| Summary : Medieval stone wall, in part only traceable as an earthwork, defining the precinct of Haughmond Abbey. The precinct defines a quite regularly shaped five-sided enclosure of approximately 10.4 hectares. The gate is central to the north side of the precinct. At the south, the boundary was aligned to include several springs. At the west, the stream was diverted to define the boundary. The precinct appears to be the result of a single build, rather than piecemeal over a longer period, but the date when it was laid out is not recorded. It is likely to have been sometime after abbey status was conferred in 1150, and most likely at the same time the church and cloister were rebuilt on a larger scale in the 1180s. A 10 metre section of drystone wall on the south side of the precinct may be a remnant of the monastic boundary wall. It is well-coursed, averaging 1 metre thick and 1.5 metres high. It is abutted by a later field boundary wall, many of which in the area reuse abbey stone. The remaining perimeter is largely defined by a bank representing the collapsed remains of the medieval wall. Where the stream was diverted on the west side may never had had a wall, as no evidence of a bank or masonry survive. In places where the bedrock did not outcrop too close to the surface is an external ditch, and this is only what survives on the north-west side. Ploughing activity has destroyed any other evidence. The precinct boundary may have continued in use after the Dissolution to define the Barker residence, and this may be the reason for its survival as a landscape feature. |
More information : (SJ 542 151) Haughmond Abbey precinct boundary.
Between January and December 2002, English Heritage carried out a detailed analytical field survey of the environs of the standing buildings of Haughmond Abbey (Event record 1384572) (1). The survey, which covered an area of 19ha, was intended to inform the site's management and to put into context the findings of the small-scale excavations carried out between 1975 and 1979. (1)
For further details, see Archaeological Investigation Report AI/10/2003, which includes photographs, plans at various scales, interpretative diagrams and a full textual description and analysis. (1)
Scheduled. (2) |