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MUCHELNEY ABBEY

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Muchelney Abbey is thought to have been first established under a foundation charter from King Cynewulf in AD762. It was refounded in the late 10th century AD by King Athelstan as a Benedictine house dedicated to St Peter and St Paul before it was dissolved in 1538 by Henry VIII as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Although the abbey was a large complex it is believed to have never housed more than 20 monks. It was valued at 437 pounds in 1535. The standing remains consist of the Abbot's lodging , part of the south cloister walk and the Monk's Reredoter or latrines. The Abbot's lodging, dates from the late 15th or early 16th century, features wall paintings of 1520-30 and incorporates the south cloister walk and the west wall of the refectory. It is constructed of local lias stone with Ham stone dressings, Welsh slate roofs with stepped coped gables and stone chimney stacks. The north elevation has six bays of the former south cloister walk including infilled 15th century pointed arches. The building features large stone buttresses, two-storeys in height, and 2-light traceried windows on the upper level. It has a well-preserved interior with oak beamed ceilings, stone fireplaces and stone stairs. The Monk's Reredorter is believed to date to the 13th century and is a raised single-storey building. It is constructed of lias stone with Ham stone quoins and a half hipped thatched roof. It is now in use as a barn. The abbey was excavated in 1873-1878 and again in 1949-50. This revealed the ground plan of the church and cloister area as well as the eastern apsidal end of the 8th century AD church below the square 14th century east end. After the construction of the Norman building, the Saxon structure is believed to have served as an undercroft. The precinct boundary is defined by a low bank, and in one place a ditch. To the south west is a water-filled moat/fishpond, which originally served the monastery. The Abbey is in the care of English Heritage.

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[ST 4290 2488] ST. PETER & PAUL'S ABBEY [GT] (Remains of) (1)

The abbey of Muchelney was founded probably in the first half of the 8th c., and re-established by King Athelstan perhaps after AD 937. In the pre-Conquest period it was a small monastery but advanced in wealth and its value in 1535 was £437; it was dissolved in 1538. The site was partially and unsatisfactorily excavated in 1972-4 but is now under the guardianship of the Ministry of Works (2).

The domestic buildings have been almost completely destroyed and until a few years ago the site was covered by an orchard. Excavations by the M.O.W. (in progress 1949) have revealed the plan of the church, some 200 ft. in length. Four stages of growth can be clearly seen: the original small apsidal Saxon church; the original Norman apse; the second and larger Norman apse; and the square Gothic east end (? or Lady Chapel) (3).

Muchelney Abbey. Bendictine. Founded 8th c., refounded c.950. Dissolved 1538. (4).

The only parts of the abbey still standing are the abbot's lodging and the rere-dorter, now used as a barn, both late 15th-early 16th c. (2). (2-5)

The Ministry of Works have exposed the foundations of the church, cloisters and many of the monastic buildings. (See attached plan and photograph (a)). There is a fishpond at ST 4280 2473.
Surveyed at 1:2500. (6)

No change since survey of 30.11.66. (7)

Grade I Muchelney Abbey

Extensive remains in the care of the Ministry of Works. Foundations of church, Abbot's house and S. range of cloisters late C.15. An outbuilding, ? rere-dorter or infirmary C.13. (8)

The precinct boundary is defined by a low bank, which in one place is a bank and ditch. It is probably of Medieval, if not Saxon, date and is of utmost archaeological importance. (9)

The Abbey remains are HBMC Guardianship No 429. (10)

The scheduled area includes the precinct wall, SAM Somerset 41. (11)

History of the Abbey. (12)

Map showing the location of the buildings. (13)

Listed. (14)

Three fragments of Saxon worked stone have been found on the Abbey site:

1. Late 10th-early 11th century fragment of a rood.
2. 10th-11th century fragment, possibly an impost
3. 10th-11th century fragment of a horseshoe-shaped double opening.
4. A late 11th century grave slab found during site clearance.

All four pieces are now in the English Heritage Store. Full description of each fragment. (15)

Remains of abbey founded in the 8th century, dissolved in 1538. There was a minster here prior to the abbey's conversion to the Benedictine order in the mid-10th century. Certainly extant by 693, and traditionally founded by King Ine (688-726). Excavations in 1950 have not been published, and although a Saxon apsidal church was discovered, the dating for it is not secure. Two Norman churches and the enlarged Gothic church were also discovered. The claustral buildings were arranged to the South of the abbey church. Scheduled and in guardianship.

Muchelney Abbey is thought to have been first established under a foundation charter from King Cynewulf in AD762. It was refounded in the late 10th century AD by King Athelstan as a Benedictine house dedicated to St Peter and St Paul before it was dissolved in 1538. Although the abbey was a large establishment it is believed to have never housed more than 20 monks and the inhabitants were charged with living too well in 1335. It was valued at 437 pounds in 1535. (2-5, 8, 11)

The standing remains consist of the Abbot's lodging, part of the south cloister walk and the Monk's Reredoter or latrines. The Abbot's lodging, dates from the late 15th or early 16th century and incorporates the south cloister walk and the west wall of the refectory. It is constructed of local lias stone with Ham stone dressings, Welsh slate roofs with stepped coped gables and stone chimney stacks. The north elevation has six bays of the former south cloister walk including infilled 15th century pointed arches. The building features large stone buttresses, two-storeys in height, and 2-light traceried windows on the upper level. It has a well-preserved interior with oak beamed ceilings, stone fireplaces and stone stairs. The Monk's Reredorter is believed to date to the 13th century and is a raised single-storey building. It is constructed of lias stone with Ham stone quoins and a half hipped thatched roof. It is now in use as a barn. The abbey was excavated in 1873-1878 and again in 1949-50. This revealed the ground plan of the church and cloister area as well as the eastern apsidal end of the 8th century AD church below the square 14th century east end. After the construction of the Norman building, the Saxon structure is believed to have served as an undercroft. The precinct boundary is defined by a low bank, and in one place a ditch. To the south west is a water-filled moat/fishpond, which originally served the monastery. (8, 11)

A monastery is first recorded at Muchelney in a charter of King Cynewulf of Wessex dated 762. There is a forged charter of King Ine dated to 725 which relates to Muchelney Abbey.
The parish church has evidence of Saxon work, and excavations on the abbey site clearly showed the foundations of a Saxon church there too. The abbey surrendered rights in the late 14th century which clearly indicate that Muchelney had a minster. It is probable that prior to the abbey's reform to the Benedictine order circa 937 Muchelney had minster status. It can be assumed that either the Benedictine monastery continued to occupy the site of the minster, and an entirely new church was built for the parishioners, or it was built afresh on an adjacent site with the minster becoming the parish church. In either case, it cannot be proved which site the minster occupied. Although excavated in 1950, the excavations have not been published. (See ST42SW5 and 7) (12, 16-18)

An extensive programme of tree-ring dating was carried out under the aegis of English Heritage over a two year period, the results of which were published in 2002. This provided for a far narrower range of dates for various structures at the abbey than had been previously possible. Some timbers from the reredorter were felled after 1268 (probably late 13th-early 14th century). Timbers from the kitchen roofs could be dated (for felling) to AD 1312-33 and AD 1401. The timber from the doors to the cloisters were felled after 1410, probably early mid 15th century. The timbers from the ceiling of the anteroom were felled 1447-73. The timbers from the roof of the Abbot's Parlour showed two groups of felling dates, AD 1464-73 and a less certain group after AD 1465. The timbers from the roof of the east room of the south cloisters were felled after 1492, but probably in the early 16th century. The timber from the door to the Steward's Room was felled after 1481; probably late 15th-early 16th century. The timber from the ceiling of the Steward's Room was felled AD 1492-1507. The roof of that room showed two groups of timber, one felled 1490-1522 and another AD 1507-37. The report includes elevation and plan line drawings showing the location of the timbers and also includes a discussion of the date ranges. (19)

The wall paintings forming a decorative scheme in the Abbot's Lodgings date to the period immediately before the Reformation 1520-1530. Conservation work on the wall paintings was carried out on behalf of English Heritage, the results were reported in 2004. (20)

English Heritage Guidebook; updated 2004 edition. (21)

SOURCE TEXT

(1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1962

(2) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal

P K Baillie Reynolds 107, 1950 Page(s)120

(3) by David Knowles and J K S St. Joseph 1952 Monastic sites from the air

Cambridge air surveys Page(s)15

(4) by David Knowles and R Neville Hadcock 1971 Medieval religious houses in England and Wales

1953 edition Page(s)72

(5) General reference

List of Ancient Monuments in England and Wales 1961 (MoW) Page(s)83

(6) Field Investigators Comments

F1 GHP 30-NOV-66

(6a) 1966 Muchelney Abbey, Somerset

(7) Field Investigators Comments

F2 JWS 05-AUG-75

(8) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Langport Rural District, Somerset, OCT-1952 Page(s)32

(9) by Ann Ellison 1983 Medieval villages in south-east Somerset. A survey of the archaeological implications of development within 93 surviving medieval villages in south-east Somerset

Western Archaeological Trust surveysno.6 (1983) no.6 Page(s)76

(10) General reference

HBMC List of Monuments in the Care of the Commission (Undated)

(11) Scheduled Monument Notification

SAM Amendment 24-NOV-86

(12) edited by William Page 1911 The Victoria history Somerset, volume two

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)103-6

(13) edited by Michael Aston and Ian Burrow 1982 The archaeology of Somerset : a review to 1500 AD

Page(s)127

(14) by David Knowles and R Neville Hadcock 1971 Medieval religious houses in England and Wales

Page(s)71,478

(15) Rosemary Cramp 2006 Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture: Vol VII. South-West England

Page(s)171-3,185

(16) edited by R.W. Dunning 1974 A history of the County of Somerset: volume III

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)47-9

(17) Michael Costen 1992 The origins of Somerset

The origins of the shire Page(s)156

(18) edited by Michael Aston and Carenza Lewis 1994 The medieval landscape of Wessex

Oxbow monographs 46 Page(s)47-81

(19) Tree-ring Analysis of Timbers from Mucheleney Abbey, Mucheleney, Near Langport, Somerset, Centre for Archaeology report 114/2002

(20) Peter Martindale 2004 Muchelney Abbey, Somerset: the conservation of the wall paintings in the Abbot's Lodging, incorporating the results of paint Analysis

(21) Goodall, John; Kelly, Francis 2004 Muchelney Abbey, Somerset (Guidebook)

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