HAILES ABBEY

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The Cistercian abbey of Hailes was founded in 1245 by Richard, Earl of Cornwall in thanksgiving for deliverance from shipwreck. The abbey church was built by 1277. The ruined remains are divided between its inner precinct and outer court which are separated by a boundary that has not survived later landscaping. The abbey had extensive and elaborate buildings, financed by pilgrims visiting its renowned relic, 'the Holy Blood of Hailes' - allegedly a phial of Christ's own blood. Following its dissolution in 1539 by Henry VIII, the abbey was sold to a dealer in monastic properties, soon after which the church was demolished. In the 17th century much of the west range and the abbot's lodging became the home of the Tracy family. The Tracy's moved on in 1729 and the buildings were converted into two farms. The inner precinct contains the claustral buildings. Of these, the walls of the cloister survive mostly at foundation level, although at the south end of the west range three bays survive to full height. The remains of the abbey church are to the north of the cloister. These were revealed during excavations in the 20th century. A geophysical survey undertaken in 1978 also revealed the infirmary and another building beyond the east range. The outer court contains the site of a gatehouse chapel, believed to be in the vicinity of the parish church, four fishponds, the sites of two mills and earthworks representing internal boundaries and water management features, most of which are visible on aerial photographs. Of the ponds, three survive unaltered, while the fourth was landscaped in the 17th century. The mills survive as earthwork platforms. On the west side of the monument, in the grounds of Hailes House, is a barn thought to be contemporary with the abbey. A further abbey barn has been revealed by aerial photographs to the north of the parish church. The monument was donated to the National Trust, and is now in the Care of the Secretary of State.

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(SP 05043004) Remains of (NAT) St Mary's Abbey (NR)(Cistercian. Founded AD 1246) (SP 05092986) Fish Pond (NR). (1)

Please see the abbey guidebook for more information. (2)

As described. The Monks' Frater is at present being excavated and consolidated. The fish pond at SP 05082988 has been partially filled. The ditch leading to it from the NE is probably part of the garden shown in Kip's view (a) (See DOE guide). The pond itself may also have been altered at this time, although as it feeds the stone drain which runs beneath the Abbey, it was probably an original feature. Two other fish ponds are at SP 05012991. Published survey (25") revised. (3)

I Hailes Abbey Cistercian Abbey. 1246. Destroyed 1539. Only part of C.13 cloisters are left. National Trust. (4)

Most prominent at Hailes Abbey today is the elaborate ambulatory with radiating chapels built in 1270 to accommodate pilgrims who came to see the relic, a phial of Holy blood, that was brought to Hailes by the Earl of Edmund (d 1300). It was his father Richard (d1272) Earl of Cornwall, who founded the Abbey in 1246. The Abbey was dissolved in 1539 and the splendid buildings looted and largely destroyed except for parts of the cloister which were retained as a dwelling. In the 17th century this was the home of the Tracey family who bought it from the crown, but after 1680 it was occupied by tenants and there after divided up into farm houses. In 1937 the site (much of which had been excavated in the late 19th century) was handed over to the National Trust, which in 1948 placed it in the care of English Heritage (formerly HBMC).
During the more recent excavations at Hailes floor tiles were discovered in the Presbytery. These tiles carried heraldic devices of the earls of Cornwall and their relatives. (5-6)

More of these tiles were found in an unusual locality as part of the building rubble at an early 19th century house in Cheltenham. Mr W Hodgin found the lead glazed tiles in 1984 and donated them to Cheltenham Museum. (7)

A variety of pottery has been found at Hailes dating from the 13th century to post Medieval times. Surrey White Ware, south Netherlands 'Altar Vases' and Raeren stone ware have all been found at Hailes Abbey and they date to the 15th-16th century (8)

Alembics, which are used in the distilling process, were found at Hailes Abbey. A complete type 2 alembic was found when the site was being cleared. The pot dates to 1550-1650. (9)

A Musty re-excavated areas formerly dug by Wilborne St Clair Baddeley between 1906-1909. (10)

Drainage operations north of the transept confirmed that a cemetery was in the area. (11)

Please refer to these sources for detailed information on the abbey. (12-15)
Two fishponds and other earthworks situated immediately south and east of the abbey are visible on aerial photographs. The earthworks extend over an area that measures up to 210m long by 100m wide and is orientated roughly south-west / north-east. They comprise: rectilinear fishponds centred at SP 0507 2991 and SP 0501 2991 that are connected by a leat; a group of irregular mounds and scarps centred at SP 0510 2996 that may represent spoil from 19th and 20th century excavations and / or the site of the infirmary, and parts of a water management system connected to the fishponds and probably the mills. The later includes an embanked leat that extends between SP 0511 2988 and SP 0520 3001, curvilinear platforms to the north of which could represent the site of a mill. Alternatively, this leat and a parallel terrace situated circa 30m to its west may be the result of 17th century landscaping, as shown in Kip's engraving. (16-17)

The Cistercian abbey of Hailes was founded in 1246 by Richard of Cornwall, in thanksgiving for deliverance from shipwreck, and dissolved on Christmas Eve 1539. Though never housing large numbers of monks, it had extensive and elaborate buildings, financed by pilgrims visiting its renowned relic, 'the Holy Blood of Hailes' - allegedly a phial of Christ's own blood. Sculptures, stonework and other site finds are displayed in the museum. (18)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1955

( 2) by J. G. Coad 1969 Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire

( 3a) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 3) Field Investigators Comments

F1 DJC 18-APR-73

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

Cheltenham Rural District June 1948 Page(s)32

(5) by Colin Platt 1984 Medieval Britain from the air

Page(s)83-85

(6) General reference

Apted MR. 1985. English Heritage Guide to Hailes Abbey

(7) Glevensis : Gloucestershire and District Archaeological Research Group review

18 (1984) Page(s)45-6

(8) edited by Alan Saville 1984 Archaeology in Gloucestershire from the earliest hunters to the industrial age : essays dedicated to Helen O'Neil and the late Elsie Clifford

Page(s)265-7

(9) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

16 Page(s)109 116

(10) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

18 (1974) Page(s)189

(11) Medieval archaeology : journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology

20 (1976) Page(s)177

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

Tewkesbury 07-SEP-1987

(13) Scheduled Monument Notification

18-SEP-1998

(14) English Heritage 1998 The English Heritage visitors' handbook 1998-99

Page(s)76

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

Page(s)120

(16) Oblique aerial photograph reference number

NMR SP 0529/7 (21618/19) 08-APR-2002

(17) Externally held archive reference

"Hailes Abbey: above and below the turf" report held at Hailes Abbey Museum 2003

(18) English Heritage Members' and Visitors' handbook 2008/9

Page(s)101

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