sutton Manor Chapel and Cemetery

<1> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Vol.II, p.425-6 (Book). SCH1389.

At Sutton Hall Farm, during its construction, workmen discovered an ancient cemetery, about forty-two feet square and filled with a very considerable quantity of bones and sculls. Further human remains were found in the area adjoining the structure. The enclosed area was divided into twenty-five compartments by thirty-six upright pillars; each compartment was seven feet square, with the pillars placed at the corners. The pillars seemed to be intended to support a floor and were shaped into a rough cylindrical shape two feet six inches high, twelve inches in diameter and tapering at the middle to a diameter of seven inches. In these compartments the bodies had been laid in rows, and drains had been made to carry away the fluids from the decomposing bodies. At the northern side of the enclosure were two very worn steps, presumably leading to the room above. Nearby was the stone frame-work of the door, on which an inscription remained; but was not recorded. The stonework was cut up and used for the foundations of the new farm house. Ormerod believes that the cemetery belonged to the monastic grange (see CHER 13/1/1).

<2> Sulley, P, 1889, The Hundred of Wirral, p.152-3 (Book). SCH3174.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ37NE3 (Index). SCH2487.

No remains of the burial place could be traced. The farmhouse is consitent with a building built c.1811.

<4> Mortimer W, 1847, The History of the Hundred of Wirral, p.229-230 (Book). SCH3160.