Monument record 164/1/2 - Vault at St Peter's Church

<1> Blacklay A, 1998, St Peter, Congleton: Note of Investigation of Vault at East End of Church (Written Communication). SCH8629.

Brick vault located 2m east of the east end of the Church of St Peter Congleton. Memorial stones associated with the burials in the vault are set into the brickwork of the east wall of the church. The entrance to the vault is located below a sandstone slab 930 x 1820 x 150 (mm?) inscribed ‘Vault’. Below this slab was a rectangular brick chamber orientated east-west and with dimensions c.2100 x 800 x 900+ (mm?). The entrance stairway to the vault has been partially infilled with concrete, possibly following the last burial in the 1950s.

The doorway to the vault had been bricked up. The top courses were taken down to allow enough room to look into the vault beyond. The vault was estimated at being about 2400 (mm?) square and about 1800 (mm?) high built in brick with a shallow brick vault spanning east-west. The vault appeared to be built directly against the east wall of the church and the brickwork appeared to be of eighteenth or nineteenth century date. The roof of the vault was approximately 450 (mm?) below ground level.

The vault contained a large number (in the order of at least a dozen) of coffins laid east west and stacked at least 3 deep vertically on a rusting wrought iron framework. Most coffins appeared adult size although there was at least one child’s coffin. It appeared that all the coffins had been lead lined timber coffins and that in every case the wood had rotted completely away and only the lead linings remained. Some of these had collapsed although most seemed to retain their integrity. Inscribed metal labels and handles could be seen lying loose where they had dropped as the wood to which they were attached rotted.

The vault not entered or disturbed.