Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge: an Archaeological Investigation.

Abstract

An archaeological investigation was undertaken within the quire of Trinity College chapel, Cambridge, in advance of the introduction of a new underfloor heating system. Although restricted in depth, with the result that no pre-16th century deposits were investigated, a number of results pertaining to the original layout of the chapel were obtained. Firstly, it was determined that changes to the initial design of the structure that were undertaken in c. 1560 had effectively doubled the size of the quire. Most probably associated with this period were two substantial foundations that appear to represent the initial, abandoned location of the choir screen that separates the ante-chapel from the quire. Remnants of the chapel's original tiled floor surface were also encountered, along with a fragment of the initial 16th century stall foundations. Further to the east, the footings of the 17th century rerdos wall were also identified. In addition, a minimum of three burials were present within the investigated area, one of which contained an encoffined inhumation dating to c. 1660-80. These results allow the original 16th century layout of the quire to be reconstructed.