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Summary

Possible location of the Saxon Minster church with attached college of canons.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: ST00NW/98

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• COLLEGIATE CHURCH (VIII to XI - 701 AD to 1100 AD (Between))

Full description

Morris, B., 11/08/2014, Land at Shortlands Lane Cullompton, Devon. Results of a Desk-Based Assessment and Archaeological Excavation, 15 (Report - Excavation). SDV359548.

Chald, E. S., 1901, The Church of St Andrew, Cullompton, 182-214 (Article in Serial). SDV53418.

Knowles, D. + Hadcock, R. N., 1971, Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales, 57, 78, 424 (Monograph). SDV323253.

Secular college and possible minster at Cullompton before the conquest. Before 1066, a number of monks and five prebends lived within the church. About 1087, the religious were moved to the Priory of St Nicholas in Exeter. One of the endowments of Battle Abbey by William I.

Tiverton District Council, 1978, Cullompton Conservation Area, 3 (Report - non-specific). SDV41951.

Blair, J., 1985, Secular Minster Churches in Domesday Book (Article in Monograph). SDV53417.

Unknown, 1986 - 1987, Devon Religious Houses Survey (Un-published). SDV347681.

Devon Religious Houses Survey, 1986-7, Devon Religious Houses Survey 1986/87. Preliminary Assessment Form. Cullompton Secular College (Un-published). SDV358618.

Devon Religious Houses Survey, 1986-7, Devon Religious Houses Survey 1986/87. Preliminary Assessment Fort. Cullompton Pre-Conquest Minster (Un-published). SDV358619.

Weddell, P. J., 1986-7, Devon Religious Houses Survey. Cullompton (Archive - Survey). SDV358620.

Weddell, P. J., 1987, Cullompton (Report - Survey). SDV347692.

The historical evidence suggests the existence of an important ecclesiastical centre at Cullompton which in the ?10th and 11th century took the form of a Collegiate Church which served as a Minster church for a wide area, which might relate to the later Hundred of Hayridge
The earliest mention of Cullompton is as Columtune in Alfred the Great's will of c881. As a Royal tun
it was in a good position to be the centre of an ecclesiastical estate. In Domesday book the church is valued as a separate manor and its endowment of one hide suggests high status - indeed it qualifies as a superior church or Minster according to Blair’s criteria. Though not listed under the Royal holdings there is every reason to think that Cullompton was a Royal holding. The Chantry Rolls of 37 Henry VIII state that Cullompton had two guilds. Blair’s survey of Minsters has drawn attention to the link between Minster organisations and mass guilds. Most recent surveys of Minsters have pointed out these churches normally consisted of a community of priests, though the evidence of the collegiate nature of the churches rarely survives in later records. At Cullompton, however, most authors have stated that the church was a Prebendal one. At least one of the Prebends attached to Cullompton, that of Henland, was in the neighbouring Parish of Kentisbeare. Thorn also suggests that the Manor of Bowley in Cadbury Parish was connected with the church. These outliers may reflect the previous wider influence of Cullompton. Cullompton was deprived of its income by annexation, when it was given to Battle Abbey. The College may have still existed for a while though this would undoubtedly have undermined the structure of the foundation. With the transfer of the church and its endowments to St Nicholas Priory, Exeter, in the late 11th or early 12th century, it probably ceased to be Collegiate and became indistinguishable from an ordinary Parish Church. Certainly by the late 12th century there was only a single vicar. The present church is set in a small squarish enclosure set well back from the main street. This enclosure has all the appearances of a precinct or close, and may be a survival of the early layout when the church was perhaps surrounded by Canons' houses. The present churchyard wall does not appear to be of any great antiquity, and the graveyard is fairly low except in the northeast corner, where there appears to be quite a build-up of deposits. This area of the precinct has been disturbed by the construction of a relatively recent, 19th century vicarage. The buildings on this side are mostly of this date, whilst those on the south and east sides date to the 17th century. Those on the south side particularly form a uniform group with very wide and long rear tenements which must be a reflection of their former importance. The area around the church does not appear to have been impinged upon by burgage plots which to the north extend down to the mill leat. It is possible that the church originally lay within a larger enclosure. It is considered significant that there is a kink in the mill leat at the proposed north-east corner.

Green, T., 2006, St Andrew's Nursing Home, Pye Corner, Cullompton: Results of a Desk-based Assessment and Archaeological Evaluation (Report - Assessment). SDV337664.

In the Saxon period Cullompton was a royal estate in which there was a Minster church with a college of canons. In the later 11th century the church together with its contributory manors was given to Battle Abbey and then passed to St Nicholas Priory in Exeter when the church at Cullompton became a Parish Church.

Morton, R., 2007, Land at Station Road Cullompton, Devon. Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment for Tesco Stores Ltd, 10,13,17 (Report - Assessment). SDV338659.

A minster church was situated in Cullompton in the Saxon period, with an attached college, probably centred on the present Parish Church.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV2581 - Unnamed Event
• EDV4149 - St Andrew's Nursing Home, Pye Corner
• EDV4242 - Desk-based Assessment of Land at Station Road, Cullompton, Devon
• EDV6943 - Desk Based Appraisal and Excavation of Land off Shortlands Lane, Cullompton

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