All Saints, Chelsea Old Church churchyard

During the Blitz in the Second World War, All Saints, Chelsea Old Church was destroyed from the bombing raid. The church was rebuilt to its former glory in the 1950s. In the 1960s, further building work took place, which caused part of the 18th–19th centuries churchyard to be exhumed and reburied.

In 2000, further excavations were carried out by Museum of London Archaeological Services (MoLAS) in advance of further development of Petyt Hall, associated with the church. A total of 290 skeletons were exhumed, of which 198 individuals were analysed. Two burial vaults and two brick lined graves were uncovered but the majority were earth-cut stacked graves. The coffins were mainly wooden, some with lead lining.

A number of coffin plates attached to the burials, provided identification or partial identification of 25 individuals. Based on biographical data and location, the cemetery was considered to consist of mainly high-status individuals who lived in Chelsea during the 18th–19th centuries, with the coffin plates dating the area excavated of the cemetery between 1712 and 1842.

The site was well-preserved with a good overall completeness. The subadults were the least complete (Fig 1) and, based on the biographical data, also believed to be underrepresented in the skeletal population.

A total of 198 skeletons were included in the final analysis consisting of 168 adults (74 females, 78 males and 16 unsexed) and 33 subadults (Figs 2 & 3).

Two female individuals [161] and [234] were uncovered with foetuses in the womb area; one foetus was only 20–22 weeks old [1611] while the other was 38–40 weeks [2341]. Child mortality in the population was high amongst the youngest with 73% (22/30) of the aged subadults dying before the age of five years.

Individuals with biographical data consisted of seven females, 14 males, two unsexed adults and two female subadults, making up seven family groupings.

The sex profile of the adults revealed that a majority lived into old age. This was also reflected in the biographical data, where 15 of the 25 individuals died over the age of 60 years. The ratio of males to females in the younger age category was 1:1.8, which is perhaps a reflection of how perilous childbirth was in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The All Saints, Chelsea Old Church population reflect a typical post medieval disease pattern. Conditions often caused by excess in the diet, such as Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) and gout were noted. Interestingly, only a single very tentative case of venereal syphilis was found. Trauma appeared to be commonplace among males, who had almost twice the rate of fractures than the females. Amongst the subadults, metabolic disorders were the most frequent pathology.

Conditions such as residual rickets and osteomalacia in adults were likewise seen at a relatively high rate, suggesting that metabolic disorders were rife through the generations. The most common disease of the elderly was osteoarthritis in both males and females, whilst osteoporosis was seen mainly in the female population.

Table 5 provides a crude distribution of vertebral pathologies in the adult population. These were almost consistently higher in the males, particularly Schmorl’s nodes.

Dental health of the All Saints, Chelsea Old Church churchyard population proved typical for a post-medieval population. The rate of antemortem tooth loss and caries was high.

The figures shown in Table 6 indicated that females suffered a higher rate of caries and periapical lesions than males. Enamel hypoplastic defects were not uncommon, and in some individuals, possible lines of arrested growth were seen on the roots of the dentition.

The All Saints, Chelsea Old Church churchyard individuals represent a population who lived on the outskirts and more rural area of London during the 18th–19th century, offering a unique opportunity to compare the effects of living in the country with those living in the population dense urban areas.

Named individuals are only rarely maintained as an archival collection and considered invaluable in enhancing osteological research methods.

Cowie, R, Bekvalac, J and T Kausmally (eds). 2008. Late 17th to 19th century burial and earlier occupation at All Saints, Chelsea Old Church, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. MoLAS Archaeology Studies Series 18.

All Saints, Chelsea Old Church churchyard, 2–4 Old Church Street, Chelsea, SW3

Site code: OCU00

Last updated: 2025