Information for record number MWA610:
Site of Warmington Priory

Summary The site of Warmington Priory, a religious house dating to the Medieval period. Archaeological work uncovered building foundations. The site is 100m north east of St Michael's Church.
What Is It?  
Type: Monastery, Priory, Benedictine Monastery, Carthusian Monastery, Alien Priory
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Warmington
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 41 47
(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 Henry Newburg, Earl of Warwick in the time of Henry I (1100-1135) gave his lands in Warmington (except the hamlets), to the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter's, Preaux, in the diocese of Lisieux. The monks of Preaux are said to have built a cell of the priory here, and sent over some of their number to occupy it. Their religious house, according to the tradition of the inhabitants in the days of Dugdale, stood about the middle of the town. Even if the tradition of Warmington having been a priory is correct, it is clear that this cell was in the 14th century under the control of that of Toft Monks, Norfolk, which also belonged to the Abbey of Preaux. After the dissolution of the Alien priories Warmington was granted by Henry VI (1428) to the Carthusians of Wisham, Somerset.
2 During building work the site of the priory was examined by staff of Warwick Museum. The establishment was never very large, possibly consisting only of a prior and one or two monks and it is unlikely that a church was ever built. The monks probably used the chancel of the nearby church. The excavation revealed a series of walls dating to the 14th century and 15th century. The walls were of local stone and the roofs partly of tile and partly of stone slates. Decorated tiles were used on the ridge of the roof. The floors were of cobbles and rammed earth. The excavations also revealed a Late Medieval garderobe, probably similar to one in the parish church.
5 Plans.
6 Drawings of louvres.
7 Medieval history of the priory.
 
Sources
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: Correspondence
Title: Warmington Priory
Author/originator: Miss Morris
Date: 1957-8
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: Warmington Priory
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1957-8
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Excavation archive
Title: Warmington Priory
Author/originator:
Date: 1957
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Graphic material
Title: Warmington Priory louvres
Author/originator: Dunnington, Gerald
Date: 1957
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Photograph
Title: Photographs from Excavations at Warmington Priory
Author/originator: WM
Date: 1957
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Excavations on the Site of Warmington Priory
Author/originator: JMM
Date: 1957
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
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 BENEDICTINE MONASTERY * An abbey or priory for monks of the Benedictine order. back
monument GARDEROBE * A small latrine or toilet, usually built into the thickness of the wall of a castle or great house, with the waste dropping into a cess pit or straight to the outside. back
monument RELIGIOUS HOUSE * Use only for a monastic house of unknown status, religious order and uncertain authenticity. back
monument ALIEN PRIORY * A priory dependent on a foreign mother house. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument TOFT * The place where a house stood or had once stood, often adjoining a garth or croft. back
monument HAMLET * Small settlement with no ecclesiastical or lay administrative function. 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 FLOOR * A layer of stone, brick or boards, etc, on which people tread. Use broader site type where known. 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 ABBEY * A religious house governed by an abbot or abbess. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, MONASTERY or NUNNERY. 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 CELL * A monastic enclave dependent on a mother house. 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
monument TOWN * An assemblage of public and private buildings, larger than a village and having more complete and independent local government. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record