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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Butterworth, Jenni Title: Monastic sites and monastic estates in Somerset and Wiltshire in the Middle Ages : a regional approach. General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. 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MONASTIC SITES AND MONASTIC ESTATES IN SOMERSET AND WILTSHIRE IN THE MIDDLE AGES: A REGIONAL APPROACH BY JENNI BUTTERWORTH A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts Department of Archaeology 1999 VOLUME I (Chapters 1-7) 97,542 words ABSTRACT Most studies which have addressed monasteries and their estates at a broad level have done so by considering one order or type of houses, such as the Cistercians, Augustinians or female houses, across a region or nationally. In contrast, this thesis takes a regionally-orientated approach to the monastic landscape instead, and all of the houses of different orders within a defined area- the counties of Somerset and Wiltshire- have been studied. By doing this, the overall development of their estates and landholdings can be assessed. The study demonstrates to what a great degree patterns of endowment and foundation operated at a regional level and were influenced by pre-existing monasteries and estates. Somerset and Wiltshire were dominated by pre-Conquest monastic foundations which determined to a great extent the character of their religious landscape, and the two counties thus provide a very different picture to better-studied areas such as Wales or Yorkshire. The thesis begins by examining the pattern of monastic foundation within the region in both the pre- and post-Conquest periods, in terms of the numbers and types of establishments and their size. It then examines themes that influenced the choice of site and the historical context of each foundation, and the distribution and organization of the monastic buildings and precinct. Finally, the economy of these houses is considered, first at a broad level, in terms of the pattern and size of the endowment observable across the region throughout the Middle Ages. Secondly, methods of relating this broad data to the physical landscape and examining the landscape impact of monastic estates are considered. The study focuses on three key historical surveys- Domesday Book, the Taxation of Pope Nicholas IV (1291) and the Valor Ecclesiasticus (1535). Taking Platt's (1969) work as a starting point, it also investigates the potential of data from the nineteenth century tithe surveys for the mapping of monastic estates for houses of all orders. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my supervisors Professor Michael Aston and Dr Mark Horton for their inspiration and support throughout, and Dr Caroline Malone for her supervision and advice in the early stages of my research. Nick Corcos has provided me with boundless help and ideas on numerous occasions and Tim Taylor has inspired and employed me at critical points. Graham Brown of English Heritage has very kindly kept me informed of relevant work carried out by the organization. My first year of study was funded by the Tratman Scholarship Fund and a post- graduate award from the University of Bristol, and the remaining period by the British Academy, to all of whom I am accordingly grateful. As indicated, maps and surveys are reproduced by permission of the Ordnance Survey, English Heritage, GSB Prospection and Videotext Communications Ltd. All the tithe maps used in this survey have been consulted at the Somerset Record Office and the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office. Many thanks are due to my family, for rescuing me at the eleventh hour. With greatest thanks and affection for enduring this thesis on a daily basis to Paul, Pip, Rae and Yos. Most especially, my thanks are due to Rob, whose patience and understanding have been limitless, and without whom, this thesis would definitely not exist. For all at 54 Banner Road 3 DECLARATION I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the Regulations of the University of Bristol. The work is original except where indicated by special reference in the text and no part of the dissertation has been submitted for any other degree. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author and in no way represent those of the University of Bristol. The dissertation has not been presented to any other University for examination in either the United Kingdom or overseas. k ] 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 10 2. FOUNDATION: THE PRE-CONQUEST PERIOD 25 3. DEVELOPMENT: THE POST-CONQUEST PERIOD 64 4. MONASTERIES: THE PHYSICAL SETTING 98 5. THE MONASTIC PRECINCT 145 6. SOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE MONASTIC ECONOMY 189 7. THE DISTRIBUTION OF MONASTIC ESTATES 215 8. THE MONASTIC ECONOMY 289 9. CONCLUSION 365 APPENDICES 369 REFERENCES 507 TABLE OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 Tables of historical and fiscal data 369 Appendix 2 Gazetteer of monastic houses 389 Appendix 3 Gazetteer of monastic estates 438 Appendix 4 Gazetteer of archaeological sites 504 5 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Location of Somerset and Wiltshire 20 Figure 1.2 The topography of the region 21 Figure 2.1 Location of major monasteries discussed in this chapter 28 Figure 2.2 Location of the abbey and tor at Glastonbury 32 Figure 2.3 Sites of high status fifth to seventh century occupation in Somerset mentioned in the text 33 Figure 2.4 Possible seventh-eighth century double houses (after Gilchrist 1994) 38 Figure 2.5 The location of Malmesbury Abbey 44 Figure 2.6 The location of Muchelney Abbey 48 Figure 2.7 The location of Athelney Abbey 59 Figure 2.8 Bath Abbey and the Saxon town (from Manco 1993) 60 Figure 2.9 Possible monastic sites and towns at Amesbury and Wilton 61 Figure 3.1 Foundation of black monks, nuns and canons in the region 67 Figure 3.2 Foundation date and value in 1535 of Benedictine houses nationally 69 Figure 3.3 Distribution of post-Conquest foundations of the black monks, nuns and canons in the region 70 Figure 3.4 Distribution of pre-and post-Conquest Benedictine foundations nationally (after Knowles & Hadcock 1971) 71 Figure 3.5 Value of Cluniac houses nationally in 1535 73 Figure 3.6 Distribution of Cluniac houses in the south west region 75 Figure 3.7 Distribution of Victorine houses nationally 83 Figure 3.8 Distribution of new and military order houses in the region 85 Figure 3.9 Value of Cistercian houses nationally in 1535 88 Figure 3.10 Foundation chronology for the region 95 Figure 4.1 Monasteries founded in association with twelfth-century towns and castles 103 Figure 4.2 Monasteries founded in association with the town of Bristol 104 Figure 4.3 Monasteries founded in the forest of Selwood 111 Figure 4.4 The location of Stanley Abbey 112 Figure 4.5 Evidence for claustral buildings in the region 120 Figure 4.6 Distribution of north and south cloisters in the region 133 Figure 4.7 Relationship between fiscal value and cloister size (actual data) 135 Figure 4.8 Relationship between cloister size and fiscal value (ranked data) 136 Figure 5.1 The precinct at Glastonbury Abbey 172 Figure 5.2 The precinct at Bath Priory at the Dissolution (from Manco 1993) 173 Figure 5.3 The precinct at Edington Priory 174 Figure 5.4 The precinct at Montacute Priory 175 Figure 5.5 The precinct at Muchelney Abbey 176 Figure 5.6 Geophysical survey of Athelney Island (from GSB 93/95) 177 Figure 5.7 The precinct at Taunton Priory 178 Figure 5.8 The precinct at Lacock Abbey 179 Figure 5.9 The precinct at Easton Royal Priory 180 Figure 5.10 The precinct at Stanley Abbey (RCHME survey) 181 Figure 5.11 The precinct at Maiden Bradley (RCHME survey) 182 Figure 5.12 The precinct at Bradenstoke Priory (RCHME survey) 183 Figure 5.13 The precinct at Cleeve Abbey 184 Figure 5.14 The precinct at Malmesbury Abbey 185 Figure 5.15 The precinct at Witham Charterhouse (from GSB 94/21) 186 Figure 5.16 The precinct at Hinton Charterhouse (from GSB 95/49) 187 Figure 5.17 Earthworks within the precinct at Montacute Priory 188 Figure 7.1 Distribution of houses with property in Somerset and Wiltshire in 1086 218 Figure 7.2 Distribution of houses in the region in 1291 219 Figure 7.3 Distribution of houses with property in Somerset and Wiltshire in 1291 220 Figure 7.4 Valuation of monasteries worth over £60 in 1291 222 Figure 7.5 Valuation of monasteries