Monument Type(s):

• CHARNEL HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• CRYPT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument : The surviving medieval crypt of Old St Chad's Church, which was the parish church until 1788 (when it became unsafe) and was replaced by a new building, the current St Chad's, on a different site.

Related records

Associated Finds

• FSA520 - HUMAN REMAINS (Late Saxon to Early 20th century (pre-war) - 800 AD? to 1913 AD?)

Associated Events

• ESA1304 - 1889-1890 excavation of Old St Chad's crypt, Shrewsbury by SAHS
• ESA5452 - 1997 WB on repairs to the crypt of Old St Chad, Shrewsbury by Ironbridge Archaeology
• ESA6226 - 1994 measured drawing survey during repairs to the crypt of Old St Chad, Shrewsbury by Ironbridge Archaeology

Description

Suggestions that the Crypt was the original Saxon Church were rejected by Cranage, who regarded it as a C12 work incorporating older masonry and later altered. The bases of circular pillars of the C12 replaced by semi-octagonal responds of the C14 <2>

In December 1993 a brief for a survey of the crypt was prepared, as a prerequisite for an SMC application to infill the crypt <3>

Crypt called the Dimmery, a vaulted chamber under the N side of the church. Passageway traditionally running to Vaughan's Place (see PRN 10576) <4>

Crypt or undercroft to the former north transept of the Old Church of St Chad. It was filled up, following the collapse of the church, in April 1790, and excavated/cleared in 1889-90 by J.Nurse, for the Shropshire Archaeological Society [<1>], and left exposed ever since. Currently in a disgraceful condition and in urgent need of re-excavation, structural recording, consolidation, and interpretation. For details of outstanding proposals, SMC conditions etc, see PRN 01094. The crypt fabric has never been adequately recorded or analysed, and Cranage was unwilling to make dogmatic statements as to its age and function. It was basically a rectangular sandstone structure with a quadripartite vault supported on engaged shafts against the (? Earlier) walls and a central row of columns. Doorways in the west and east walls, surmounted by rough arches when excavated, probably led respectively to the north aisle and a north transept/choir chapel or vestry. A wide doorway led to some kind of eastern chamber, thought by the excavator to have been filled up 'at a comparatively early period' [<1>]. The vaulting column bases were thought by Cranage to be 12th-century, the original shafts encased and thickened later, probably in the 14th. The arches of the vault were said to have been round. Cranage thought (tentatively) that the crypt was of 12th-century date incorporating some earlier work, and altered later, principally on the basis of coarse axed tooling to some elements, and on the (probably secondary) relationship of parts of the vaulting to the side walls. He felt, however, that the walls were too thick to be pre-Norman, and that it would be unlikely for a Norman transept to be built to the dimensions of a pre-existing crypt [<2>] <5>

Excavation of the crypt in 1889 produced two burials in stone cists with charcoal and object now interpreted as a C8 or C9 Shroud pin <6>

In August 1997 a watching brief was undertaken during repairs to the crypt of St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury. The ground above the level of the extant wall had slowly slipped into the crypt, revealing some remains of burials. The east, south and west walls of the crypt are coursed stone and were overlain by steep and loose earth banks, with soil also built up on the floor. The earth and rubble was removed. No features were found beneath any of this area. A slab of modern concrete was removed from the northern end of the crypt, and a broken slab of concrete was found at the north entrance, presumably either contemporary or later than the entrance and boundary wall. Numerous stone fragments and mouldings were recorded during the work. The square bases of the extant piers were revealed and three possible square bases were found. Eight further bases must either survive below ground level or are lost. Only one of the three piers recorded in 1889 is extant, and only one of the encased round piers remains. Two of the original polygonal responds and one capital also survive. The site was regraded to provide more gentle slopes and prevent erosion.<7>

St. Chads Crypt measured survey drawings. <8> <9>

The Scheduling and Listing of Old St Chads was reviewed in early 2015. <10> This led to the removal of the upstanding remains (mainly the Lady Chapel) of the church from the Scheduling, leaving just the Crypt as NHLE 1003708 (OCN Salop 140), now with a full NHLE List Entry. <11>

Sources

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.