Blessings close works at historic burial site

A multi-faith visit and blessing on a former monastry in Cookham brought to a close a busy summer for archeaologists at the site. 

Father Stephen Mills from Holy Trinity Church in Cookham led the blessing and was joined by faith groups including representatives from Cookham Methodist Church, St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Maidenhead, Slough Refugee Support and Maidenhead Gurdwara. Excavation works carried out by the University of Reading in August have unearthed the remains of 20 more people as well as a number of relics. 

The burials are in addition to the human remains of 50 individuals found in 2023, supporting the theory that the ill and dying received care at the monastery.

As well as the discovery of more burials, University staff, students and local volunteers also helped to:
 

• Complete the excavation of a 9th-century well first discovered in 2023. Several preserved wooden objects were recovered from the bottom of the well, including a very rare lathe turned wooden bowl.
• Further excavation of  a deep ditch near to the River Thames. Digging here revealed a preserved timber lining at the base, confirming that it is a leat for a watermill.
• Unearth more timber buildings located within the domestic quarters of the monastery.

The University of Reading’s Department of Archaeology will continue excavations at Cookham in 2025, having started in 2021. 

Read more about the university’s work at Cookham.