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ST MARYS ABBEY |
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ABOUT THIS MONUMENT
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The ruins of Halesowen Abbey, a foundation of the Premonstratensian order. It was founded in 1215 and was colonised by canons from the existing Premonstratensian house at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire. The abbey was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist and it had one dependency: Dodford Priory. It was dissolved in 1536 by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries and two years later the monastic buildings were partly demolished. The site of the abbey was granted by Henry VIII to Sir John Dudley who passed the site to his servant George Tuckey.
There are some standing remains of the abbey buildings and others have been incorporated into the walls of farm buildings belonging to Manor Abbey Farm. The north barn of the farm dates to the 17th century and the rest of the farm is of a 19th century date.
The monastic buildings are situated within a rectangular precinct, which was originally defined by fish-ponds to the north, south and south-west and by a water-filled moat. The precinct measured an area of 170 by 100 metres. The monastic church, built of local sandstone, is sited in the north part of the inner precinct and its standing remains are thought to be of early 13th century date. A range of agricultural buildings overlie the south wall of the church and north part of the cloister. The 17th century north barn follows the same alignment as the church and has been partly built from reused medieval masonry and timbers. Excavations have further shown that the barn incorporates standing remains of the monastic church. Belonging to the south range of the cloister, are the standing remains of the south wall of the frater and its undercroft. To the south east of the church is a two-storeyed building which was constructed in the second half of the 13th century. This may have been the abbot's lodging.
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MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES
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(Name: SO 974828) Remains of (NAT) St Mary's Abbey (NR)
(Premonstratensian Canons) (NAT) (Name: SO 977829) Fishponds (NR).
(1)
An abbey of Premonstratensian Canons founded in 1215 and a convent founded in 1218. They were dissolved in 1538. (2)
Little remains of the Premonstratensian Abbey of Halesowen
dedicated to the Virgin and St John the Evangelist. The
arrangement of the original buildings is now somewhat
conjectural, only fragments of the church, part of the S wall
of the frater and a small building now used as a barn SE of the
claustral block, probably the abbots' lodging, are still standing.
(3-4)
In 1938 road widening in Manor Lane (probably at SO 97488309)
revealed part of the back wall of the Abbey Gate House and a
cobbled road to the abbey itself 33 ft in length and 7 ft wide,
both of which were preserved. A plan of the abbey drawn by J R
Holliday in 1871 which supplements that in the VCH is in
Birmingham Reference Library. (5)
An appraisal of the abbey earthworks confirms at least six
fishponds to the north and at least two to the south with
possibly another on the site of the cycle track. An outer
precinct bank, possibly made when a crenellation license was
obtained in 1293, may be seen in the prominent double ditch to the south, and substantial dams across the valleys with a hedge line to west and north, probably continuing to the site of the
abbey gate house. (6-7)
St Mary's Abbey. Grade 1. (Detailed list of remains).
Remains of the Abbey buildings are as described above and are in the care of the DOE They are largely incorporated into the walls of farm buildings belonging to Manor Abbey Farm. The site is
upon a low, flat-topped spur between two streams to north and
south flowing into a larger stream west of the site.
The Abbey buildings were contained within a water-filled moat of
which the east arm and traces of the north arm remain. The
course of the west arm can be followed as a faint depression.
The area thus enclosed measured 170.0m east-west by 100.0m north-south. The east arm is 9.0m in width. The south side is bounded by steep, natural slopes. In the valley to the north are four large fishponds. There is evidence that the ponds were at first small and were later enlarged either by heightening and
extending, or by rebuilding the bays. The second bay east of the
modern road to the farm is nowhere more than 1.0m in height
whereas those above and below are 2.0 to 2.6m high and extend
the full width of the valley. The bay carrying the road is 4.8m
high and there may have been a fifth pond below it but this, and
possibly a sixth to the west of the Abbey, have been destroyed
by construction of a cycle track.
In the valley to the south are two further pondbays. The lower
one 1.5m high, with a large overspill channel with retaining
bank leading towards the Abbey building, was probably for
domestic uses.
The upper bay, 1.6m high, retained a supply pond of some
considerable extent. Water was led via a leet from the southern
end of the bay into two parallel channels which in turn probably
fed two water mills at the western end. Beyond is a deep pit
probably scoured out by falling water, and a further channel
leading to the stream. The leet and parallel channels are 10.0
to 12.0m in width and in depth, respectively, average 1.0m and
2.0m.
Directly opposite, on the west bank of the stream, a shallow
ditch, later accompanied by an inner bank, crosses the slopes
till cut and destroyed by the course of a disused railway line.
This, together with the leet and supply pond bay, possibly
represents the southern limits of the Abbey. To the north west
of the watermill site is a windmill mound, a turf-covered mound,
13.0m in diameter, 0.6m in height, with a drainage channel round
the north east side. To the north and east is an area of ridge and
furrow, bounded by low earthen banks on the north and west. The
whole site is under pasture. There are now no visible remains of
the 1938 excavation mentioned in source 5. (8)
1:2500 MSD revised. (9)
Detailed survey of the only roofed building forming part of Halesowen Abbey c50m E of the main claustral complex. Four phases of construction and alteration recognised. Phase I- the main period of construction and includes the crown post roof 1290-1300. Phases II-IV all relate to the post-dissolution period. This building probably functioned as part of the Abbot's Lodging, which, after the Dissolution, functioned as a barn. (10)
Note on foundations recorded on the supposed site of the Abbey Guest House. A re-appraisal of the earthworks surrounding the Abbey confirmed the existence of a flight of at least six fish-ponds and possibly another to the W. Later alterations to the precinct boundary recognised, possibly relating to the licence to crenellate the guesthouse in 1293. (11)
SO 976 828. Listed in schedule as "Halesowen Abbey, fishponds and precinct earthworks". (12)
2 decorated and 2 plain floor-tile fragments found 1928. These are now in Birmingham Museum collection. (13)
SO 976 828. Noted in gazetteer. (14)
Noted in paper on moated sites in Worcestershire, with plan of earthworks and Abbey buildings. (15)
Noted in paper on Worcestershire fishponds, with same plan as in source 15. (16)
Halesowen Abbey was founded in 1215 by Peter des Roche and was colonised by canons from the existing Premonstratensian house at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire. In 1536 the abbey and all its possessions were surrendered to the Crown and two years later the monastic buildings were partly demolished. The site of the abbey was granted by Henry VIII to Sir John Dudley who passed the site to his servant George Tuckey.
The main abbey buildings lie among the agricultural buildings and the farmhouse of Manor Farm. The conventual buildings are situated within a rectangular enclosure or precinct, which was originally defined by man-made pools of water to the north, south and south west and by water-filled ditches cutting across the spur on the west and east sides. The precinct thus enclosed measures approximately 170m east-west and 100m north-south. Access into the inner precinct is thought to have been via a causeway from the north.
The monastic church, built of local red sandstone, is sited in the north part of the inner precinct. A range of agricultural buildings, associated with Manor Farm, overlie the south wall of the church and the north part of the cloister. The north barn follows the same alignment as the church. It has been partly built from reused medieval masonry and timbers and is thought to be mostly of
17th century date. However excavations at the site during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and field evidence indicate that this barn incorporates standing fragments of the abbey. To the south east of the church is a two-storey rectangular stone building originally constructed during the second half of the 13th century. This may have been the abbot's lodging.
Cartographic evidence indicates that the fields to the north and west of the monastic church, within the moated enclosure, were known respectively as Lower and Upper Churchyard indicating that these areas were used as the monastic cemetery.
The conventual buildings in the precinct were originally set within a larger system of water control features. Immediately to the north and north east of the precinct are the earthwork remains of a series of large ponds, of which at least five have been identified. A bypass leat, or overflow channel, is visible running parallel to the south side of the ponds and it forms the north boundary to the inner precinct. Earthwork evidence indicates that the ponds were connected to this channel and to each adjacent
pond by sluices.
The valley to the south of the conventual buildings has been dammed in three places to create ponds. The proximity of the central pond to the conventual buildings suggests that the pond had a domestic use and a sluice within its retaining bank is thought to have provided a water supply for the latrines, situated in the south range of the cloister. Near the precinct are the remains of levelled platforms which are thought to be the remains of former watermill sites. These are considered to be the site of a number of mills associated with the monastery.
For a full description including the various standing remains please refer to the source. (17)
The abbey was founded in 1215 for the Premonstratensian order and the remains are mainly 13th century. The north wall of the barn incorporates part of the south aisle of the church with two claustral doorways. The remains include: fragments of the south transept with two lancet windows, sections of the south transeptual chapel and north wall of chancel, a substantial section of refectory wall with 4 lancets and undercroft, foundations of the chapter house and the shell of a 13th century building, probably the Abbatial House. (18)
The abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist was founded by the Bishop of Winchester Peter des Roches after he was granted the manor by King John in 1214. The canons arrived from Welbeck in 1218 and there were 13 canons at the abbey but the number may have later increased. (19)
The remains of an abbey founded by King John in the 13th century. (20)
An earthwork survey was undertaken during 2005 at Halesowen Abbey and its environs. The survey was carried out at a scale of 1:1000. Features that were recorded include a flight of ponds, seperated by dams, along the northern valley. In the valley to the south there were further ponds which, although similar morphologically, had additional features such as leats and ramps, suggesting a different, possibly inductrial function. In the field to the south of the southern valley there are extensive tracts of slight ridge-and-furrow. This has been cut by a quarry ditch, possibly for the extraction of coal. Other features in the field include a proinant boundary bank, which is probably part of the precinct boundary or a later park boundary (or both). Also, there is a rectilinear enclosure, overlain by the ridge-and-furrow, and a windmill mound. Beyond this field there is a pillow mound. Further details are contained in the written report. (20)
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SOURCE TEXT
( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)
OS 6" 1955
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( 2) by David Knowles and R Neville Hadcock 1953 Medieval religious houses : England and Wales
Page(s)166
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( 3) edited by J W Willis-Bund and William Page 1906 The Victoria history of the county of Worcester: volume two
The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)162
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( 4) edited by William Page and J W Willis-Bund 1913 The Victoria history of the county of Worcester: volume three
The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)137-9
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( 5) Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society
F Somers 15, 1938 Page(s)82-3
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( 6) Worcestershire Archaeological Society Worcestershire archaeology and local history newsletter
CJ Bond 6, 1970 Page(s)11
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( 7) Council for British Archaeology Group 8: West Midlands newsletter
CJ Bond 13, 1970
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( 8) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest
Halesowen RD, 1948 Page(s)5
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( 9) Field Investigators Comments
F1 ASP 19-JAN-76
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(10) Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society
NAD Molyneaux 3, SERIES 9, 1984 Page(s)45-53
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(11) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology
DM Wilson and S Moorhouse 15, 1971 Page(s)141
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(12) English Heritage 1987 County list of Scheduled Ancient Monuments : December 1987
West Midlands Page(s)5
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(13) Worcestershire Archaeological Society Worcestershire archaeology and local history newsletter
14, 1974 Page(s)2
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(14) Worcestershire Archaeological Society Worcestershire archaeology and local history newsletter
CJ Bond 12, 1973 Page(s)18
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(15) edited by F A Aberg 1978 Medieval moated sites
CBA research reportsVol.1 (1955)- no.17 Page(s)75, 77
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(16) edited by Michael Aston 1988 Medieval fish, fisheries and fishponds in England
BAR British series1 (1974) - 182 (i-ii) Page(s)433-4
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(17) Scheduled Monument Notification
08-FEB-1995
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(18) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest
Dudley, 11-JUN-1976 727
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(19) by David Knowles and R Neville Hadcock 1971 Medieval religious houses in England and Wales
Page(s)189
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(20) 2009 English Heritage Visitor Handbook 2009/10
Page(s)180
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