A Saxon church was examined in the former grounds of the Abbey. It consisted of a stilted apsidal chancel and a square nave, on to which a larger one had been added. The site had been part of a late Roman cemetery before the church was built. After the church's destruction the monastic cemetery was laid out over it. Documentary evidence suggests this was the parish church dedicated to St John the Evangelist, demolished during the early years of the abbey and replaced during the C12 by St Giles' about 100 yards away. <1> <2> <3> The walls and foundations were broken Roman building materials, the foundations being simply rubble coursed with layers of natural sand. The building may have been of two phases, with the earlier comprising probably a tower nave with stilted apsidal chancel. A western anve was then added to the tower. There is documentary evidence that the site chosen for the Abbey was where a priest named `Sigeric' had his house and a church. After demolition, material was dumped over the church and the monastic cemetery laid over it (see this source for discussion of documentary sources). <4>