Monument Type(s):

• DOUBLE HOUSE? (Mid Saxon to 11th century - 654 AD? to 1050 AD?)
• NUNNERY (Mid Saxon to Late Saxon - 654 AD? to 901 AD?)
• MINSTER? (11th century - 1050 AD? to 1080 AD?)
• CLUNIAC MONASTERY (11th century to 16th century - 1080 AD to 1540 AD)
• PRIORY (11th century to 16th century - 1080 AD to 1540 AD) + Sci.Date

Summary

Scheduled Monument and Grade I Listed Building: The spectacular remains of Shropshire's largest and wealthiest medieval monastery, founded in the 11th century on the site of an Anglo-Saxon nunnery (or a combined nunnery and monastery) and minster.

Related records

Associated Finds

• FSA2088 - FLOOR TILE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1540 AD)

Associated Events

• ESA309 - 1901 excavation by Rev Cranage at Abbey Church, Much Wenlock
• ESA310 - Undated field observation by English Heritage
• ESA311 - 1975 field observation by the Ordnance Survey
• ESA312 - 1986 field observation by English Heritage
• ESA313 - 1981-1986 excavation at Wenlock Priory by H M Woods for the Department of the Environment
• ESA4692 - 1989 Recording in St Michael's Chapel, Wenlock Priory by BUFAU
• ESA5016 - 1999 WB on water mains work in road around N and W sides of monastic precinct
• ESA5017 - 1998 WB on new visitor access in NE corner of Wenlock Priory by English Heritage
• ESA7489 - 1997 effigy recording at Wenlock Priory, Much Wenlock by Marches Archaeology
• ESA7510 - 1991 initial survey of medieval floor tiles on English Heritage guardianship sites in the Midlands by Warwickshire Museum
• ESA7558 - 1962-1963 excavations at Wenlock Priory by Jackson and Fletcher
• ESA10138 - 2022 WB on new signage at Wenlock Abbey by Nigel Baker

Description

Founded c680 by Merewald, King of Mercia for his daughter St Milburga, abbess until her death in c722. Destroyed by Danes c 874. Refounded by Leofric c 1050 as Minster. Established as Cluniac Priory ("Abbey" in Domesday ) c1080. Dissolved 1540 <1a>

Further apsidal structure, either dating from Leofric's refoundation or from Earl Roger's conversion of the site to a Cluniac monastery were found east of the surviving crossing in 1901. Graham favours the attribution to Leofric <2a>

Cranage in 1901 excavated foundations of an apsed building, possibly relating to the earliest church <3>

The main church is of the C13, the roof was being constructed in 1232. An unusual feature is the upper chamber over the western three bays of the South aisle, probably a chapel to St Michael. A Lady Chapel was added on in the first half C14. Other major features are the C12 Chapter House and Lavabo - the latter with very high quality relief figure carving. All this is perhaps of 1150-80, with lavabo c1180-90 <4>

According to the VITA of St Milburga the saint's body was found about 1101. <9>

A programme of investigation was carrued out at Wenlock Priory on behalf of the DoE/HBMC between 1981 and 1986, ahead of presentation to the public, primarily focused on recording the fabric of the transepts and the parts of the church east of the crossing. A total of six trenches were opened. Woods in 1987 postulated that some of the walling exposed by Cranage related to a Roman building, traces of which he claimed to have found in his excavations in 1982. <12a>

Finally refounded circa 1080. Cluniac. Exposed foundations indicate much of the original ground plan. Of the C13 Church there remain fragments of the west front, three west bays of the south nave aisle with intact chamber above, three bays of north transept and a substantial piece of the south transept, and an important work. The east claustral range retains a vaulted chamber, the three-arched entrance to the chapter house, roofless, with excellent late C12 arcading, and building to south-east forming part of Priory House. The south range has fragments of the frater and a fine doorway. The cloister garth contains remains of an octagonal lavatorium, late C12, similar to that at Mellifont. A.M. SAM9. <25>

Evaluated for MPP in 1990-1: High score as one of 10 Post-Conquest Monasteries for Men; Medium score as one of 15 Colleges; one of less than 10 Post Roman Shrines; one of less than 10 Pre-Conquest Double Houses. <29>

BUFAU was commissioned by English Heritage to record mouldings destroyed or threatened by erosion in St Michael's Chapel and the arched passage beneath. The recording also involved planning of the vault, rib and boss arrangements, drawing of wall sections and recording of two grave slabs. <30>

CMHTS Record Sheet. <31>

CMHTS Report. <32>

Founded some time after 654 by St Botolph and placed under an abbess, Liobsynde. Milburga, daughter of Merewald and granddaughter of Penda, succeeded as abbess some time between 675 and 690 and remained until her death c727. It has been suggested that it was destroyed by Danes c874, but there is no direct evidence to support this assertion. A charter of 901 grants land to the abbey, which shows that it had survived. However, it had by this time been reduced in status, becoming first a house for men only and then a college of secular canons. There is a tradition that it was refounded by Earl Leofric of Mercia and his wife, Godiva, c1050 as a minster church. It was again refounded in 1080 as a Benedictine monastery, a daughter church of St Mary's Priory at La Charite-sur-Loire, itself the principal daughter house of the abbey of Cluny. The cult of St Milburga was deliberately built up in the early 12th century following the finding of her supposed remains in 1101, and it possible that the cult attracted numbers of pilgrims to the abbey <33>

In the 12th and 13th centuries the abbey added to its estates and properties, at least in part to finance its extensive building programme. However, in the 14th century, at the start of the Hundred Years War, it was classified as an alien priory because of its allegiance to Cluny and its rights and possessions were confiscated (they were subsequently bought back). Links with La Charite were not formally severed until 1494. The monastery was dissolved in 1540 and the monks pensioned off. <34>

A watching brief was carried out on groundworks for new visitor facilities at Wenlock Priory in 1998 by English Heritage. Old excavation spoil was recorded across the site of a derelict works compound in the NE corner of the priory. A small trench to the north of the precinct wall was also monitored, recording make-up deposits at least 200mm deep. There were no finds apart from roof-tile fragments. In neither area were pre-20th century deposits seen.<36>

The Scheduled Area was ammended in January 2015, as part of MPP review of the monument. <37>

Photographed from the air by Chris Musson in 1996 and 1997. <38><39>

The two effigies of monks in the scriptorium at Wenlock Priory were in urgent need of conservation in 1997. These were drawn in advance of conservation work at a scale of 1:2. A plan of the surrounding floor tiles was made at a scale of 1:20. <40>

The tiles from Wenlock Priory 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 2 tiled areas on site, representing a diverse array of fragmentary tiles in relaid contexts. The tiles were relaid approximately 100 years ago. <41>

Two seasons of excavation were carried out in August 1962 to August 1963 following the transfer of the ruins of the Transitional church and claustral buildings to the Ministry of Works. This excavation centred on the area of the crossing. Full report in Journal of the British Archaeological Association. <42>

Article on the debate about Earl Leofric's possible refoundation of St. Milburga's, Wenlock. The study concentrates on the level of acceptance and utilisation of the Anglo-Saxon saintly cult by the Cluniacs. Ultimately, change was certainly experienced at Wenlock, but the level of disruption is questionable. <43>

The church has 2 very unusual features. In the 3 westernmost bays of the S nave aisle a vualted chamber with two-light windows with plate tracery was contrived within the triforium space. It was probably intended as a chapel of St Michael, perhaps for the prior's use, since it had no access from the church but was reached by a doorway from the first floor of the W range. As a consquence of the rebuilding of the S transept, the library (or sacristy) was displaced from the usual site between the S wall of the S transept and the chapter house and instead, since retention of the older chapter house left no room for it elsewhere, was set parallel with the transept and between it and the E walk of the cloister so that there that walk shares no part of its wall with the transept - an arrangement almost without parallel elsewhere. Discussion of date of C13 rebuilding. <44>

Shropshire Archives hold a watercolour of Wenlock Priory (Reference
6001/372/1/85), by Reverend Edward Williams, dated to 1789. A small-scale thumbnail can be found via their online catalogue: https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/CCA_X6001_19_372A_85. They also hold a watercolour of the chapter house, painted in 1787 by Rev Williams (Reference 6001/372/1/43), which can be seen online: https://www.shropshirearchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/CCA_X6001_19_372A_43.<45>

The watching-brief was undertaten during the installation of new visitor signage across the monument. There was no evidence that undisturbed medieval strata or structures were disturbed or impacted anywhere, and no artefacts were found. Demolition/destruction deposits were cut through outside the west end of the nave and west of the south-west crossing pier. The excavation in the Chapter House, just made contact with a stony or rubbly deposit at the 600mm completed depth. The excavation south of the choir also contacted a more limited horizon of stony material. ->

-> Apart from the excavations at the entrance to the monument (south of the shop building), and north of the north transept and south of the main path, all of the observed holes were in ground whose profile has already been truncated by clearance excavations, the edge of which – a much eroded section about 0.5m high – is evident to the east of the north transept and north of the choir. Beyond (north of) this section are mature Scots pine trees standing on ground which has presumably never been excavated. <46>

Sources

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