Research and Consultation for Our Community Enterprise supporting the internationally significant Cookham Excavations

Initiated by Professor Gabor Thomas in 2021, the Cookham Excavations are uncovering one of the most extensive and well-preserved Anglo-Saxon monastic sites in southern England. Located beside the River Thames, the site becomes a Field School for the University of Reading’s Department of Archaeology. The project is helping researchers learn more about the daily lives, social networks, and cultural connections of early medieval religious communities. We worked with Our Community Enterprise (OCE) to research and consult with visitors about their experiences at the excavations. OCE was leading this work on behalf of Friends of Cookham Abbey (FCA) and the University of Reading. Our role was to help gather feedback from the public, volunteers, and stakeholders to understand what people took away from their visits and how the project engaged the community. Our approach included visiting the excavation site to speak with visitors, volunteers, and students. We also supported an online survey, shared through FCA and the University of Reading. One-on-one conversations with visitors, event organisers, and local partners provided further insights. In the second year, OCE’s part-time team member led the fieldwork, keeping the connection with the community strong. We also helped develop tools to collect feedback from public events and activities. Our findings were shared in a final report, helping OCE and its partners plan future community engagement and ensure that more people can experience and learn from this important archaeological project.