A group of graves were discovered during a watching brief at St Nicholas' Church, New Romney, all graves have a likely 14th/15th century date. The tomb appears to have been the focus for burial in this area for some time as the subsequent phase of burial appears to cluster around and across the site of it. Consisting entirely of adult burials, it is during this phase that the beginnings of formal rows are evident, some requiring displacement to avoiding the buttress foundation of the enlarged north aisle. The final phase of burial, apart from a single adult grave located directly over the site
of the brick tomb, consisted of a series of juvenile graves mainly clustered near the site of the north aisle wall central buttress. This may indicate the demise of the plot for formal adult burials with it being reserved as a secondary extension to the churchyard possibly solely for children. There is a growing body of evidence in church archaeology of infant and juvenile burials frequently situated against the north walls of churches. Whilst not proven there is a suggestion that falling rain water from the roof might have been considered cleansing to the souls of the unbaptised. It is possible that the burial sequence encountered dates from a period prior to the construction of the small structure against the tower north aisle. This is suggested by the infringement of its assumed eastern wall position over the site of at least two juvenile grave positions, which form part of the final burial phase. If correct then it would suggest that the entire sequence of burials falls within a date range extending from before the expansion of the north aisle in the thirteenth century to the construction of the structure against the tower north aisle in the late fourteenth to the early fifteenth century. (1) (information summarised from source)

<1> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2011, Archaeological watching brief at St Nicholas' Church, Church Road, New Romney (Unpublished document). SKE24853.