The Burgess Street burnt bone chamber

What this record tells us

The gazetteer records a possible round barrow on the basis of an early discovery reported by Jonathan Williams. A roughly 1.2 m square grave or cist beneath the mound reportedly contained burnt human bone, black earth and wood ash; the interpretation remains uncertain because the evidence is antiquarian.

Additional research and clarification, 26 September 2026 A garden between the heads of Burgess Street and New Street reportedly contained a chamber about four feet square, roofed with charred timber. Williams described burnt human bone, blackened earth and wood ash. He interpreted it as a British barrow and used it to support a proposed derivation of Burgess Street from Barrow Cross Street.

Later archaeological assessments retain the discovery but treat its interpretation cautiously. The reported contents could be important burial evidence, yet there is no controlled excavation, specialist identification or surviving plan. The grid reference locates the report as catalogued later, not a rediscovered grave. Williams’s attractive street-name explanation cannot validate the burial interpretation.

How this record is evidenced

Map location

Source and further reading