Archaeologists working hard to regenerate Northamptonshire pub
A team of archaeologists and volunteers are working to regenerate the Old Black Lion public house in Northampton, which is next door to St Peter’s Church
St Peter’s Church, dates back to the 12th century and is listed as a Grade I building, but It closed in 1995 and was vested in CCT in 1998.
Despite periods of use by the community and an active friends group, in recent years the church has struggled to function as a heritage landmark and venue due to a lack of hospitality facilities or WCs.
The Old Black Lion pub, is a Grade-II listed building overlooking the churchyard which closed in 2018.
Its historic fabric, dating back to the 16th-century, is deteriorating and it has been subject to break-ins and criminal activity.
This has had a negative effect on the church and churchyard, as well as the wider character of Marefair, which is the main route from Northampton town centre to the railway station.
The primary aim of the project is to restore the Old Black Lion as a pub, open for business and once again serving the local community.
The refurbished pub will provide hospitality for visitors and volunteers at St Peter’s Church as well as a place for concerts, performances and events.
The revitalised pub will also generate funds for the repair and conservation of St Peter’s Church.
The dig has been on-going for the past week and so far the team have found mainly human and animal bones.
Given the dig is happening next to a graveyard the human bones aren't cause for concern, but John Buglass the lead archaeologist for the project did suggest that finding bones belonging to animals such as pigs, cows, horses and cats is quite unusual.
One of his team also uncovered a thimble, which John believes is a 16th century German thimble, suggesting that trade between Northamptonshire and Germany could of existed 500 years ago!