|
ABOUT THIS MONUMENT
|
+
/
-
|
|
Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151 and dissolved in 1539. Surviving earthworks of moats and fishponds. The chapel at Ottringham became a chantry of Meaux in 1293 with 7 monks, but since that resulted in a relaxation of monastic rule, 30 years later it was moved to a chapel outside Meaux's gates. The core of the abbey lay towards the centre of the site which is surrounded by a moated precinct. The church, traced on the ground by its grassed over foundations, was a major building 80m long with an aisled nave of nine bays, a short choir, a central bell tower and transepts with eastern chapels. It was begun in 1207 and dedicated in 1253, replacing a smaller stone and wood church built in 1160 which had been constructed from materials from the demolished motte and bailey at Mount Ferrand near Birdsall. The fine tiled floor of the second church was largely removed to the British Museum and private collections; a section is preserved in Meaux Abbey Farm (TA 0965 4060). The cloister measures 37m by 34m on the ground; its eastern range is known to have housed a library of over 300 books. To the East of the claustral buildings other earthworks have been identified as the remains of the infirmary, chapel and hall. Attached to the infirmary hall was a wing built by the 13th abbot for his retirement. To the East of this wing are the grassed over footings of a brick hall measuring 19m by 8m which is identified as the abbot's lodging.
|
| URL: |
http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=79060
|
| MONUMENT NUMBER: |
79060 |
COUNTY: |
EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE
|
| NMR NUMBER: |
TA 03 NE 1 |
DISTRICT: |
EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE |
| LAST UPDATED: |
N/A |
PARISH: |
WAWNE |
|
|
AREA: |
N/A |
|
|
STREET: |
N/A |
|
|
MARITIME LOCATION: |
N/A |
|
|
LOCATION: |
TA 0920 3944
|
|
MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES
|
+
/
-
|
[TA 0920 3944] Site of Meaux Abbey [LB] (Cistercian. Founded 1151) [TI]
(1)
Cistercian Abbey at Meaux was founded 1 Jan 1151 and dissolved 1539.
(2)
The site of the Abbey Church and its claustral buildings are definable, but in general, the main features of the complex are the remains of the numerous moats and fish-ponds. Earthworks resurveyed at 1:2500.
(3)
TA 093 395. Meaux Abbey. Moat ran round most of abbey. Listed to show that in a heavily moated region a wet moat could replace precinct wall.
(4)
Additional references.
(5-7)
TA 0923 3938. Site of Meaux Cistercian Abbey. Scheduled RSM No 21183. Meaux Abbey, also referred to in records as Melsa, is situated on a slight rise in the valley of the River Hull, almost opposite Beverley. Its name, meaning 'lake with a sandy shore', indicates its former watery situation. The monument comprises a single area containing the whole of the medieval abbey precinct. None of the abbey buildings now remains upstanding, but extensive earthwork remains visible across the whole of the precinct indicate the position of most of the key monastic buildings. The core of the abbey lay towards the centre of the site. The church, traced on the ground by its grassed over foundations, was a major building 80m long with an aisled nave of nine bays, a short choir, a central bell tower and transepts with eastern chapels. It was begun in 1207 and dedicated in 1253, replacing a smaller stone and wood church built in 1160 which had been constructed from materials from the demolished motte and bailey at Mount Ferrand near Birdsall. The fine tiled floor of the second church was largely removed to the British Museum and private collections; a section is preserved in Meaux Abbey Farm (TA 0965 4060). The cloister measures 37m by 34m on the ground; its eastern range is known to have housed a library of over 300 books. To the E of the claustral buildings other earthworks have been identified as the remains of the infirmary, chapel and hall. Attached to the infirmary hall was a wing built by the 13th abbot for his retirement. To the E of this wing are the grassed over footings of a brick hall measuring 19m by 8m which is identified as the abbot's lodging.
The precinct was defined on all sides by large moat-like drainage ditches enclosing an area of roughly 34ha (85 acres) in extent. The ditches range between 5m and 10m wide and are up to 1.5m deep; they remain water-filled today and drain to the SE, probably the monastic system also. The precinct was entered by a great gateway at its NW corner, with a 'capella extra portas' immediately to the N. Slightly further N from this chapel was the Puleynghat (Poultry Gate), which was reputedly kept closed when the Great Gate was open, to prevent the chickens escaping. Other lesser gateways may have entered the precinct but their positions have not been located. The precinct was internally sub-divided by an extensive system of drainage ditches, visible as between 2m and 10m wide and up to 1.5m deep, some retaining running water. In the Chronicle, one of the main documentary references to the abbey, three channels are named; the Markdyke, Lamwathdyke and Eschedike. The latter ran through the W part of the precinct, dividing the Great Court from the Outer Court, before turning S. It was a canal which joined the abbey to the River Hull. The complex water-management system is credited to Abbot Richard (1221-35). The Great Court of the monastery lay immediately to the W of the church, its S side formed by the New Guest House, which replaced the earlier lay brothers infirmary. This new building, in ruins, was the principal visible standing feature of the site in the 18th century. The W boundary of Great Court was formed by a mill-pond. The Outer Court lay to the W of the Great Court, bounded to the N, W and S by a ditch 10m wide and 2m deep. This area contains ridge and furrow, indicating its use for arable cultivation, although this court is also known to have contained the common stable and a lay infirmary. A postmill mound was later constructed in the court; its mound is still visible, overlying the ridge and furrow. This mill may have replaced an earlier horse-powered mill constructed by Abbot Butler, which is known to have been unsatisfactory. To the N of the church and Great Court a triangular enclosure contains on its N side three interlinking fishponds, parallel and linked to the main enclosing moat and adjacent drainage ditches by well-preserved sluice channels. The western-most pond is 24m x 9m x 1m deep, the middle pond is 27m x 10m x 1m and the eastern-most pond is 27m x 7m x 0.75m. E of this enclosure and in the NE corner of the precinct is the large rectangular enclosure of the monastic orchard, containing the foundations of a chapel known as the 'Chapel in the Woods', founded in around 1238 as a chantry chapel endowed so that masses could be sung for Isabella de Mauley, its founder. This enclosure was later given over to arable cultivation. To the S of the refectory and infirmary two triangular enclosures include ponds, platforms and the sites of various buildings, indicating the area of iron-working and tanning and other industrial processes. A large enclosure in the SW corner of the precinct was used for arable cultivation. Water-mills belonging to the abbey and constructed in the 1260s lay at the junction of the Eschedike and River Hull, but have not been accurately located. The abbey also owned a vacary known as Felsa on Fewsome Hill, to the N of the abbey (TA 086 404). Meaux Abbey was founded in circa 1150 by Willian le Gros, Count of Aumale, on a site originally intended as a hunting lodge. A daughter house of Fountains Abbey, with extensive endowments in Holderness, it prospered during the 13th century, draining the surrounding marshes and founding the port of Wyke, later Kingston upon Hull, as an outlet for its wool. By 1249 there were 60 monks and 90 lay brothers, but all but 10 of the community died in the Black Death (1348-49) and there were only 28 monks in 1393 and 25 at the Dissolution. Details of the abbey's endowments, building history and disputes with neighbouring landowners were chronicled by Abbot Burton in circa 1430. The buildings were almost entirely demolished in 1542 to provide material for Henry VIII's blockhouses and western wall at Hull. There were sporadic antiquarian excavations during the 18th and 19th centuries, including the opening of graves and removal of tiled floors. The first systematic excvations were carried out between 1925 and 1935, when G K Beaulah and W Foot Walker established the layout of the church and located the monastic drain. Tom Shepherd, Curator of Hull Museum, also worked on the site in 1925. (8)
The earthwork remains of Meaux Abbey have been mapped and recorded as part of the Chalk Lowland and the Hull Valley NMP, at TA 0935 3937. Medieval ridge and furrow associated with the site is now recorded separately (UID 1553708). The features survive as earthworks on the latest 2012 specialist oblique photography. (9)
|
SOURCE TEXT
( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)
OS 6" NSL
|
( 2) General reference
Knowles D and Hadcock R N 1953 Medieval Religious Houses of England & Wales (111)
|
( 3) Field Investigators Comments
F1 ECW 18-APR-67
|
( 4) General reference
Le Patourel H E J 1973 The Moated Sites of Yorkshire (114)
|
( 5) General reference
Davey N 1976 Building Stones of England and Wales (25)
|
( 6) General reference
Gentlemens Magazine 2 1887 370
|
( 7) General reference
J Brit Archaeol Assoc 48 1892 100-109 (J Blashill)
|
(8) General reference
English Heritage Scheduling Amendment 23/1/95
|
(9) Vertical aerial photograph reference number
NMR RAF/3G/TUD/UK/3 PART I 5097 14-DEC-1945
|
|
|