Excavations in a Quaker burial ground at Kingston-upon-Thames uncovered the remains of 360 individuals buried between 1664 and 1814. Historical records combined with the evidence from the excavations have provided an insight into burial rites and undertaking practices of an early Nonconformist community. The archaeological evidence suggests that the simplicity and plainness of Quaker lifestyle were to a large extent reflected in burial. A detailed osteological analysis indicated a healthy, thriving community.importance was recognized at the outset by English Heritage's Greater London Archaeology Advisory Service (GLAAS), who monitored the progress of the excavation.The relatively unknown practices of early Nonconformist communities, as well as the sensitive nature of post-medieval cemeteries, required that this excavation should have a focus. The lessons learned at the excavations of contemporary vaults at, for example, Spitalfields, London, 3 at Bathford, Bath, in north-east Somerset, 4 and at St Augustine the Less, Bristol, 5 enabled the research aims of the project to be defined from the outset, 6 which were to gain an understanding of $ the demographic structure of the cemetery population $ its skeletal pathology $ the burial rite and undertaking practices $ the topographic structure and development of the cemetery $ the nature of the pre-cemetery activity on the site.The achievement of these aims also required detailed historical and osteological research to

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