| Summary : The ruins of the Abbey of St John the Evangelist at Haughmond. A small cruciform stone church (circa 1100) below the south transept and cloister of the later abbey has been identified, and the second phase of this building probably served the Augustinian Priory in the 1130s and '40s. Haughmond became an abbey before 1153. In 1155 it attracted the patronage of William FitzAlan of Clun, and members of his, and the Lestrange families, continued to support it from the 12th to 15th centuries. Demolition of the church occurred in 1180 and a much larger replacement was built slightly to the north. The principal ranges appear to have been constructed by 1190.The standing remains are of white sandstone rubble construction with ashlar dressings. They include: the foundations of the late 12th and early 14th century church; the late 12th century chapter house; the west wall of the warming house and dorter; the walls of the frater and undercroft; the early 13th century infirmary, and abbot's lodging to the east. The garden was probably laid out by Nicholas of Longor, abbot from 1325-46. The abbey precinct is partly enclosed by an undressed stone wall to the south and west sides. The outer gatehouse and a possible inner gatehouse survive in earthwork form along with other buildings which may have been part of the Abbey. A reservoir and three possible fishponds can be identified, along with various other medieval features. Following Dissolution in 1539, the site was granted to Sir Edward Littleton, who sold it to Sir Rowland Hill, from whom it passed to the Barker family in 1548. The Barkers demolished the church and dormitory range, and converted the east range and buildings around the southern cloister for use as a private mansion. North of the Abbey are the remains of formal gardens which accompanied the mansion. This residence was destroyed in the Civil War and the property passed to the Corbet family in the 18th century. The Abbey is now in the care of English Heritage. |
More information : (SJ 54181516) Remains of (NAT) Haughmond Abbey (NR)
(Augustinian founded circa 1130) (NAT).(1)
Haughmond Abbey was dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. It was thought to have been founded circa 1130 by William fitz Alan of Clun, although a 13th century chronicle dates it to 1110. The monastery may have been under a priory until circa 1155 when it is stated to have become an abbey. The rebuilding of the church appears to have taken place about this time. The Abbey fell into a state of neglect and was suppressed in September 1539.
Substantial remains exist including a 14th century well house. The church at the north of the site has been levelled to the ground but walls of some of the claustral buildings are still standing. Some foundations of the original early 12th century church were revealed by excavation. This was replaced by the larger mid-12th century church and the Abbey buildings during the 13th to 15th centuries. Traces of the gatehouse and parts of the precint wall revealed by excavation are not visible above ground.
A hermitage is thought to have been on this site before the Abbey, but this is doubtful.(2-10)
Excavations have been carried out by J J West for the DOE. The two successive churches located by St. John Hope and Brakspear (Authy 5) were re-examined and the earlier church appears to have been a simple cruciform structure. The evidence suggests that, when the later church was constructed on a site slightly to the north, the old east end was converted into a transept. This intermediate phase can be dated to the late 12th/early 13th century. Sealed in these layers was the base of an 11th century bronze candlestick, thought to be German, and a rare find in England. Other finds include part of a tomb-slab with Lombardic lettering, a carved 14th century coffin lid and a large number of disturbed floor tiles.(11)
Excavations continued in 1976. The massive footings of a post-Medieval structure, probably a barn, which were interpreted in 1907 as the south-west crossing pier of the early church, were recorded and removed.(12)
Published 1:2500 survey revised.(13)
Haughmond Abbey. Scheduled: Salop 4.(14)
Summary report and plan of the excavations undertaken from 1975-9 on the first church erected on the site. In its first phase it consisted of a single cell with square porticus-like transepts. Immediately to the West was a graveyard containing at least 25 graves. The addition of a cloister and the western extension of the nave may reflect an expansion and regularisation of the community in the second quarter of the C12th. Both church and cloister were demolished when the abbey was built at the end of the C12th.
The cloister arcade was rebuilt ca.1500, probably at the same time as the West range of claustral buildings were demolished, and the church and chapter house were reduced in size. (15)
A note on the architectural fragments from the late C12th or early C13th cloister arcade. (16)
A brief description of the abbey complex. In 1540, the site was granted to Sir Rowland Hill, from whom it passed to the Barker family. The church and dorter range were demolished, and for a time, the abbot's lodging and surviving claustral buildings were used as a private house, the cloister becoming a formal garden. The house was destroyed by an accidental fire during the Civil War, and the site became a farm.(17)
Haughmond Abbey, now ruinous. Grade I.(18)
SJ 541 151. Haughmond Abbey. Scheduled Salop 4.
SJ 542 152. Well House, Haughmond Abbey. Scheduled Salop 4a. (19)
English heritage Guide to Haughmond Abbey (20)
Scheduled Ancient Monument notification 11 July 1997 (21)
(SJ 5418 1516) Between January and December 2002, English Heritage carried out a detailed analytical field survey of the environs of the standing buildings of Haughmond Abbey (Event record 1384572) (22). The survey, which covered an area of 19ha, was intended to inform the site's management and to put into context the findings of the small-scale excavations carried out between 1975 and 1979.
For further details, see Archaeological Investigation Report AI/10/2003, which includes photographs, plans at various scales, interpretative diagrams and a full textual description and analysis. (22)
Note on the Augustinian use of sculpture in cloister arcading in the late 12th century. (23)
Scheduling revised 24th June 2010. (24) |