| Summary : Former priory church of St Laurence's Augustinian Priory founded 1152-62 and dissolved 1525. The church was altered and extended in 14th century, truncated and altered in 16th century, restored by Frederick Chancellor from 1895. The existing building represents the structural nave and aisles of a larger building which formerly extended further East, and formed the parish nave and chancel, of which 2 incomplete windows remain at the East end. The North arcade, except the West bay, was rebuilt in the early 16th century; the 12th century West bay survives. West belfry and spire 14th century. Early in the 16th century arches to North and South of the parish altar were inserted, for 2 storeys in the aisles, with large plain openings towards the nave. East end demolished and blocked. North porch 19th century, incorporating fragments of the original. North arcade rebuilt with the same stones 1895-1907; East end of North aisle also rebuilt.There is some doubt as to whether the moatsurrounding the site was associated with the priory or whether it is a post-Dissolution landscape feature. |
More information : [TL 6030 0161] St Laurence's Church [TU] Moat [GT]
Site of [TI] St Laurence's Priory [GT]
(Augustinian) [TI] (1)
The Augustinian Priory at Blackmore, founded 1152-62 and
dissolved 1525. (2)
Homestead Moat round church and site of priory, encloses a roughly rectangular area and has a small second enclosure at the S angle. Parish, formerly Priory, Church of St Laurence. (3)
The church is the only extant part of the priory, although undulating ground under rough pasture forming no coherent pattern is visible within the waterfilled enclosure ditch in area TL 6030015. The name of 'Jericho Priory', shown on O.S.
maps adjacent to the church applies solely to a Jacobean House nearby, but its origin according to Morant stems from the 'nick-name' given to the priory because of the clandestine activities here of Henry VIII. The enclosure ditch has been re-cut on the east and south sides, and is fed by the River Wid.
Published survey (25") correct. (4)
Church of St Lawrence (formerly listed in the Rural District of Epping and Ongar).
The Parish Church, formerly the Priory Church of a house of Augustinian Canons (founded circa 1155-60). The west wall and 1bay of the 7 or more bays of the Norman Church survive. The west doorway, opening to the 15th century timber-framed west tower, has a semi-circular arch with 3 orders of columns with scalloped capitals and the end bay has heavy piers with angle colonnettes. The north aisle was rebuilt in the early 14th c and the south aisle in the 16th c. The south arcade is of brick. Dormer windows were inserted in the north aisle in the 17th c and in the south aisle in the 19th c. The most notable feature of the church is the exceptionally fine 15th c timber-framed west tower built in 3 diminishing stages. The lower stage has exposed timber-framing, the 1st stage has vertical boarding and the upper stage has weather-boarding and is surmounted by a shingle broach spire. The lower stages have lean-to roofs. The tower is constructed of exceptionally heavy timbers with 10 vertical posts (6 taking the main tower) and an intricate framework of studs and passing braces rising to the spire. The original west window of 4 lights with cinquefoil tracery remains. There was considerable 19th c alteration to the building. The fittings include a 14th-15th c font, and an elaborate altar tomb with recumbent alabaster effigies to Thomas Smyth and his wife (1594). The church of St Lawrence, with the garden and grounds of Jericho Priory are surrounded by a moat (partly wet) except on the
north side. (5)
St Lawrence's Church (description accords with auth 5). Blackmore House (sic - presumably this is the house named Jericho Priory by OS) built c.1715-20 according to exterior appearance, although the plan with four square angle towers is not at all Georgian but corresponds to a few mid 16th c brick houses such as
Syon near London. (6)
The moat to the main enclosure is waterfilled and complete on all sides except the N. It is sub-retangular, enclosing an area of maximum dimensions circa 250m E-W by circa 220m N-S, or something over 4 ha. The E side is formed by the canalized R Wid, with a sluice at the S end to control the water-flow, whilst a small tributary or braided course of the Wid, which today emerges from a conduit at TL 60260180, is channelled round to form the moat's NW angle and W and S arms, before joining the river 60m above the sluice. The short stretch of the N arm which used to lie immediately E of the house was, according to the present owner, Mr Brown, filled in some years back by his predecessor. However, it seems inherently unlikely that the arm was ever complete, for it would mean that its
course underlies the 18th c house; certainly no trace of subsidence is visible in the brickwork to suggest this has occured, and whilst it could be countered that the house occupies the site, say, of the former medieval priory gatehouse, this would require that the line of Church Street has been altered in the post-Dissolution period. Within the past few years Mr Brown has had the E and S arms dredged
and the spoil deposited along their inner edges to form a broad flat-topped bank as some defence against flooding.
Whilst the size of the moated area thus described is compatible with it marking the limits to the former priory precinct, the existence of a silted moat course lying within it SE of the church, raises doubt as to whether this is in fact the case. This inner moat is traceable for some 80m NE-SW as a boggy depression, 7m wide and up to 0.5m deep, sprouting long marsh grasses, and surrounded by closely mown lawn. It then turns westwards and can be followed as a course only for a further 30m. Mr Brown said when he first acquired the house it ran as far W as the edge of the conifer plantation, but that he has had it filled in. A priori, it would seem that this feature must be contemporary with the priory, an argument backed up by the fact that the "undulating ground" of auth 4 - which seems to be the result of robbing stone from the demolished part of the priory church and buildings - is confined to the area between it and the present parish church. This would perhaps necessitate that the original priory precinct lay more N of the church than S, even
up to the backs of the houses today fronting the village green. If this argument is accepted, then it must also follow that the existing wet 'moat' is a post-dissolution feature, the most suitable context for the construction of which would be as a landscape garden feature going with the early 18th c house, Jericho Priory. however, all this is offered as hypothesis only; the available ground evidence is
insuffient for the making of precise statements.
Resurveyed at 1:2500. (7) |