TWENTY-NINE bodies have been discovered in unmarked graves during renovation work at a church.

St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Swanscombe Street, Swanscombe, has been undergoing a £275,000 transformation since August.

Drainage work meant its cemetery had to be dug-up and in the process the bodies in unmarked graves were found, with the first discovered at the end of August and the 29th on Monday (October 27).

Archaeologist Guy Seddon has overseen the work in the graveyard and says he “expects to find a few more bodies before the job is done”.

The 34-year-old said: “The bodies found include men, women and children and the majority of them seem to be around 200 to 300-years-old. Nobody knows how many will be found in total.”

Mr Seddon, who has been an archaeologist for 14 years and works for London-based Pro Construct Archaeology, says the graves are probably unmarked because the tombstones have been displaced over the years.

The bodies are in storage until work on the cemetery is finished, which is expected to be by the end of this week.

All the bodies in the cemetery, including those in unmarked graves, will then be re-buried, with the church’s Reverend David Scott performing a burial service.

Renovations at the church include repairing its tower and installing central heating, and Rev Scott is planning to hold a re-opening ceremony on December 4.

He said: “The work had been needed for a long time. We are all very excited to get into the new church.”

The congregation of around 100 have been meeting in the premises of Age Concern in Oast House across the road from the church while work is ongoing.

Funding for the renovations came from the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust, which provides grants to churches and charities across Kent.

The current church building was first built around the 12th century, although stones in the south wall of the tower were first laid around 1050.