| Summary : Benedictine priory or cell extant by 1066, granted to Tavistock in 1114. It was dissolved circa 1538. The surviving features are visible in the grounds of the house, Tresco Abbey. These include the church which measures 25 metres east to west, and 8 metres wide, with walling up to 3.5 metres wide. Three graves, possibly early medieval, one inscribed, are also present. Listed and Scheduled. |
More information : (SV 89451424) Remains of (NAT) St Nicholas's Abbey
(NR). (Benedictine Cell) (NAT).
Benedictine priory or cell of St Nicholas, Tresco. An early
confederation of hermits, in existence by 1066, was granted to
Tavistock, for two monks, in 1114. Dissolved circa 1538.
The remains, probably 14th century, are situated in the garden
of the modern house, "Tresco Abbey". The outline of chancel and
nave may be traced, although much of the present visible
walling is due to modern rebuilding. In the south wall are two
fine Gothic arches which seem to had led respectively into the
south transept of the church and into the north walk of the
cloister.
Built into a wall in the garden is part of a font decorated
with round-arched arcading.
An inscribed stone, "partly under the eastern jamb of the south
doorway of the Abbey Church", was first noted in 1868 and was
rediscovered by Major Dorrien-Smith in 1937. Its Latin
inscription shows it to be an early Christian tombstone of the
5th or 6th century. Also in the garden are three graves which
O'Neil compares with lintel graves in the Isle of Man, dated to
pre-9th century. (They have also been compared, however, with
graves on St Helen's, SV 91 NW 56, which contained 14/15th
century objects in the grave fillings.
The only identifiable remains of the Priory of St Nicholas are
those of the church. This building 25.0m east to west, and 8.0m
wide incorporates the two arches shown on Borlase's sketch and
here the walling is up to 3.5m high. Elsewhere it is about 2.5m
high, abutted by raised and other flower beds internally and
externally. The font and the lintel graves could not be
identified, and those concerned with the gardens professed to
know nothing of these features.
The inscribed stone, set beneath an arch in the wall measures
0.4m by 0.6m. It is at SV 8945214242, at ground level and much
smoothed so that the inscription is becoming illegible.
Priory church and 5th/6th century stone surveyed at 1:2500 on
PFD. (7)
Listed and scheduled. (8-10)
The earliest drawing of the inscribed stone reads as:
`[-]HI FILI [-CO]BI' although `[-]THI FILI [-]COGI' is also possible.
The stone is a pillar stone with a memorial text and probably of 6th-8th century date. (11) |