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BINHAM PRIORY

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The now ruined Binham Priory was founded in 1091 by Peter de Valoines and established as a cell of the Benedictine abbey of St Albans. The original endowments included the manor of Binham, which had been granted to de Valoines by William the Conqueror, and tithes from a number of other manors in Norfolk.

In 1539 the priory was dissolved by King Henry VIII and most of its property, including the manor, was granted to Sir Thomas Paston. Dismantling of the monastic buildings began soon after. His grandson, Edward Paston, carried out further demolition work intending to build a house on the site, however the project was abandoned after the death of a workman. Since the dissolution the nave of the church has remained in use as the parish church and is known as the Priory Church of St Mary and the Holy Cross. The priory precinct is now owned by the Norfolk Archaeological Trust and under the guardianship of English Heritage.

The precinct is entered through a gatehouse, the ruins of which still stand on the west boundary. The partly ruined priory church and the ruined walls and wall footings of the conventual buildings, which are the core of the monastic complex, occupy the higher ground in the south western part of the precinct. Between these and the western boundary are the remains of a walled outer court containing masonry foundations of other substantial buildings. Adjoining the claustral complex on the east and south east side are earthworks defining further enclosures, and beyond these, bordering the stream which flows through the north and north eastern part of the precinct, are the remains of the mill pond with associated water management features.

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(TF98183990) Remains of (NAT) St Mary's Priory (NR)(Benedictine) (TF98173994) Holy Cross Church (NAT) (1)

A Benedictine Priory, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, founded before 1093 and dissolved 1539. (2)

Originally an apsidal, cruciform church with adjacent priory buildings. All is now in ruins apart from the parochial part of the previously conventual/parochial church which is still in use (see plans). (3)

It is presumed that the monastic part of the church was dedicated to St Mary and the parochial part to St Cross, "St Cross or Holy Cross is more correct" for the extant part. (4)

These Grade I buildings are in care of, and been excavated by, the Ministry of Works. (5)

Listed. See the designated record on The National Heritage List for England. (6, 12)

The remains of this Priory are in excellent condition. See photographs and attached pamphlet. Resurveyed at 1:2500. (7)

The Priory of St Mary is situated on the north side of Binham village. A cell of the Benedictine abbey of St Albans, the priory was founded at the end of the 11th century by Peter de Valoines and his wife. According to the foundation charter, the priory was to pay the sum of one silver mark annually to the mother house, however it was financially independent. The original endowments included the manor of Binham, which had been granted to de Valoines by William the Conqueror, and tithes from a number of other manors in Norfolk. The priory was suppressed in 1539 and most of its property, including the manor of Binham, was granted to Sir Thomas Paston. Dismantling of the monastic buildings began soon after. In 1553 rubble and stone from the priory was purchased from Sir Thomas for use in construction of a house in Wells, and Edward Paston, a descendant of Sir Thomas, carried out further demolition work with the intention of building a house on the site, only to abandon the project after a workman was killed by falling masonry.

The priory precinct is entered through a gatehouse, the ruins of which still stand on the west boundary. The partly ruined priory church and the ruined walls and wall footings of the conventual buildings, which are the core of the monastic complex, occupy the higher ground in the south western part of the precinct, opposite and to the south east of the gatehouse. Between these and the western boundary of the precinct, to the south of the gatehouse, are the remains of a walled outer court containing masonry foundations of other substantial buildings. Adjoining the claustral complex on the east and south east side are earthworks defining further enclosures, and beyond these, bordering the stream which flows through the north and north eastern part of the precinct, are the remains of the mill pond with associated water management features.

Scheduled. For more detailed information see the designated record on The National Heritage List for England. (8, 13)

Binham Priory was established as a cell of St Albans Abbey in 1091, however construction of the monastic precinct wasn't completed until the 13th century. The number of monks living at the priory could never be less than eight and only descendants of the founder could assume the role of patron and protector. Many of the priors were said to have behaved irresponsibly and were accused of such activities as selling the priory's silver, losing money through lawsuits and even scandalous behaviour.

In 1539 the priory was dissolved and granted to Thomas Paston. His grandson, Edward Paston, demolished some of the priory buildings to use in the construction of a house on the site. The death of a workman stopped Paston from building a house on site as the workmen considered it a bad omen.

The roof of the church was repaired and rebuilt at a lower pitch in 1715 and it was re-installed at the original height in 1903. In 1809 the west window was bricked up and the floor was raised three feet, using rubble from the previously demolished north aisle. The floor was restored to its original level in 1929-35 and in 1987-90 further restoration was carried out using funds provided by English Heritage, the Historic Churches Preservation Trust and the Norfolk Churches Trust.

The priory precinct is owned by the Norfolk Archaeological Trust but is under the guardian ship of English Heritage.

Since the dissolution the church has continued in use as the parish church and known as the Priory Church of St Mary and the Holy Cross. (9)

See the English Heritage handbook for visitor information. (10)

According to Pevsner, the church is Norman in style and the monastic buildings were built between the 12th and 15th centuries. (11)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 6" 1959

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

Page(s)52, 59

( 3) Journal of the British Archaeological Association

40 Page(s)44-7

( 4) Royal Archaeological Institute The Archaeological Journal

80 Page(s)334-5

( 5) Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Object Name Book reference

letter from Diocesan Registrar, 18 Nov 1905 Page(s)9

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

North Norfolk, 20-MAY-1983 1122

( 7) Field Investigators Comments

F1 13/07/1973

( 8) Scheduled Monument Notification

01-AUG-1996

(9) World Wide Web page

The Priory Church of St Mary and the Holy Cross, Binham, http://www.binhampriory.org/Index.html [accessed 28-APR-2009]

(10) 2009 English Heritage Visitor Handbook 2009/10

Page(s)135

(11) by Nikolaus Pevsner and Bill Wilson 1997 Norfolk, 1 : Norwich and north-east

The buildings of Britain [series] Page(s)389-393

(12) World Wide Web page

English Heritage. 2011. The National Heritage List for England. http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1049509 [Accessed 27-JUL-2011]

(13) World Wide Web page

English Heritage. 2011. The National Heritage List for England. http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1014862 [Accessed 27-JUL-2011]

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