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Summary

The Scheduled and Listed parts of Tupholme Abbey.

Full description

PRN 43630
The Premonstratensian Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Tupholme was founded some time between 1155 and 1166 by Gilbert de Neville and his brother Alan. {16}
The wall of the refectory survives and has lancet windows and a graceful pulpit with trefoiled arches. It is in ruins and the foundations of the abbey are covered with grass. {1}
The upstanding remains are in fairly good condition apart from the central window arch which looks in danger of collapsing. The pulpit with steps and remains of two trefoil arches are well preserved. The masonry shows evidence of some recent repointing in parts and is fairly free of weeds. Beyond the pulpit to the west, the wall has a lot of reused masonry and clear butt joints where it joins on to the main wall. At ground floor level are eight arched openings and the remains of an earlier window at first floor level with a blocked up doorway underneath. The remains are incorporated into a now derelict farmhouse which affords some protection. To the south, are the remains of an extensive moated system with a fairly rectangular moat containing a level island and beyond this a larger enclosing moat, containing a brick sheep dip on the south side. An excavation was undertaken in 1990 in response to ground disturbing remedial works. The foundation trench for the surviving section of refectory wall was identified as a floor surface. In general natural deposits were found to occur within 1.2 metres of the ground surface. {6}{7}
The monument includes the remains of Tupholme Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery founded between 1155 and 1165 on land granted to the Abbey by Alan and Gilbert de Neville. In 1342 the Manor of Ranby was granted to the Abbey by Ralph de Neville. Tupholme was a relatively small establishment of up to twelve canons and had limited endowments in the county of Lincolnshire. Along with other Lincolnshire monastic sites Tupholme was involved in the wool export trade, although to a lesser extent than other houses. To assist in this trade it was linked to the river Witham by a navigable waterway granted by Henry II. The abbey was dissolved in 1536 and the property granted to Sir Thomas Heneage of Hainton. Thereafter the site was occupied by a country house, demolished around the beginning of the 18th century and replaced in the 19th century by cottages and a farmhouse, which were themselves demolished in 1986. The remains of the medieval monastery are therefore intermingled with those of the post medieval house and farms and the monument includes the earthworks and standing remains of medieval and post medieval buildings, ponds, ditches and associated features. {12}{15}
It is suggested that there is a relationship between Tupholme Abbey and the nearby conjectured causeway, possibly dating as far back as the Bronze Age (PRN 44508). {13}
A stone recording project was carried out to record the various pieces of loose medieval architectural stone lying around the abbey site. A total of 265 pieces of stone were recorded. {14}
For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {15}

<01> HBMC, AM 7, - (Scheduling Record). SLI4067.

<02> HBMC, 1987, AM 107, - (Scheduling Record). SLI4030.

<03> William White, 1856, History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire - Second Edition, p 655 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI886.

<04> A.J. White, 1979, TUPHOLME ABBEY, NO. 10 (Unpublished Document). SLI4510.

<05> HBMC, 1987, Scheduled Ancient Monuments record printout, Lincs 10 (Scheduling Record). SLI4058.

<06> Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire, 1995, An Archaeological Excavation at Tupholme Abbey, near Bardney, TUP90 (Report). SLI1849.

<07> Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire, 1995, An Archaeological Excavation at Tupholme Abbey, near Bardney, LCNCC 153.95 (Archive). SLI1517.

<08> 1945-84, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION, EW91,92;BR92;CFJ5;AHD47 (Aerial Photograph). SLI173.

<09> 1945-84, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION, BZL54 (Aerial Photograph). SLI173.

<10> 1946-98, RCHME, 2927/17,1976, (Aerial Photograph). SLI193.

<11> 1946-98, RCHME, 5164/34; 2963/2 (Aerial Photograph). SLI193.

<12> ENGLISH HERITAGE, 1997, SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 30221, MPP 23 (Scheduling Record). SLI4468.

<13> David Stocker and Paul Everson, 2003, ‘The Straight and Narrow Way: Fenland Causeways and the Conversion of the Landscape in the Witham Valley, Lincolnshire’, in The Cross Goes North: Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe, AD300-1300, pp.271-88 (Article in Monograph). SLI8111.

<14> The Friends of Lincolnshire Archaeology, 2007, Revealing the Abbey: Stone Recording project at Tupholme Abbey, - (Report). SLI11649.

<15> Department of the Environment, 1985, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Index). SLI9064.

<16> D. Knowles and R.N. Hadcock, 1971, Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales - Second Edition, pp. 185 and 192 (Bibliographic Reference). SLI1089.

Monument Types

• ABBEY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1536 AD)
• MONASTERY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1536 AD)
• RELIGIOUS HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1536 AD)

Associated Finds

• ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events

• Trial trenching at Tupholme Abbey
• Stone recording at Tupholme Abbey

Protected Status

• Listed Building
• Scheduled Monument
• SHINE

Sources and further reading

Related records

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