More information : [SK 04121183] ABBEY [GT] (Site of) (1)
Red Moor, Staffs: There was a priory of hermits here in the reign of Stephen. They adopted the Cistercian rule in 1141, the prior becoming the abbot. The abbey moved to Stoneleigh, Warw., c.1156-9 [Stoneleigh Abbey : Warw 26 SE 2]. (2)
Some doubt is placed on the OS siting by Duignan who comments: "I think the surveyors have mistaken furnace slag for ancient ruins [of the Abbey] as in the spot indicated are heaps of furnace slag, evidently of great antiquity, with 300-400 year old oak trees standing on and beside the slag." Duignan associates the site of the Abbey with foundations within Castle Ring, Cannock [SK 01 SW 2 - for the Md furnace site, see SK 01 SW 8]. (3)
No trace of a monastic site was seen at the OS siting or in the immediate area. The site - on a steep valley-side - seems unlikely. The relevant ONB has been destroyed and no literary or other confirmation of it was gained in field investigation. As Duignan has suggested, the siting may derive from a mis-identification of the furnace or the nearby moat - SK 01 SW 7. There appears to be no evidence as to the nature and extent of the buildings of this early, short-lived foundation. (4)
The monks petitioned Henry II to move from Red Moor, the king building a huntinglodge there following their departure, although this may have been on a different site. (5) |