Information for record number MWA176:
Alvecote Priory

Summary The site of Alvecote Priory, a Benedictine Priory of Medieval date. Ruins of the Medieval building and the 18th century house built on the same site are still standing. It was situated 200m north east of Alvecote Grange (modern name).
What Is It?  
Type: Monastery, Priory, Benedictine Monastery
Period: Medieval (1066 AD - 1539 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Shuttington
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SK 25 04
(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: )
Scheduled Monument (Grade: )
Listed Building (Grade: II)
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 A colony of Benedictine monks was founded at Alvecote in 1159 by Willan Burdett. The cell was dependent upon Great Malvern Priory. The colony was dedicated to St Blase, it was small and poor with a net income c.1535 of £28 pa.
2 The remains consist of the door and cellarage of a dwelling house and a 30ft stretch of wall. Tiles of medieval and Imperial date were found on the site and donated to the County Museum.
3 It was usual for four monks to be located at the colony, but in spite of its small size it was disolved in 1536.
4 A licence to collect alms for rebuilding in 1334 is consistent with most of the surviving remains - a north and an east wall of a building said to be a chapel. Incorporated in an 18th century house, the roof and hall running north and south, now decayed, and perhaps the core of the east wall of the house - also a 14th century doorway.
5 Buried, earthwork and standing remains of Alvecote Priory and dovecote. Small Benedictine Priory founded in 1159 by William Burdet, it later became a cell of Great Malvern Priory. Alvecote Priory appears to have regularly housed four monks and their servants. In the 14th century its buildings were refurbished. It was dissloved in 1536 and the buildings converted into a private house which was rebuilt 1700. This house was demolished in the 20th century. The surviving building remains date from the 14th century and are believed to be the undercroft of a domestic building forming part of the Priory. Partial excavations in 1956 uncovered further medieval remains.
6 Scheduling information from 1967.
7 Correspondance regarding scheduling.
8 Correspondance regarding the preservation and possible excavation of the Priory
9 Warwickshire dovecotes, relevant pages.
10 Correspondance regarding a planning application in 1998.
11 History and legend of the foundation of the Priory in 1159. The Priory was refounded in the 14th century as a Benedictine cell of Great Malvern Priory. List of priors included and some details of its holdings.
 
Sources
Source No: 11
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: Medieval Religious Houses
Author/originator: Knowles and Hadock
Date: 1972
Page Number: 58
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 7
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Alvecote Priory
Author/originator: J.J.Brooks
Date: 1959
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 8
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Alvecote Priory
Author/originator: DoE, WCC, Mrs Henley
Date: 1971-4
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 10
Source Type: Correspondence
Title: Alvecote Priory
Author/originator: EH
Date: 1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 9
Source Type: Serial
Title: TBAS vol 66
Author/originator: Sapcote E S
Date: 1945
Page Number: 124-5
Volume/Sheet: 66
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Alvecote Priory
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1967
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Sched Anc Mon
Author/originator: DoE
Date: 1983
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 3
   
Source No: 5
Source Type: Scheduling record
Title: Alvecote Priory and Dovecote
Author/originator: DCMS / English Heritage
Date: 2002
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: Antiquity Card
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
none Scheduled Monument Scheduled Ancient Monuments (SAMs) are those archaeological sites which are legally recognised as being of national importance. They can range in date from prehistoric times to the Cold War period. They can take many different forms, including disused buildings or sites surviving as earthworks or cropmarks.

SAMs are protected by law from unlicensed disturbance and metal detecting. Written consent from the Secretary of State must be obtained before any sort of work can begin, including archaeological work such as geophysical survey or archaeological excavation. There are nearly 200 SAMs in Warwickshire.
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designation Listed Building Buildings and structures, such as bridges, that are of architectural or historical importance are placed on a statutory list. These buildings are protected by planning and conservation acts that ensure that their special features of interest are considered before any alterations are made to them.

Depending on how important the buildings are they are classed as Grade I, Grade II* or Grade II. Grade I buildings are those of exceptional interest. Grade II* are particularly important buildings of more than special interest. Those listed as Grade II are those buildings that are regarded of special interest.
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source Antiquity Antiquity is a journal about archaeological research and is published four times each year. The journal includes articles about archaeology from all over the world, from the Palaeolithic to the present. Each issue includes an editorial, brief reports, current news in colour, research papers and notes, full review coverage of new archaeological books and occasional special sections on selected topics. 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.
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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 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.
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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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period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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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.
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monument DOVECOTE * A building, or part of a building, used to house doves and pigeons, usually placed at a height above the ground, with openings and provision inside for roosting and breeding. back
monument BENEDICTINE MONASTERY * An abbey or priory for monks of the Benedictine order. back
monument GRANGE * An outlying farm or estate, usually belonging to a religious order or feudal lord. Specifically related to core buildings and structures associated with monastic land holding. Use specific term where known. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument RELIGIOUS HOUSE * Use only for a monastic house of unknown status, religious order and uncertain authenticity. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BENEDICTINE CELL * A residence of two or three monks of the Benedictine order dependent on an English mother house. 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 DWELLING * Places of residence. back
monument PRIORY * A monastery governed by a prior or prioress. Use with narrow terms of DOUBLE HOUSE, FRIARY, 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 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 UNDERCROFT * A vault or crypt under a church or chapel. Use wider site type where known. back
monument WALL * An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones or similar materials, laid in courses. Use specific type where known. back
monument DOMESTIC * This is the top term for the class. See DOMESTIC Class List for narrow terms. 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