Download word document - Timetrail

WARWICKSHIRE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT RECORD
Information for record number WA5384
Site Name and
Summary
The remains of Kenilworth Abbey Church which dates from the
Medieval period. Excavation has uncovered the ground plan and
evidence of burials within the Church. The site is at the tennis courts
in Abbey Fields.
Type:
Period:
Monastery, Bell Tower, Burial, Church
Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Location
Parish:
District:
Grid Reference:
Kenilworth
Warwick, Warwickshire
SP 28 72
Level of Protection
Old SMR PrefRef Monument
Description
Source Number
1 Of the monastic buildings only a few shapeless blocks of rubble rise above ground level.
Excavation enabled the ground plans to be uncovered. The 12th century church had a
narrow aisleless nave, which, owing to the existence of the cloister on the S and rising
ground on the N, was never enlarged. The transepts were extended E in the 13th century
and in the 14th century a presbytery was added E of the quire and the central tower was
rebuilt. This tower seems to have been too slender to house the bells, for which purpose an
octagonal bell-tower was built just to the N of the W end of the church later in that century.
2 For the most part the walls stand only slightly above their internal floor levels; this is
especially the case with the E arm of the church. Quantities of carved masonry were found
during Excavation of the church. Traces of nine or ten burials were found in the church.
3 Plan.
4 Photograph.
5 SAM List.
6 SAM List.
7 The site is within the Scheduled area of the SAM of Kenilworth Abbey (Monument Number
35115).
8 The remains of thewest wall now comprise a short stub on the north side, a doorway
aperture flanked by jambs with three orders of mouldings on the chamfer, and a southern
section, rising up to a maximum height of 2 metres. The nave side of this west wall starts
with ashlar blocks at the doorway, and then, proceeding southwards, becomes rubble-work,
which continues, except for an ashalr column in the corner, along the south wall to the
processional steps, after which it is lost. It had been reasonably concluded that the
rubble-work belonged to the original Norman building, which included a Norman west
doorway. Then, in the C14th, the Norman doorway jambs were replaced. On the outer
side of the nave wall, the face became entirely ashlar, more suitable for the front of the
church.
9 In July 2010 the effigy of Prior Robert Salle was removed for conservation in the museum
of Abbey Barn, the wall which the effigy was removed form seem to of been built up in has a
consolidation of the area for the graveyard. The effigy itself is a body in two sections it was
noted that when the effigy was removed a section of collar was now visible which did not
appear on earlier drawings of the effigy.
Sources
All Information (c) Warwickshire County Council
Source No:
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
5
Bibliographic reference
AM7
DoE
Source No:
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
1
Bibliographic reference
Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Salzman L F (ed)
1951
Source No:
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
2
Excavation Report
TBAS vol 52:1
Carey-Hill E
1927
184-227
52:1
Source No:
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
8
Observation Report
Kenilworth Priory: The West Wall and Portal of the Nave
Sunley, H. & Morris, R. K.
2004
Source No:
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
VI
Observation Report
Observation of the removal of the effigy of Prior Robert Salle from the
north transept wall at Kenilworth Abbey
Warwickshire Museum
2010
Source No:
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
4
Photograph
Kenilworth Abbey
Carey-Hill E
1927
Plate 1
52:1
Source No:
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
3
Plan
TBAS vol 52:1
Carey-Hill E
1927
Source No:
6
52:1
All Information (c) Warwickshire County Council
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
Scheduling record
SAM list
DoE
1985
Source No:
Source Type:
Title:
Author/Originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
7
Scheduling record
Kenilworth Abbey
English Heritage
2003
Word or Phrase
Scheduled Ancient
Monument List
Description
Scheduled Ancient Monument List. A list or schedule of
archaelogical and historic monuments that are considered to be of
national importance. The list contains a detailed description of each
Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM) and a map showing their
location and extent. By being placed on the schedule, SAMs are
protected by law from any unauthorised distrubance. The list has
been compiled and is maintained by English Heritage. It is updated
periodically.
Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological
Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains
articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in
Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the
journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record.
Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and
recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by
erosion, construction or changes in land-use.
on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are,
excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery.
Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by
open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.[more]
important part of any archaeological excavation is the recording of
artefacts and deposits with measurements, plans and photographs.
Archaeologists are just as interested in finding information about the
context of artefacts as they are in the artefacts themselves.
an excavation, archaeologists will recover many kinds of samples. In
addition to recording common artefacts, such as pieces of pottery,
archaeologists take environmental samples. This is done so that they
can find other materials such as pollen, plant parts, human and animal
bone, and shell.
TBAS
Excavation (also
known as 'digging')
Medieval
1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)
medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post
medieval period.
Medieval period begins in 1066 AD. was the year that the Normans,
led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and
defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 –
1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in
Scotland too.
end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 –
1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running
up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the
All Information (c) Warwickshire County Council
HOUSE
SITE
BUILDING
FLOOR
TOWER
Middle Ages.[more]
Normans are well known for building the first motte and bailey castles.
There are a number of these in Warwickshire. Brinklow Castle and
Boteler’s Castle, near Alcester, are fine examples. Warwick
Castle and Kenilworth Castle began their long histories as motte and
bailey castles.
Domesday Book was written in the reign of William the Conqueror. It
was completed in about 1086 AD. is a detailed statement of lands held
by the king and his tenants and of the resources that went with those
lands, for example which manors belonged to which estates. Book
was probably put together so that William knew how much tax he was
getting from the country. It provides archaeologists and historians
with a detailed picture of the size of settlements and the population at
the beginning of the medieval period. Many of these settlements
were later deserted as a result of a number of causes, including
changes to land tenure. In other cases the focal point of settlements
physically shifted. Either way, Warwickshire is well known for the
contrast in types of settlement between the Arden area of the north
west and the Feldon area of the south and east. In the Arden area
medieval settlements were of the small, dispersed type, whilst in the
Feldon area the settlements developed into nucleated villages. Some
medieval deserted settlements in Warwickshire can still be traced as
earthworks. A good example exists at Wormleighton.
of medieval farming survive in many parts of Warwickshire as
earthworks of ridge and furrow cultivation. Ridge and furrow
earthworks show where the land was ploughed so that crops could be
grown. The ridges and furrows formed because successive years of
ploughing caused the soil to be drawn up into ridges whilst the furrows
lying between them became deeper. The fields were ploughed using
a team of oxen pulling a small plough, which was very difficult to turn.
This accounts for why the land was ploughed in long strips and why
fields were left open i.e. without hedges, fences or walls dividing up
the land into smaller pockets.
were much smaller in the medieval period. The people who farmed
the land did not own it. The land belonged to the lord of the manor.
The people farming the land were simply tenants who worked a strip
of land or maybe several strips. This is why medieval farming is
sometimes called strip farming.
the time that Domesday Book was written the only town in what is now
called Warwickshire was Warwick. Documentary evidence shows us
that as the years went on more and more markets appeared in the
county. By 1450 there were forty.
towns that grew around the markets were different from the
surrounding villages in their appearance and the type of people who
lived in them. They were larger than the villages and had a more
complicated network of streets and lanes. The towns had an open
space in the centre where a market was held each week. The
houses and workshops that lined the streets had long narrow strips of
land behind them called tenements. Some historic maps show these
medieval build
A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more
specific type where known.
Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type
wherever possible.
A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for
occupants or contents. Use specific type where known.
A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use
broader site type where known.
A tall building, either round, square or polygonal in plan, used for a
All Information (c) Warwickshire County Council
PRIORY
CHURCH
ABBEY
CLOISTER
TENNIS COURT
FIELD
MUSEUM
EFFIGY
BURIAL
COLUMN
BARN
PORTAL
STEPS
WALL
variety of purposes, including defence, as a landmark, for the hanging
of bells, industrial functions, etc. Use more specific type where known.
A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of
DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, MONASTERY or NUNNERY.
A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type
where known.
A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow
terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY.
A covered walk, walled on one side and usually arcaded on the other,
surrounding or partly surrounding an open area in a monastery or
similar complex of Christian buildings.
A prepared area, traditionally grass, where tennis is played.
An area of land, often enclosed, used for cultivation or the grazing of
livestock.
A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects
of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other
artefacts are housed and displayed.
A sculptured likeness, portrait or image, often found on a tomb or
other memorial.
An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where
known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE
for optimum retrieval in searches.
Use for free standing column.
A building for the storage and processing of grain crops and for
housing straw, farm equipment and occasionally livestock and their
fodder. Use more specific type where known.
A door, gate, doorway or gateway of grand or elaborate construction.
Use specific type where possible.
A series of flat-topped structures, usually made of stone or wood,
used to facilitate a person's movement from one level to another.
An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar
materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known.
All Information (c) Warwickshire County Council