Information for record number MWA1959:
Site of Monastery at Friar Street

Summary The site of a Dominican Friary established in the Medieval period, it stood in the vicinity of Friar Street, Warwick. The friary was demolished after the Dissolution around 1551. Archaeological excavation in the 1970s found several burials possibly from the friary cemetery.
What Is It?  
Type: Dominican Friary, Friary
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Warwick
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 27 64
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 In the suburb on the W of the town there was a house of Dominican or Black Friars, established towards the end of the reign of Henry III, but before the year 1263. Ralph Boteler was their chief if not sole founder. Building work was in progress in 1263. In 1268 the church was finished, but certain works were still in progress in 1296. The dedication of the friary is unknown. There were 30-40 religious, and the friary was among the larger ones in England. Information on the later history of the friary exists and it was surrendered in 1538. In 1551 the site was purchased by John, Duke of Northumberland, who held it long enough to completely demolish the church and Buildings.
2 Friar Street, somewhere about opposite St Paul's church, is the site of the Black Friars Monastery. Out of Friar Street runs Chapel Court, and this joins Friars Court and Monk Street.
3 Black Friars Monastery and/or Burial Ground in this area. Finds include stained glass recovered in 1835 and now in Warwick Museum.
4 No trace of the Monastery now remains.
5 Part of a stone pillar and part of a stone capital. From the friary, identified by P B Chatwin.
6 Five pieces of human bone collected in 1835 and cross-referenced to reference
5.
7 Human remains. SP2764. Excavated by S Ball in filling of foundation trench of a cellar in Friar Street, 1973. Various human and animal bones and some pottery.
8 Human remains were found during Building work in Friar Street. At least two individuals were represented, they probably belonged to the cemetery of the Blackfriars.
 
Sources
Source No: 8
Source Type: Archaeological Report
Title: Site of the Dominical Friary in Friar Street
Author/originator: Palmer, Nicholas
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: History of Warwick
Author/originator: T Kemp
Date: 1905
Page Number: 198
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: WM
Author/originator:
Date: 1983
Page Number: 3770
Volume/Sheet: Accession Card
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: WM
Author/originator:
Date: 1983
Page Number: 3770
Volume/Sheet: Accession Card
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 2, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Page W (ed)
Date: 1908
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 2
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: 44NE
Author/originator: JMM
Date:
Page Number: 44NE
Volume/Sheet: Annotated Map
   
Source No:
Source Type: Photograph
Title: Dominican Friary, Friar Street
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1993
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: WM
Author/originator: WM
Date:
Page Number: A198
Volume/Sheet: Catalogue
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source WM Warwickshire Museum Aerial Photograph Collection. A collection of oblique and vertical aerial photographs and taken by various organisations and individuals, including the Royal Airforce, The Potato Board, Warwickshire Museum. The collection is held at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique excavation Archaeologists excavate sites so that they can find information and recover archaeological materials before they are destroyed by erosion, construction or changes in land-use.

Depending on how complicated and widespread the archaeological deposits are, excavation can be done by hand or with heavy machinery. Archaeologists may excavate a site in a number of ways; either by open area excavation, by digging a test pit or a trial trench.
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period Medieval 1066 AD to 1539 AD (the 11th century AD to the 16th century AD)

The medieval period comes after the Saxon period and before the post medieval period.

The Medieval period begins in 1066 AD.
This was the year that the Normans, led by William the Conqueror (1066 – 1087), invaded England and defeated Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in East Sussex.
The Medieval period includes the first half of the Tudor period (1485 – 1603 AD), when the Tudor family reigned in England and eventually in Scotland too.

The end of the Medieval period is marked by Henry VIII’s (1509 – 1547) order for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the years running up to 1539 AD. The whole of this period is sometimes called the Middle Ages.
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monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument DOMINICAN FRIARY * A house of friars of the order of St Dominic. Also known as Friars Preachers or 'Black Friars'. back
monument CELLAR * A room or group of rooms usually below the ground level and usually under a building, often used for storing fuel, provisions or wines. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SUBURB * A largely residential area on the outskirts of a town or city. back
monument FRIARY * Houses specifically for men and of chiefly mendicant religious orders. The status of priory is represented in several friaries. Use with PRIORY if required. back
monument MUSEUM * A building, group of buildings or space within a building, where objects of value such as works of art, antiquities, scientific specimens, or other artefacts are housed and displayed. back
monument CEMETERY * An area of ground, set apart for the burial of the dead. back
monument TRENCH * An excavation used as a means of concealment, protection or both. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument BURIAL * An interment of human or animal remains. Use specific type where known. If component use with wider site type. Use FUNERARY SITE for optimum retrieval in searches. back
monument HUMAN REMAINS * The unarticulated remains of the body of a human being. If articulated use inhumation. back
monument MONASTERY * Houses specifically of monks, canons or religious men but not friars. back
monument CROSS * A free-standing structure, in the form of a cross (+), symbolizing the structure on which Jesus Christ was crucified and sacred to the Christian faith. Use specific type where known. back
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back
monument WORKS * Usually a complex of buildings for the processing of raw materials. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record