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Summary

Glasney Collegiate Church was founded in 1265, reputedly after the Bishop of Exeter was directed to the site in a vision. Excavated by HES in 2005.

Protected Status

• Conservation Area: PENRYN
• Scheduled Monument CO1083: Glasney College

Other References/Statuses

• Heritage at Risk (National): English Heritage, South West
• OS No. (OS Quarter-sheet and OS No.): SW73SE 5
• Primary Record No. (1985-2009): 18660
• SMR No. (OS Quarter-sheet and SMR No.): SW73SE 3

Monument Type(s):

• RELIGIOUS HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

Glasney Collegiate Church was founded in 1265, reputedly after the Bishop of Exeter was directed to the site in a vision (b3). The place-name Glasney, first recorded in 1284 (b8), contains the Cornish element "Glasneth"; 'verdure' or perhaps 'quagmire'. This would seem to reflect the wetness of the site, which occupied 4.75 acres of valley-bottom land, contributing to the repeated need for repairs. The complex was systematically dismantled following the Dissolution in the 1540s. The place-name College Farm (at SW 784 340), which is first recorded in 1580, refers to the remains of the site.
An elaborate complex of buildings and enclosures is shown on a C19 copy of a drawing of Glasney in c1580. The main elements consisted of the church (18660.2), protected by a fortified enclosure (18660.1), in which were the cemetery (18660.3), various other ecclesiastical buildings (18660.4), a detached infirmary (18660.5), and a school (18660.6). Most of the area is now Scheduled (h2, 3). The only in-situ above-ground remains consist of a doorway arch (h1), probably part of the church and possibly some original walling, part of the fortified enclosure (b4), but Wingfield recorded many other fragments which have been incorporated into later buildings in the area (see 18654, 18655, 18656), and architectural features, notably windows and doorways, at Easmons yard, in the north-eastern corner of the site (16,18).
A small excavation was undertaken by Hartgroves of CAU in 1987 (see Info File) prior to the erection of a commemorative plaque on the site (h4) which revealed a thick layer of dressed limestone fragments and demolition rubble beneath the modern turf extending to a depth of at least half a metre. Further work was undertaken by the HES in 2002 to repair a collapsed section of parapet walling on the south side of the site (h6, 16).
In 2005 the Friends of Glasney commissioned the Historic Environment Service to undertake an assessment and evaluation of the site of the College with funding from English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and other partners. An initial desk assessment carried out by Eric Berry, Anna Lawson Jones and Joanna Mattingly was able to confirm the likely position of the church in the north-east corner of the field and identify locations for five investigative trenches.
Extant remains of the church were uncovered in four of the five trenches, which included the southern and eastern walls, the internal wall between the south aisle and the choir, the south transept, the chapter house as well as a series of internal floor surfaces. This has allowed a tentative reconstruction to be produced showing a cruciform church with an enlarged eastern end.
Analysis of the large assemblage of recovered architectural fragments, by John Allan and Stuart Blaylock, has demonstrated close links with the output of the Exeter Cathedral workshop due to the extensive use of Beer stone (no Caen stone being used in the construction!) and individual pieces showing great similarity to different phases of building works carried out in Exeter in 1315-17, 1332-42 and 1342-8.

--------------------------------
Site history:
1: 1968. ANK/OS
2: 1979. YOUNG, CJ/IAM
3: 1983. SHEPPARD, PA/IAM
5: 1989. PRESTON-JONES, A/CAU
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Cottrell, P, 1990, Geophysical Survey: Glasney, 1990 (Info File ECO1040) (Cornwall Event Report). SCO665.

Cole, R, 2003, Enclosure Wall at Glasney College, Penryn. Archaeological recording and repair work (Cornwall Event Report). SCO560.

<1> UNKNOWN, 1788, PLAN OF PENRYN FORRYN (Unedited Source). SCO5634.

<2> Sowell, CR, 1865, Collegiate Church of St Thomas of Glasney, VOL 1, PT 3, 21-34 (Article in Journal). SCO5154.

<3> Rashleigh, J & Vincent, JAC, 1879, Abstract of the Glasney Cartulary, 216-263 (Article in Journal). SCO5146.

<4> Peter, TC, 1903, The History of Glasney Collegiate Church (Bibliographic reference). SCO4122.

<5> Toulmin Smith, L (Ed), 1907, The Itinerary of John Leland (Bibliographic reference). SCO4949.

<6> Ordnance Survey, 1900s, 2nd Edition 6 Inch Map (Cartographic materials). SCO4051.

<7> Henderson, C, 1935, Essays in Cornish History (Bibliographic reference). SCO3501.

<8> Gover, JEB, 1948, Place-Names of Cornwall, 498 (Bibliographic reference). SCO3402.

<9> Nance, RM, 1949, Cornish Culture, NO 1, 11-17 (Article in Serial). SCO5133.

<10> Pevsner, N, 1951, The Buildings of England: Cornwall, 120 (Bibliographic reference). SCO4126.

<11> Geach, M, 1963, Glasney College, VOL 6, PT 5, 208-209 (Article in Serial). SCO5110.

<12> Roddis, RJ, 1964, Penryn: the History of an Ancient Cornish Borough (Bibliographic reference). SCO4267.

<13> Harvey, J (Ed), 1969, Itineraries of William of Worcestre (Bibliographic reference). SCO3466.

<15> Cole, R, 2005, Glasney College, Penryn, Cornwall. Archaeological Assessment and Evaluation Trenching (Cornwall Event Report). SCO3098.

<16> Cornwall Council, 1975-present, Historic Environment Record Information File, SW73SE/Glasney College/Commemorative stone (Unpublished document). SCO24104.

<17> Cornwall Council, 1975-present, Historic Environment Record Information File, SW73SE Glasney Wall Collapse Jan-Feb 1997 (Unpublished document). SCO24104.

<18> Wingfield, DEV, 1979, Penryn, Archaeology and Development: a Survey (Cornwall Event Report). SCO5060.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Finds

• FCO330 - Carved Stone (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• FCO7852 - CRUCIFIX (Medieval to 19th Century - 1066 AD to 1900 AD)
• FCO3965 - TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events

• ECO1040 - Geophysical Survey: Glasney
• ECO1102 - SM Management: Enclosure Wall at Glasney
• ECO1500 - Glasney College, Penryn
• ECO982 - Glasney College
• ECO4730 - Reducing Risk to Scheduled Monuments in Cornwall (Ref: 2014R049)

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