St Mary Graces
Burial site: Royal Mint, East Smithfield, E1
St Mary Graces was a Cistercian abbey built on the ground that
would later house the Royal Mint. The abbey had its own large
burial ground that covered a substantial area. During excavation of
the site in the 1980s, over 400 individuals were removed. Even
greater numbers of the dead were revealed at this location - the
abbey had been built on the site of one of the 'catastrophe' burial
grounds created to accommodate the large numbers of those who died
from the plague in the 14th century. After the plague subsided the
catastrophe sites were closed, and the abbey of St Mary of Grace
was built on the East Smithfield grounds. This image shows the site
as it looks today.