During and archaeological watching brief undertaken by Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd within the graveyard of the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Swanscombe Street, the remains of an infant were located at the base of the northern side of the church tower. This was indicative of Late Saxon practice. Un-baptised children were sometimes buried against the church walls and it is thought that the Saxons believed that when rain fell on the church roof it would turn into Holy Water, then run off and baptise the infants in the ground2. Such a practice would certainly explain the location of the infant burial in the vicinity of the church tower, although this interpretation remains tentative. (1)

<1> Pre-Construct Archaeology, 2009, Archaeological watching brief at the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Swanscombe Street, Swanscombe, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE30731.