Monument Type(s):

• ABBEY (12th century to 16th century - 1135 AD to 1536 AD)
• SAVIGNIAC MONASTERY (12th century - 1135 AD to 1147 AD)
• CISTERCIAN MONASTERY (12th century to 16th century - 1147 AD to 1536 AD)

Summary

Scheduled Monument and Grade I Listed Building: A fine example of an early 12th century Savignac monastery (a French order which later merged with the Cistercians), Buildwas Abbey is notable for the architectural unity of its buildings, many of which had been completed by 1200, and its well preserved water management features (as well as for its dramatic history).

Related records

Associated Finds

• FSA2087 - FLOOR TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)
• FSA2757 - FLOOR TILE (13th century to 15th century - 1200 AD to 1499 AD)

Associated Events

• ESA315 - 1975 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA316 - 1960 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA317 - 1986 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA318 - 1980 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA4804 - 2001 Dendrochronological Dating at Abbey House, Buildwas Abbey by English Heritage
• ESA4872 - 2002 Earthworks survey at Buildwas Abbey by RCHME
• ESA7144 - 2014 Watching Brief at Ironbridge Power Station Sports & Social Club, Abbey House, Buildwas Abbey by Archaeology Wales
• ESA7510 - 1991 initial survey of medieval floor tiles on English Heritage guardianship sites in the Midlands by Warwickshire Museum
• ESA7511 - 1994 recording of tile pavements 15 and 16, Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire by Warwickshire Museum
• ESA7512 - 1997 recording of medieval tile pavements at Buildwas Abbey by BUFAU
• ESA8071 - 2015 WB on cable trench at Abbey House, Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire by Archaeology Wales
• ESA9780 - 2022 WB on excavation of post-hole for a sign, Buildwas Abbey by Nigel Baker (Ref: S00242263)
• ESA10160 - 2022 WB on new signage, Buildwas Abbey by Nigel Baker

Description

Founded 1135, dissolved 1536. Major feature is the architectural unity of the claustral buildings, which were probably complete by c1200, the only major addition being a C14 chapel on the south side of the nave. The plan differs from a regular Cistercian type in a number of respects viz: a)Cloister on NW side-topographical reasons determined this; b)The frater may run E/W instead of the normal N/S; c)Falling ground to the west prevented the creation of a west entry to the church and made W and N alleys of the cloister lower than the other two; d)A small crypt is present under the north bay of the north transept which was raised to accommodate it; e)West range separated from church and cloister by narrow alley <2a>

Abbey, remains of. Founded 1135 by Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield; present buildings mainly late C12 and completed by c.1200. Regularly coursed limestone rubble, now roofless except for east range of claustral buildings and transeptal chapels of church. Remains consist of the church: nave, crossing tower, transepts and presbytery together with the foundations of its aisles and south aisle chapel; and north claustral buildings: east range comprising sacristy, chapter house and parlour, plus the foundations of the lay brothers' quarters in the west range and the footings of the cloister itself; the refectory lay on the north side but its foundations are now in the grounds of Abbey House (q.v.). Church; nave: circular piers with scalloped capitals supporting blunt-pointed transitional 7-bay north and south arcades; clerestory above moulded string course has round-headed windows (formerly with nook-shafts and the remains of foliated capitals internally) linked by a continuous hoodmould, shallow pilaster buttresses with the remains of a plain corbel table on north side; austere west front has 2 tall round-arched windows and pilaster buttressing; bluntly pointed arches to crossing, those to east and west springing from decorated corbelled responds and those to north and south from composite piers with waterleaf capitals; presbytery in 2 bays, formerly rib-vaulted, the springing remaining at wall tops; early C13 sedilia with dogtooth ornament on south, tall lancet to east; 3-light east window said to be C18, replacing an early C13 window of 6 lights (blocked openings still visible); transepts: both have 2 pointed arches to east leading to small square-ended chapels, which have the remains of groined vaulting and round- arched recesses in their south walls; there is a crypt below the north transept and a doorway in the south wall of the south transept formerly led to the monks' cemetery, pointed arches also lead to aisles, of which (except for part of a round-headed window at the west end of the south aisle) only foundations survive; on the south are the foundations of the late C14 south aisle chapel, this contains a number of C13 and C14 grave slabs, some embellished with floriated crosses. To north are the claustral buildings; east range: at south corner a segmental-headed doorway with round-arched hood leads to the groin-vaulted crypt beneath the north transept (see above); this is followed to north by the sacristy, approached through a round-arched doorway; vaulted in 2 bays, originally ribbed, with a flight of 8 steps leading up from the east bay into the north transept; next comes the chapter house, entered by a plain round-headed doorway of 3 orders with nook-shafts (only one of which remains) and flanked by round-headed windows of 2 orders with the remains of decorated capitals; the building, which is below the level of the cloister, is divided by 4 piers, 2 round and 2 octagonal, into 9 rib-vaulted compartments; lit by 3 round-arched windows in east wall and formerly by 2 others (now blocked) in the north and south walls of the east bay; contains a good set of glazed floor tiles (?Cl4), some grave slabs and various other architectural fragments; at end of range is the parlour, entered through a doorway with segmental head under a round-headed arch of 2 orders, formerly with nook-shafts; its interior is rib- vaulted in 2 bays and doorways in the doorways in the east wall and the east end of the north wall formerly led to an undercroft: this is now represented by the late C12 three-bay arcade, attached to the north-east corner of the parlour, in the grounds of Abbey House (qv); the arcade consists of 3 bluntly pointed arches aligned north- south with 2 circular piers having multi-scalloped capitals and square abaci, walls projecting at right angles to west on north and south (latter still showing traces of former vaulting) enclose a rectangular area: the function of the undercroft is uncertain but it may have been associated with the abbey's dormitory, a small round-headed window of which can be seen above the south arch of the arcade, or with the refectory, the foundations of which lie to the west: the roof-line of a former building projecting to the east is visible above the south arch of the arcade. The west range now comprises only the foundations of the cellar beneath the lay brother's quarters. Extensive earthworks to north-west include the abbey's former fishponds. Buildwas Abbey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in guardianship (A.M. County No.2). Buildings of England, pp88-90; HMSO Guide (2nd Edn. 1978); VCH. II (1973), pp50-9; The Builder, Vol.79 (1900), Pp. 292-4 <10>

The Infirmary and Abbot's Lodgings were given a separate record (PRN 04427) in Oct 1990 because they form a separate item in the Statutory List. <10a>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1: High score as one of 10 Post-Conquest Monasteries for men. <31>

Scheduling revised in 1997. Scheduling description: ->

-> The monument includes the ruined and buried remains of Buildwas Abbey and the earthwork and buried remains of an extensive water management system, including water meadows, leats, fishponds, mills, and a fish weir, as well as the remains of several charcoal burning hearths. The abbey, which is situated on the south bank of the River Severn west of Buildwas Bridge, was founded for the Savignac order in 1135, by Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Lichfield. It was dedicated to Our Lady and St Chad, and became Cistercian when Savigny was united with that order in 1147. No evidence for permanent buildings earlier than the 1150s has been found, and the abbey first appears to have prospered under the energetic rule of Abbot Ranulf, between 1155-1187. The church, chapter house, and cloisters were probably built during his abbacy, and over a dozen of the library's 40 books were written in the 12th century. ->

-> Buildwas remained a modest house, but its 400 year history was punctuated by periodic drama, not least because of its politically sensitive location near the Welsh border, and its having administrative rights over St Mary's in Dublin. The murder of the abbot in 1342, allegedly by one of his own monks, resulted in a dispute over succession which lasted for four years, and border raids from Powys culminated in the abduction and imprisonment of the abbot and monks in 1350. The lands of the abbey were reportedly laid waste by followers of Owain Glendwr in 1406, and further persecution followed during the Wars of the Roses. However, the abbey remained solvent, and at the Dissolution was 'in convenient repair' .It was surrendered to the king by Abbot Stephen Greene in 1536, and three years later the site and most of its property were granted to Edward, Lord Grey of Powys. The infirmary and abbot's lodging were subsequently converted into a dwelling, with gardens to the south and south west, and this building is Listed Grade I. During the 19th century the monastic precinct was bisected east-west by a railway, now disused, which ran to the south of the church. It approached the abbey from the west along an embankment, which overlies part of the abbey fishpond complex, but a bridge allows access under the embankment between the north and south parts of the monument. Further east the railway ran through a cutting which lies to the south of what are now the gardens of Abbey House. ->

-> The monks at Buildwas derived part of their income from tolls charged for the use of the adjacent bridge over the Severn, and the river also formed the basis of the complex water management system which operated in the vicinity, and included the fishponds and water meadows which would have supported the abbey's economy and ensured a plentiful food supply for the monks and their livestock. To the south of the church and cloister, in an area now divorced from the main complex by the disused railway embankment, charcoal burning hearths provide an example of one of the small-scale industries which were a common feature of medieval monasteries and their early post-medieval successors. Although now in ruins, much of the main complex of claustral buildings stands above ground to show the original layout of the abbey. This was adapted to the topography, which is why the cloister is unconventionally arranged to the north of the church and is at a lower level. The lay brothers' range was on the west, and the frater occupied the north range, with the dorter or dormitory above a warming house at its east end, and the kitchen to the west. The east range included a crypt under the north transept of the church, the sacristy, chapter house and parlour, with the undercroft at its north end and reredorter, or latrine, north of this. The infirmary and abbot's lodgings were to the north east, with the monks' cemetery east of the church. The discovery of several burials near the roadside along the eastern side of the site shows that the monks' cemetery extended for a considerable distance eastwards. ->

-> Buildwas Abbey ruins are of sandstone rubble construction with ashlar dressings, and are Listed Grade I. They show an unusual unity of architectural style which results from their relatively short period of construction and an exceptional absence of subsequent alteration. The church and much of the claustral range were completed by the end of the 12th century, and the infirmary and abbot's lodging in the 1220s. The only major developments to the abbey were the construction of the large chapel to the south of the church, and the addition of a parlour wing to the abbot's house, both in the 14th century. The aisled church measures c.54m east-west, and consists of a seven-bay nave, a square ended presbytery of two bays, and a crossing. The low central tower retains the weather course of the timber roofs of the nave and transepts. The presbytery and four transept chapels were originally vaulted. The only structural alterations to the church were at the east end, where the three tall, round-headed windows replaced smaller ones, probably before 1200. The three sedilia in the south wall are also 13th century additions, and sit within arches decorated with dog-tooth ornament. The southern jamb of the aumbry to the east of these is all that survived the insertion of a tall narrow window into the south wall. The north and south transepts each have two square chapels on their east side, and a door leads from the south transept to the monks' cemetery. The west end of the nave was divided from the quire by a stone screen or pulpitum, the foundations of which survive. The pointed arches of the nave arcades rest on ashlar faced piers with scalloped decoration, some with claw ornaments on their bases. All but the westernmost were originally closed by low walls, and both arcades survive to the top of the round-arched clerestory windows. The outer walls of the aisles can be traced as foundations, and the north aisle had two doors leading to the cloister. Because of the fall in ground level there was no west doorway to the church, and the west wall retains two round-headed windows and the sills of those above. The large 14th century chapel constructed against the wall of the south aisle was entered by a separate porch at its west end. Its foundations survive, and within it are a number of graves, some earlier than the chapel itself. ->

-> The basement of the west claustral range and the foundations of the north range survive, at a lower level than the east and south, but no details remain of the cloister arcade. The dorter was on the first floor of the east range, with night stairs from the north transept. Below it are the vaulted sacristy, and chapter house. The latter is below the level of the cloister, and is divided by four piers into nine compartments of ribbed vaulting. To the north is the parlour, also vaulted, with access to the undercroft. The east range was extended in the 13th century to form the west range of the infirmary court, which has a five-arched arcade to the north. The west end of this arcade has been incorporated into the north wall of a post-medieval stable with a dovecote. The arcade itself is included in the scheduling, but the stable is in use and the rest of its structure is excluded. Much of the abbot's house also dates to the 13th century, and includes the substantial remains of a first-floor hall which retains two pointed windows and two round- arched doorways with early 13th century ornamentation. The 14th century parlour wing has an arch-braced collar-beam roof. ->

-> The area south and south east of the house was been landscaped to create formal gardens, probably in the 16th or 17th century. These gardens take the form of a series of separate terraces into the slope to the south of the abbot's house. Each terrace is surrounded by a raised walkway from which the formal layout of the garden on the terrace below could be inspected. Fragments of standing walls and buried foundations around the gardens probably represent the original boundary of the post-medieval garden belonging to the Grey family house. The area to the north of the house, now a car park, was originally a semicircular terraced garden of the same date and type surrounded by a stone wall overlooking the river. ->

-> The abbey precinct was bounded to the north by the river, and to the west by a tributary stream. A substantial wall marked its southern boundary [PRN 18516], and a 34m stretch of this survives up to 0.9m high and 0.7m wide in the south west part of the precinct [see PRN 18516] .. ->

-> Within the precinct, immediately north west of the church and cloister, are a series of well defined earthworks and hollows, the remains of the fishponds which would have provided an important component of the monastic diet [see PRN 02466] .. On the margin of the river, are .. Probably the much eroded remains of a fish weir, which was recorded as being on this bank of the river at Buildwas Abbey in 1575 [see PRN 02949]. ->

-> To the west of the stream which forms the western boundary of the abbey precinct, and covering an area of c.6ha, are the remains of a system of water meadows [see PRN 03390] .. In the south east corner of the water meadow complex are the remains of a [mill complex - see PRN 08231] .. At [one of the mill leats'] southern end is the site of another mill [see PRN 08231] .. South of the railway embankment to the east of the stream, the southern extent of the leat leading to the main fishpond complex within the monastic precinct can be traced as a shallow ditch which becomes more distinct further south where it winds through a dog-leg bend. It ends at the north east corner of a rectangular pond [see PRN 02466] .. This pond .. Probably discharged through the leat to the north, running a mill which was sited at the bend [see PRN 08231] .. ->

-> West and south of the pond, on slightly raised ground, are a series of circular embanked enclosures .. Probably the remains of charcoal burning hearths [see PRN 08232] ..The abbey had a small iron forge on its Buildwas demesnes at some stage in its history, and the charcoal may have been used in the smelting process .. ->

-> All fences and gates around and across the monument, benches and playground equipment, the bowls pavilion in the garden and all garden furniture, the custodian's hut and sales kiosk, all information boards, Abbey House and the stable block to the west, the medieval arcade which forms the north wall of the stable building, the modern environmental resource centre, and all modern surfaces, are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included. <32>

Dendrochronology survey carried out in 2002 on timbers from the Abbey House, Buildwas Abbey [PRN 04427], Shropshire. The ruins of Buildwas Abbey sit on the Banks of the River Severn. Lying to the northeast of the abbey ruins, a grade I listed building, Abbey House may well incorporate a 13th century Abbot’s residence. 19 timbers were sampled from three areas of the Abbey House, providing date ranges; AD 1311 - 1376, Winter AD 1547/48 and AD 1563 - 1687 for the east block, the west block and a staircase within the west block, respectively. <33>

Field survey of earthworks carried out at Buildwas abbey and its environs in January and February 2002 in conjunction with the publication of a new guide book for the site. Three areas of earthworks were examined, labelled ‘the pond field’, ‘the west field’ and ‘the south field’. A range of features were identified. <34>

Photographed during aerial photographic survey in 2007. <36><37><38>

An archaeological watching brief was carried out in 2014 during the hand excavation of a trench at the Sports and Social Club, Abbey House, Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire. The trench led from a location near the southeast corner of a Transformer Building and was required as part of measures to provide an electrical earthing upgrade to the structure. ->

-> The trench located a medieval supporting buttress, in a good state of preservation, which was located below a post-medieval wall that currently forms the southern side of the Abbey House Transformer Building. Originally, the buttress would have been located at the southeast corner of a possible chapel building, located close to the Abbot’s Lodging and Infirmary of Buildwas Abbey. The building was located at the end of a long room that projected eastwards from the eastern range of the Abbey, and as such was probably constructed between c. 1160 and the early thirteen century, as part of the Abbey’s primary phase of development. Plan and section drawings and a photographic record of the buttress were produced prior to the backfilling of the trench. A photographic record was also made of surrounding areas of the Transformer Building wall. <39>

Photographed by Chris Musson in 1992. <40>

The tiles from Buildwas Abbey were included in an initial survey of medieval floor tiles on English Heritage Guardianship sites in the Midlands. This included an assessment of those in store in Atcham, and of the 14 separate tiled areas on site. All of the areas identified appear to be relaid in modern cement. <41>

Two discrete areas of tile medieval pavement were recorded at Buildwas Abbey in 1994, labelled 15 and 16. These areas lay to immediate E of the sacristy (in the ownership of Coalbrookdale Social Club) and in the doorway to the crypt under the north transept. This included the preparation of photographic and drawn records. <42>

Following on from initial survey in 1991 (ESA 7510) and recording of two pavements at Buildwas (ESA 7511), 14 areas of tile pavement at Buildwas Abbey were recorded, planned in detail and photographed. All tiles with identifiable decoration were allocated a number, traced and subsequently inked. Tile designs were related to the type series for the site. <43>

Leach describes the Abbey and gives an account of its post-Dissolution owners. He illustrates Abbey House and gives a description. <44>

A watching brief was undertaken in September 2015 during the machine-excavation of a 90m long cable trench at the Sports and Social Club, Abbey House, Buildwas Abbey. The watching brief revealed significant archaeology, especially in the NW area of the car park and to the immediate N of the abbey infirmary wall. The results demonstrate that in situ medieval architectural remains survive in a good state of repair close to Abbey House. ->

-> Two substantial medieval walls were recorded in the NW corner of the modern car park, with a possible floor surface recorded between them. These features were interpreted as an annex-type structure. A truncated ceramic tiled surface was also recorded, to the N of the abbey infirmary wall, representing an intact medieval floor. These may have originally extended up to substantial stone foundations; these features are possibly associated with the abbey infirmary. <45>

Construction in stone probably did not begin for several years and when it did it was conformist rather than innovative, following the common Cistercian plan of a generation earlier. In contrast with many Cistercian churches, building was prolonged and it is likely that the nave was not completed much before the end of the C12. It has no triforium and, with a nave broader in relation to the aisles than in most large churches of the time, is of low proportions. An apt contrast has been made between its 'intimacy' and the 'calculated authority' of the Northern Cistercian churches. The nave is noticeably less austere than anything to the east. Ground plan and photograph of chapter house interior. <46>

Shropshire Archives hold a watercolour of Buildwas Abbey (Reference 6001/372/1/75), by Reverend Edward Williams, dated to 1786. A small-scale thumbnail can be found via their online catalogue: https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/CCA_X6001_19_372A_75 <47>

The excavation of four 600mm-deep postholes spread across the claustral area and its immediate periphery was observed. No significant archaeological deposits, structures or surfaces were encountered, but three pieces of medieval decorated floor tile were recovered together with some basic data on the uppermost deposits of the site.->

-> The three small pieces of medieval floor tile were recovered from the Sign 2 posthole at the west end of the nave. Two were too small to reveal any form; the third was 34mm thick by c.30mm square with a buff slip on the upper surface and clear brown glaze down the side. All appeared to be of c.13th-century to 15th-century date. ->

-> The soil encountered in the Sign 2 hole was demonstrably of post-medieval origin, in that it contained materials derived from the literal breaking-up of the abbey (a floor, a burial). It also had the feel (dampness, softness, resonance) of a relatively deep soil accumulation formed at the downhill end of the nave, building up behind the west wall. The exposed ledger-stones and tile pavements at the east, uphill or high end of the church indicate the absence of such a soil accumulation at that end and the increased likelihood there of significant archaeological deposits and surfaces at very shallow depths. The Sign 3 hole was approached with some trepidation, in the sense that the survival of shallow-buried cloister-walk floor surfaces always seemed a distinct possibility, but here too only clean (debris-free) soils were encountered to the full 600mm depth. This cannot be explained on data presently available. Of the soils found by the signage post-holes on the periphery of the site, Sign 1 to the south of the church was indicative of the proximity of stone buildings, Sign 4 west of the cloisters less so, but with a slightly raised CBM (brick/tile fragments) count just possibly indicative of increased Modern-period activity in the south-west quarter of the site. <48>

Sources

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