| Summary : Benedictine priory, founded circa 1082, traditionally on the site of an earlier monastery founded in 658 and destroyed in the 9th century. Excavation at St Leonard's Priory has revealed the plan of the monastery, with its single-aisled church with a long apsidal presbytery, and transepts with apsidal chapels. To the south lay the cloisters surrounded by three ranges of buildings. The western range, probably the cellar was originally a long open building with a first floor, later subdivided by cross walls in the late Medieval period. The south range probably contained the monks' refectory, and the eastern range would have contained a small chapter house. There was no sign of the monastery alleged to have been founded by Bishop Wilfred in 658. However, the discovery of a very large drain in the South-West corner of the cloisters suggests that the usual monastic plan may have been modified. The drain was exceptionally well built, and entirely enclosed within the angle of the claustral buildings formed by the inner and outer walls of the west and south ranges. The drain was rectangular at the top, with steeply battered west and east sides towards the base. The southern wall was pierced by a round-headed archway running under the south wall of the claustral buildings. Layers immediately above the drain floor contained products of a late Medieval laboratory, or alchemy including fragments of glass distillation vessels, crucibles, mercury, sulphur and copper. Possibly associated with this assemblage, a buried group of clippings from the edges of silver coins was found in the adjacent cellar. Many complete pottery vessels were recovered from the drain. A broken, but largely complete Spanish lustre-ware altar vase was also found. There are also amorphous earthworks associated with the post-dissolution use of the priory. |
More information : [TF 03880736] St Leonard's Priory [G.T.] (Remains of) [T.I.]. (1)
St Leonard's Priory, Benedictine, founded c. 1082 on the supposed site of a monastery established here by St Wilfrid in 658 and destroyed by the Danes in the 9th century. (2)
The remains of St. Leonard's Priory consist of part of a Norman Nave. Fine Transitional West Front. (3)
St. Leonard's Priory is scheduled. (4)
Wall plaque reads `... founded 7 c. by Wilfrid. Present pillars and arches erected c. 1090. West front rebuilt 1150 ...'
G.P. AO/61/146/4 West front of priory /5 Aspect from north-east /6 North front from north. (5)
Adjacent fishponds surveyed. (TF 03890737) Remains of (NAT) St Leonard's Priory (NR) (Benedictine)(NAT). (6)
Remains of St Leonard's Priory. Grade I. Founded by William II circa 1090. West front rebuilt 1150 (for full description see list). (7)
TF 040074. St. Leonard's Priory, scheduled. (8)
St Leonard's Priory was re-founded as a cell of Durham in 1082, according to the Annals of Stamford, but the date of the cell must almost certainly be after 1083, when Durham became Benedictine. (9)
Excavation at St Leonard's Priory has revealed the plan of the monastery, with its single-aisled church with a long apsidal presbytery, and transepts with apsidal chapels. (see illustration cards). To the south lay the cloisters surrounded by three ranges of buildings. The western range, probably the cellar was originally a long open building with a first floor, later subdivided by cross walls in the late Medieval period. The south range probably contained the monks' refectory, and the eastern range would have contained a small chapter house. There was no sign of the monastery alleged to have been founded by Bishop Wilfred in 658. However, the discovery of a very large drain in the SW corner of the cloisters suggests that the usual monastic plan may have been modified. The drain was exceptionally well built, and entirely enclosed within the angle of the claustral buildings formed by the inner and outer walls of the west and south ranges. The drain was rectangular at the top, with steeply battered west and east sides towards the base. The southern wall was pierced by a round-headed archway running under the south wall of the claustral buildings.
Layers immediately above the drain floor contained products of a late Medieval laboratory, or alchemy including fragments of glass distillation vessels, crucibles, mercury, sulphur and copper. Possibly associated with this assemblage, a buried group of clippings from the edges of silver coins was found in the adjacent cellar. Many complete pottery vessels were recovered from the drain. A broken, but largely complete Spanish lustre-ware altar vase was also found. (10-16)
Additional bibliography. (17-18)
Remains of St. Leonard's Priory are as described by Authority 7. Earthworks to the west and south represent building platforms and paddocks possibly associated with the post-dissolution use of the site. Earthworks to the south of Priory House are landscape features associated with the house. These take the form of an `L' shaped terrace and two parallel canals running approximately north - south. Further west, amorphous scarps previously interpreted as a fishpond, probably represent drainage activity, and a supply for the canal to
the east. This area has been partially inundated by the River Welland. (19)
Additional reference. (20-21)
The `amorphous scraps' to the south of Priory House refered to by authority 19 were partially visible and have been mapped from poor quality air photographs. The L-shaped terrace refered to by authority 19 was not visible on the available air photographs. The parallel canals also mentioned by authority 19 have not been mapped because they are already marked on the Ordnance Survey 1:10,000 map. The probable post-Medieval features thought to be drainage activity, and which could be a pond have been mapped. These were visible as a large oblong cut feature, 100m by 20m, centred TF 0388 0722, and, running into it from the north, another oblong cut feature, 50m by 20m. These features are marked on the Ordnance Survey map of 1891, but are not marked on any subsequent map. Possibly associated with these features were four Medieval or post-Medieval parallel boundaries, oriented east west with length 110m, centred at TF 0381 0730. (Morph No. LI.791.1.1-2)
This description is based on data from the RCHME MORPH2 database.
(22) |