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WATTON PRIORY

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Gilbertine priory erected between 1156-1539, possibly on the site of Anglo Saxon nunnery extant circa 686, probably destroyed in the 9th century. Later converted to a house in the post medieval period, (TA04NW28). There are extensive earthworks. This was the wealthiest Gilbertine house in England and at its greatest extent covered 22 hectares, the boundaries defined by watercourses. The precinct of the double monastery was rectangular in shape with the inner precinct of the nuns in the South-West corner, bounded in medieval times along most of its length by a watercourse. The existing mansion, which embodies the medieval prior's lodging, and some mounds and fragments of masonry on the sites of the cloisters of the nuns and the canons, is all that can be seen today. The whole site was carefully excavated in 1893-8 by W H St J Hope and is the only Gilbertine "double" monastery of which the plan has been completely revealed. The site is visible on air photographs and was mapped as part of the Chalk Lowlands and the Hull Valley NMP project.

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(Name centred TA 023497) Watton Abbey (NR) Remains of (NAT) Gilbertine Priory (NR)
(Name centred TA 02284988) Site of (NAT) Nunnery (NR) (TA 02244994, 02344968, 02514988) Moat (NR)
(TA 02434983 and 02404973) Butt Hill (NR)
(TA 02455010) Fishpond (NR) (1)

About 686 there was a nunnery at "Vetadun" (identified as Watton) according to Bede, the historian of Jarrow, who recounts a miracle by St John of Beverley after he became bishop of York in 705. The abbot of Rievaulx between 1146 and 1166, in describing another miracle at Watten in his time, evidently believed the places to be identical.
The medieval Gilbertine Priory of St Mary is generally believed to have been founded about 1150 but the reference to it by the Abbot of Rievaulx suggests that it might have been earlier. (Despite Hope's suggestion, Knowles & Hadcock give 1156 as the foundation date.) The priory was surrendered on 9 December 1539.
The precinct of the double monastery was rectangular in shape with the inner precinct of the nuns in the SW corner, bounded in medieval times along most of its length by a watercourse. The existing mansion, which embodies the medieval prior's lodging, and some mounds and fragments of masonry on the sites of the cloisters of the nuns and the canons, is all that can be seen today. The whole site was carefully excavated in 1893-8 by W H St J Hope and is the only Gilbertine "double" monastery of which the plan has been completely revealed. (2-4)

Drainage and field ditches to the S and SW of the monastic precinct are visible on air photographs. (5)

Watton Priory is mainly as described. Remains still inhabited and in good condition. Several of the ditches to the E and N of the area have been destroyed by ploughing but the Fish Pond is still in a good state of preservation. There is no trace of the water-course dividing the two precincts. At TA 02434984 is a roughly circular turf-covered earthen mound about 2m high and 12m diameter, mutilated by excavations and by a tree growing at the SE edge. It is doubtful if this is prehistoric and is probably associated with archery practice, hence the name "Butt Hill". This was partly excavated a few years ago by Pexton (a) but nothing was found.
At TA 02404974 (and also known as "Butt Hill") is a grass covered mound with apparent stone content which is reputed locally to have been part of fortifications built by Cromwell. It is probably the remains of a building or round tower collapsed and later 'landscaped'. The drainage and field ditches (centred approx TA02164960) have been destroyed by ploughing, though there are traces of fields and rig and furrow and a sunken trackway centred at TA 02394953.
At TA 02004978 is a rectangular pond and associated drainage ditches, lynchets and banks of ancient fields, possibly contemporary with those of the Priory.
Published Survey (25") Revised. See GP from SW. (6)

Additional reference. (7)

TA 0234 4997. Site of Watton Gilbertine priory, two possible medieval archery butts and Civil War earthworks. Scheduled RSM No 23805. The priory buildings lay at the heart of a large monastic precinct largely defined by moat-like drainage ditches. The area thus defined is roughly 22ha in extent. The ditches are between 5m and 6m wide and up to 2m deep. Access to the site is now from the S, although the original point of entry is currently unknown. An embanked trackway runs from N to S along the E boundary of the precinct, although it is not clear whether this is a product of later farming activity, or whether it relates to original access points to the precinct. The inner precinct was surrounded by a series of outer courts or enclosures, which were defined by an extensive series of drainage ditches varying between 2m and 10m wide and up to 2m deep. Some of these retain running water. The priory's water management features ultimately drain into Watton Beck, which forms the S boundary of the precinct. Two heavily silted fishponds 30m long N-S and 10m wide lie S of the claustral buildings. NE of these buildings is a slightly curved fishpond 67m long, up to 36m wide and 1.75m deep, connected to drainage features to the S and E by short silted channels. A fourth, waterlogged, pond lies further N; it is 60m long, 18m wide and 1.5m deep. It has been partially recut in recent years as a farm pond. This last pond lies on the S boundary of an embanked enclosure 200m square. Along with further enclosures to the N and E of the core buildings, ridge and furrow indicates its use for arable agriculture.

Two earth mounds known as Butt Hills are located to the E of the prior's lodging; one stands NE of the lodging and is 11m in diameter and 3m high. The second mound lies further S and has been incorporated into the garden wall. Their name suggests a use as archery butts. Antiquarian accounts record that the house was fortified by Royalist troops during the Civil War (1642-46), and local tradition reports the discovery of swords and cannon balls. The S wall of the garden is supposed to have been raised at the time; it is built from reused monastic stone and has an earthen bank 10m wide and 2.5m high thrown up against it. This wall encloses the S Butt Hill, thereby forming a circular corner tower.

Earthwork remains of a mill mound and of possible water management features lie to the S and E of the monument but cannot be currently identified as components of the priory, and are excluded from the Scheduling. The exact location of the Anglo Saxon nunnery of Vetadun is not known, although it probably lies beneath the medieval priory. The Gilbertine priory was founded c.1150 by Eustace FitzJohn, as a penance for fighting with the Scots against the English. The Priory of St Mary was to become one of the wealthiest Gilbertine houses; there were 53 nuns in 1326 and 61 in 1378. At its suppression in 1539 there were 9 canons and 12 nuns. Several of the canons were accused of complicity in the 1536 Pilgrimage of Grace. (8)

Scheduled monument notification.
(9)

The earthworks of the medieval priory site at Watton were mapped as part of the Chalk Lowlands and Hull Valley NMP project. Recent photography taken in 2011 shows the surviving earthworks. From the air photography it is difficult to distinguish what elements of the site may be part of the post medieval garden features. Small areas of extractive pits may be a later date and are recorded in UID 1549143.
(10-12)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 25" 1890

( 2) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal

58 (1901) Page(s)1-34

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

Page(s)196,484

( 4) General reference

Knowles D and St Joseph J K S 1952 Monastic Sites from the Air (246-247)

( 5) Aerial photograph

RAF/541/189/3336-3337 Oct 1948

( 6a) Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments

( 6) Field Investigators Comments

F1 ISS 14-MAY-74

(8) edited by William Page 1913 The Victoria history of the county of York: volume three

The Victoria history of the counties of England Page(s)254-5

(9) Scheduled Monument Notification

English Heritage Scheduling Amendment 14/8/94

(10) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

NMR RAF/RRF/1074 F21 0024 25-NOV-1957

(11) Vertical aerial photograph reference number

NMR OS/97051 0006 30-MAR-1997

(12) Oblique aerial photograph reference number

NMR 28222/035 15-SEP-2011

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