More information : [TQ 18983641] The Nunnery On Site of [T.I.] St. Mary Magdalen's Nunnery [G.T.](1)
The Benedictine priory at Rusper, was founded before 1200, and dissolved in 1537.(2)
Sir William Burrell Writing c. 1781. says "The Nunnery is reported to have been a religious house. There is a well called Nuns' well. On the north wing of the east front, towards the orchard, the foundations of additional buildings and the arch of a cellar are visible 58 ft. in extent, east of the present house".(3)
The following antiqities were found at Rusper Nunnery in 1840:
Chalice, copper gilt and enamel.
Lead pontifical seal.
Serecloth in which a body had been wrapped
Rosary of amber and jet.
Small golden crucifix.
Inscribed circular silver brooch, found in an oak coffin.(4)
"The Nunnery", a large private country residence, was built in 1795, and displays no visible remains of any preceding building. There are a number of pieces of prob. 13th or 14th c carved stone in the garden, some built into a modern wall. The finds, made in 1840, accompanied the burials of a prioress and four nuns, whose remains were later reinterred in Rusper churchyard. The priory burial ground was to the E of the present house at TQ 19023642 and was uncovered during garden alterations (a).
Nothing further is known to have been found since 1840.
The 'Nuns Well' is a natural spring, encircled and arched over with modern brick, within Nuns Wood at TQ 19073640. (5) |