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HER Number | MWB3449 |
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Record Type | Monument |
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Name | Conjectural site of Greenham preceptory |
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Summary
Walter Money's suggested site of the Knights Hospitallers's dwelling in Greenham, close to the supposed castle on the Wharf
Other Statuses and Cross-References
- Berkshire SMR No. (pre 2000): 01389.07.000
- National Monuments Record No.: SU 46 NE 62
SU 4743 6710
Monument Type(s):
Full Description
Money <1> supposed that the Castle was sited on the wharf at Newbury, and associated this with the Hospitallers' dwelling because of references to a messuage called the 'Castle or Hospital' in 1723, and a parcel of land called 'Hospital Meade' in Chepe Street. Other documentary sources apparently said that the preceptory was 'at the foregate of the castle' (repeated by Astill <2>).
The Ordnance Survey marked the site of the preceptory on Greenham Wharf from the Second Epoch <3> through to the 5th Epoch mapping <4>. Because of Money's theory, subsequent finds of stone walls have been assigned to the preceptory without any definite evidence (eg a part of a boundary wall destroyed when the A34 relief road was built, and ashlar blocks in a surviving wharf building, Canal House). The length of wall noted by Hadcock <5> was described by the Ordnance Survey field investigator in the 1960s <6>.
Knowles and Hadcock <7> listed Greenham as a Knights Hospitallers' house, but gave no definite location.
Other research <8> has suggested that the preceptory was at Pigeon's Farm in Greenham.
Sources and further reading
<01> | Newbury District Field Club. 1872-75. TRANS NEWBURY DISTRICT FIELD CLUB 1872-75 VOL 2. 2. pp252-4 The Site of the Castle of Newbury by Walter Money (from NWN October 1877). [Article in serial / SWB10336] |
<02> | Astill, G G. 1978. Historic Towns in Berkshire: an archaeological appraisal. p51. [Monograph / SWB10869] |
<03> | Landmark. 1899-1900. Digital Ordnance Survey Mapping Epoch 2, 1:2500 (25 inch). Digital. 1:2500. Marked 'Preceptory of Knights Hospitallers'. [Map / SWB14455] |
<04> | Ordnance Survey. 1962-1981. Ordnance Survey Epoch 5, 1:2500. 1:2500. Marked 'Preceptory of Knights Hospitallers (site of)'. [Map / SWB14665] |
<05> | Hadcock, R N. 1949. GUIDE TO BOROUGH OF NEWBURY 1949. P99. [Monograph / SWB7054] |
<06> | Ordnance Survey. 1960s-70s. Ordnance Survey Field Investigators Comments. F1 NVQ 22-OCT-63. [Personal observation / SWB14640] |
<07> | Knowles, D and Hadcock, R N. 1953. Medieval Religious Houses in England and Wales. p243. [Monograph / SWB11245] |
<08> | Leamon, R (and Brimpton Parish Research Association) ©. 05/04/2005. A Landscape Study of some Knights Hospitaller Sites. [Unpublished document / SWB14531] |
Related Monuments
MWB3450 | Conjectural length of preceptory wall (Monument) |
MWB3424 | NEWBURY (Monument) |
MWB15833 | Greenham Preceptory - unknown exact location (Place) |
MWB16490 | Pigeon's Farm, Greenham (Monument) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
None recordedIf you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.
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