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Summary

Alleged site of a priory.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS54SE/16
• Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division: SS54SE1

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PRIORY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Full description

Knowles, D. + Hadcock, R. N., 1971, Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales, 461 (Monograph). SDV323253.

There was at some time a priory at Churchill, according to Risdon (citing Tanner 1744, p97).

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1978, SS54SE1 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV83180.

Alleged site of priory. Risdon (1714) commented that it was said there was a priory at Churchill but that he had not found evidence of the founder or its value.
Site visit: 23rd November 1953. Nothing is known locally of this priory and there are no visible traces of monastic buildings.

National Trust, 1984, Arlington Court, Devon (Report - Survey). SDV337709.

Nothing is known locally about this priory and there are no buildings here with any trace of ecclesiastical architecture.

Devon County Council, 1986-87, Devon Religious Houses Survey (Un-published). SDV347681.

Churchill was one of sixty plus religious houses investigated as part of the Devon Religious Houses Survey, a Devon County Council Rescue Project. The aims of the survey were to identify how much remains of the site and to consider how any surviving remains could be conserved for the future. The work comprised a rapid assessment of the site, summarising the present state of knowledge, followed by a more detailed survey where sufficient evidence and remains survived. See separate entries for the results of the surveys.

Devon Religious Houses Survey, 1986-87, Devon Religious Houses Survey 1986/87. Preliminary Assessment Form. Churchill, East Down (Un-published). SDV366899.

The alleged site of a priory, based on local tradition and comments by Risdon. The site is considered dubious. The Lower Churchill Farmhouse does not appear to contain any monastic remains. The existence of a priory needs to be established through documentary research in order to determine if further survey is necessary.

Berry, N., 2011, Arlington Court, Devon. Archaeological and Historic Landscape Survey of the Arlington Estate, 7, 67-71 (Report - Survey). SDV348171.

Churchill is recorded as Cercilla in Domesday Book. The name probably means a hill with a church although it could derive from an ancient British word, 'cruc' and the Old English 'hyll', both meaning hill. It is known as Cherchill in 1121 and Chirkehull in 1216.
Documentary references to land called 'St Martin's Chapell' in the 17th and 18th centuries suggest there was a chapel or priory here, which perhaps gave the settlement its name. Polwhele in his History of Devonshire (1793-1806) states that 'some traces [of the chapel] may yet be distinguished'.

Ordnance Survey, 2026, Mastermap 2026 (Cartographic). SDV366713.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV2416 - Devon Religious Houses Survey

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