Information for record number MWA4242:
Site of Alien/Carthusian Priory at Monks Kirby

Summary The possible extent of a Carthusian Monastery, a priory of Carthusian monks, dating to the Medieval period. The site is suggested by documentary evidence. It is located in the area of the church in Monks Kirby.
What Is It?  
Type: Monastery, Carthusian Monastery
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Monks Kirby
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 46 83
(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 1077 a cell or priory of Benedictine monks under obedience to the Abbey of St Nicholas at Angiers was established at 'Kirkbury'. The priory was given the church at Kirkbury which had been ruinous and was rebuilt. In 1396 the priory was granted to the Carthusians of the Isle of Axholme, in 1399 it was restored to its original order, but in the reign of Henry V (1413-22) it was returned to the Carthusians.
2 The priory buildings were on the N side of the chancel of St Edith's church. Parts of them were embodied in the church during the 15th century reconstruction to form the chapel. Apart from the blocked openings, a door jamb, offsets for an upper floor against the chapel, and the line of a steep roof on the N wall of the chancel, nothing remains of the priory buildings.
4 The map shows a courtyard arrangement of buildings N and E of the church.
5 Is it possible that these are priory buildings converted into a manor house (PRN 3531)?
6 The area now is part churchyard, part pasture.
 
Sources

Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 6, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1951
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: VI
   
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: 4
Source Type: Map
Title: Tithe Award Map of 1842
Author/originator:
Date: 1842
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: Shipston on Stour
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 29NE1
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 29NE1
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Thompson D J
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3264
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: R.C.Hingley personal comment
Author/originator: Hingley R C
Date: 1989
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
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 SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
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 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 MANOR HOUSE * The principal house of a manor or village. back
monument FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. back
monument PRIORY * A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument CHURCH * A building used for public Christian worship. Use more specific type where known. back
monument ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument PASTURE * A field covered with herbage for the grazing of livestock. back
monument COURTYARD * An uncovered area, surrounded or partially surrounded by buildings. back
monument CELL * A monastic enclave dependent on a mother house. back
monument CHURCHYARD * An area of ground belonging to a church, often used as a burial ground. 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 MONASTERY * Houses specifically of monks, canons or religious men but not friars. back
monument CARTHUSIAN MONASTERY * An abbey or priory of Carthusian monks. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record