Information for record number MWA572:
Studley Priory

Summary The site of Studley Priory which was founded in the Medieval period. A single large building, perhaps the refectory or Priors Hall, still stands. There have been finds of Medieval tiles and of burials. The site is 100m north east of Saxon Close.
What Is It?  
Type: Monastery, Priory
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Studley
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 07 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 The remains of Studley Priory have been built up and form the gable of a modern farmhouse. They stand, with a large garden and farm buildings, in a moated enclosure (PRN 6164).
2 About the beginning of the reign of Henry II (1154-89) Peter Corbezon transferred to Studley a Priory of Augustin Canons that he had founded at Wicton, Worcs. The rebuilt conventual church was consecrated in 1309. William de Cantilupe gave lands for the support of a hospital at the monastery gates (PRN 6165). At the Dissolution there were eight canons with the prior.
3 Priory Farm, now much modernised, embodies a few fragmentary portions of a conventual building (PRN 6166). The indicated site of a stone coffin, the lid of which is preserved in the parish church, suggests that the original chapel stood to the NE of the existing buildings. Nothing else is left beyond a few ditches.
4 stone coffin found while digging foundations for a building behind the farmhouse. Found in association with other coffins, but this is the lid of the coffin of a prior. It seems possible that the farmhouse stands on the site of the nave of the Priory church (PRN 6166) and that the slab would have been in the N transept.
6 Details of history. The 14th century window is located in original masonry. Although the farmhouse is largely brick-clad, a great deal more of the stonework of the original building is exposed within the roof (PRN 6166). Finds of Medieval decorated tiles suggest that many of the Priory buildings lay E of the Priory Farm where earthworks survived until recent years. The site has now been levelled and the present irregularities bear no relationship to the earlier earthworks. A number of decorated tiles are now in Warwick Museum. Bones and skulls were also found 25 years ago.
7 Plan of the site.
8 History of the Priory.
9 Plan.
10 History and description of the site.
12 Location plan for a skeleton found near the house.
13 Correspondence from the 1980s relating to the threat of development.
14 Drawing of fragment of niche canopy found in 1987.
15 List of photographs. Phtographs not attached.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
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: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Forest of Arden
Author/originator: Hannett J
Date: 1894
Page Number: 68
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Victoria County History, vol 3, Warwickshire
Author/originator: Salzman L F (ed)
Date: 1945
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Studley Parish Survey
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1980
Page Number: 54-5
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: TBAS vol 52
Author/originator: Chatwin P B
Date: 1927
Page Number: 304-7
Volume/Sheet: 52
   
Source No: 13
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Studley Priory site
Author/originator: Various
Date: 1984-9
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Desk Top Study
Title: The Augustinian Priory of Studley
Author/originator:
Date: after 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 14
Source Type: Drawing
Title: A Studley find
Author/originator:
Date: 1987
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Plan
Title: TBAS vol 98
Author/originator: McEwan K
Date: 1994
Page Number: 77
Volume/Sheet: 98
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Plan
Title: Plan
Author/originator: Hooke D
Date: 1980
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 12
Source Type: Plan
Title: Studley Priory
Author/originator: Saville G. E.
Date: 1981
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 25NE6
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1968
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 15
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: Studley Priory
Author/originator: WM
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 98
Author/originator: Hooke D and Taylor R
Date: 1994
Page Number: 73-90
Volume/Sheet: 98
   
Images:  
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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 TBAS Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society is a journal produced by the society annually. It contains articles about archaeological field work that has taken place in Birmingham and Warwickshire in previous years. Copies of the journal are kept by the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
 		back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		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.
more -> 		back
period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
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 COFFIN * A chest made of stone, wood or lead, used to enclose a dead body. 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 REFECTORY * A communal dining room, especially in schools, colleges and monasteries. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument FARMHOUSE * The main dwelling-house of a farm, it can be either detached from or attached to the working buildings. back
monument PARISH CHURCH * The foremost church within a parish. 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 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 ENCLOSURE * An area of land enclosed by a boundary ditch, bank, wall, palisade or other similar barrier. Use specific type where known. back
monument HOSPITAL * An establishment providing medical or surgical treatment for the ill or wounded. Use narrower term where possible. back
monument DITCH * A long and narrow hollow or trench dug in the ground, often used to carry water though it may be dry for much of the year. 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 GARDEN * An enclosed piece of ground devoted to the cultivation of flowers, fruit or vegetables and/or recreational purposes. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FARM BUILDING * A building or structure of unknown function found on a farm. Use more specific type where known. back
monument MONASTERY * Houses specifically of monks, canons or religious men but not friars. back
monument GATE * A movable stucture which enables or prevents entrance to be gained. Usually situated in a wall or similar barrier and supported by gate posts. back
monument FARM * A tract of land, often including a farmhouse and ancillary buildings, used for the purpose of cultivation and the rearing of livestock, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument FOREST * A large tract of land covered with trees and interspersed with open areas of land. Traditionally forests were owned by the monarchy and had their own laws. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record