If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

The remains of the chapel of St James, Skendleby, dates to the late 11th to early 12th century, and may have developed into a cell of Bardney Abbey.

Full description

A religious house was recorded by Bede in the 7th century as being 'near Partney', which it is suggested, due to later events there, may have been located in Skendleby (see PRN 46355). It is thought to have had a connection with Bardney Abbey. A chapel, dedicated to St James, was founded there, probably in the early 12th century, by Walter de Gant, which also belonged to Bardney Abbey. It is suggested that the foundation of the chapel was possibly part of a pattern of re-establishing lost monasteries (real or supposed). It is also thought that the chapel of St James was developed as a dependent cell of Bardney Abbey after its refounding. Typically, a small cell would have two or more monks, one of whom was required to be a priest. The monastery or nunnery would probably have comprised a chapel, a residential building, and possibly other buildings and enclosures. {1}{2}

The site has been identified on aerial photographs by the National Mapping Programme as surviving as cropmarks, although it has been interpreted as being part of a medieval field system. {3}

Geophysical survey has been carried out on the site, followed by field walking and metal detecting surveys. {4}

Resistivity survey carried out in January 2005 recorded clear traces of the structural remains on the chapel site. A well-defined rectangular anomaly almost certainly indicates the in-situ walls of the primary building. Elsewhere on the site, zones of high resistivity may signify traces of other buildings. {5}

An excavation was carried out in April 2005. This located the foundations of a two phase stone building, almost certainly the chapel itself, and also an ancilliary stone structure to the south of the main building. Medieval pottery and building materials were the main finds recovered. Part of an enclosure was also located - this appears to have had an agricultural function and was broadly contemporary with the chapel. {6}

Medieval carved stones have been recovered from a nearby pond. {7}

<1> Coppack, Glyn, 2004, Documentary research regarding chapels and religious houses at Partney and Skendleby, - (Verbal Communication). SLI10333.

<2> Dorothy M. Owen, 1975, 'Medieval Chapels in Lincolnshire' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology, vol. 10, p.20 (Article in Serial). SLI737.

<3> Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1992-1996, National Mapping Programme, TF4369: LI.181.1.11 (Map). SLI3613.

<4> Pre-Construct Geophysics, 2004, Resistivity and Fluxgate Gradiometer Surveys: Site of Skendleby Chapel, Skendleby, Lincolnshire, - (Report). SLI10330.

<5> Pre-Construct Geophysics, 2005, Resistivity Survey: Site of St James's Chapel and Surrounding Earthworks, - (Report). SLI10527.

<6> Pre-Construct Archaeology, 2006, Archaeological Excavation Report: The Park, Skendleby, SKEN 05 (Report). SLI11123.

<7> Skendleby Heritage Society, 2008, The Mystery of the Chapel of St James, Skendleby, - (Bibliographic Reference). SLI12012.

Monument Types

• CHAPEL (Medieval - 1087 AD? to 1539 AD)
• RELIGIOUS HOUSE? (Medieval - 1087 AD? to 1539 AD)

Associated Finds

• SHERD (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Associated Events

• Gradiometer survey of chapel site, Skendleby
• Resistivity survey of chapel site, Skendleby
• Excavation at the chapel site, Skendleby
• Metal detecting survey at Skendleby
• Field walking survey at Skendleby
• Resistivity Survey: Site of St James's Chapel and Surrounding Earthworks

Sources and further reading

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.