Young Archaeologists in the Pandemic

Our project is all about young people exploring and discovering our local history and the six people from the village who suffered martyrdom for their beliefs. Young people from Great Bentley primary school learned about three of these, William, Alice and Rose, on the site of their cottage, now occupied by a cricket pavilion. But the north wind blew so strongly and so cold, that we shivered at the side of the building. One of the teachers was interested to find out a Young Archaeologists Club could be started at the school, with the support of the British Council of Archaeology which runs the club s  nationwide.    

 Colchester YAC will use this map of Essex from 1610 for part of their online resource.  At their next meeting they will find all the places on the map where people "caught in a treacherous Tudor web" lived and died. Their trade or situation in life, was as priest, labourer, weaver, spinster, apprentice, fuller, apothecary, widow, shearman, curate, tallow chandler, sawyer, carpenter, painter, blind man, wife, smith, servant, maid servant, labourer, linen draper, husbandman, herdsman, brewer, tailor, silkweaver and gentleman.

 None of us had expected a coronavirus variant to make us alter our plans for December and January meetings.  Although members were invited to join us, it was two Colchester YAC volunteer organisers who met up with a tour guide at Great Bentley. We saw the site of the cottage William and Alice Munt and Alice's daughter Rose Allin lived in. There is a cricket pavilion on the site today. The view over the village's large green may not have changed much. There is a plaque to the memory of their martyrdom outside the pavilion. There is no memorial to them in st Mary's church. Their fate was determined because at that time, their beliefs were at odds with Queen Mary and the church authorities.  

 To take our project forward, club members have offered to study the reformation, research and write the stories of all the religious martyrs in Colchester and some in other parts of the county. For locations on our trail,  the ruins of the Augustinian St Botolph's Priory, the substantial gateway and walls of St John's Abbey, the wall and a statue niche from Grey Friars are all visual reminders of the social upheaval of the Tudor period.  Archaeologists  have excavated these sites revealing more information about them. 

West Stockwell Street, Colchester, where 1990s Essex Design guide styles blend in with medieval and Tudor buildings.  It was frosty when Colchester's Young Archaeologists' Club took a walk to devise a trail for their project. Masks and hand-gel were the order of the day, especially in the town hall and Colchester Castle.  Five pre-pandemic members joined with four new members and one who came to his first meeting. Four made the journey from neighbouring counties. Other YACs couldn't make it, because of Covid,  other ailments or family events. One is concentrating on GCSEs.  

 One of our YAC volunteer organi s er s look s up the  s torie s of the Colche ster Martyr s in an 18th century edition of Foxe s Book of Martyr s which belong s to the family of a YAC member. Hi s Dad brought it to show u s in a rucksack and gallantly lugged it all around our trail before revealing it in Colche ster Castle.

Colche ster Young Archaeologi st s' Club met at Colche ster Ca stle and took a walk to identify the building s and site s of the town' s many martyr s. From thi s they will devi se a trail of the hi storic town which could be followed. We took the Speed map with u s from 1610 to identify the place s. Back in the ca stle for much needed refre shment s on thi s fro sty morning, we vi sited the pri son s and read a short play about the martyr s in there.