Monument record MLI30617 - Nunnery of St Mary and St Michael, Stamford

Summary

Nunnery of St Mary and St Michael in Stamford.

Type and Period (13)

  • (Medieval - 1155 AD to 1536 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1155 AD to 1536 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1155 AD to 1536 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1155 AD to 1536 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1155 AD to 1536 AD)
  • (Early Medieval/Dark Age to Medieval - 900 AD to 1199 AD)
  • (Undated)
  • (Medieval - 1155 AD to 1536 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1155 AD to 1536 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1155 AD? to 1399 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1155 AD to 1536 AD)
  • (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)

Protected Status/Designation

Full Description

PRN 30617 A Benedictine nunnery founded about 1155 on the south bank of the Welland. Numerous fragments of the buildings, burials and finds were discovered in 1847 during railway construction. There is no surviving surface evidence. {1}{2}{3}{4} The Archaeological Journal of 1849 has an account of a gold ring found in a coffin on the site. See source 6 for a history of the site. {6} A summary of finds from various developments and some sketches are in the parish file. {10} A seal was found from the site in the playground of the junior high school, and other finds were reported in a letter from Stamford Museum. {11} In 1973 contractors working on a new school building found part of the arcading of a reredorter. This was excavated by Chris Mahany in 1974. {1}{6}{9} For a detailed description of the surviving structural remains see the scheduling documents. {12} An evaluation on land adjacent to Stamford High School, Kettering Road, identified an L-shaped wall, standing c.0.5m high, alongside which was a lower wall or bench. The room showed evidence for painted plaster walls and a mortar floor and evidence for a slate roof with green glazed ridge tiles. These structural remains formed one of the priory buildings, perhaps part of a cloister. Later deposits are associated with the eventual demolition of the nunnery during the post medieval period. {13}{14} An evaluation on land at Stamford High School, Kettering Road in 2000 exposed five rectangular cuts. Two of these were investigated and identified as graves. The remaining three were not investigated as their similarity to those positively identified was such that all were very likely to be cuts for graves. Two skeletons in a good state of preservation were exposed but not removed. A small piece of Stamford Ware of 10th to 12th century date was recovered from the backfill of one grave. It was assumed that these graves were part of the priory site. An additional sub-rectangular cut 0.4m wide was located close to the five grave cuts. This was different in shape and fill. It was considered to be stratigraphically of the same phase as the graves, but could have been of earlier date. {16}{17} During a watching brief, two parallel alignments of an undated limestone feature covered in rubble were recorded, forming an interface between the natural and archaeological deposits on the site. This feature is thought to be a wall or drain. If a drain, the feature may well be associated with the reredorter of the nunnery - see PRN 35227. {18}{19} A watching brief recovered two sherds of 11th to 14th century pottery, medieval green glazed roof tile, oyster and mussel shell and bird bones, including waterfowl. A quantity of large blocks of limestone were also recovered, possibly representing demolition of the nunnery. However, no worked stone or mortar were found, so this is uncertain. {20}{21} A watching brief on The Nuns Boarding House in 2000 revealed five grave cuts, all aligned east to west. Three of the graves contained visible skeletal material, and one grave appeared to contain three individuals, suggesting the presence of one or more further burials in close proximity. The limits of the cemetery now appear to stretch at least from the Nuns Boarding House to the playing field, east of Stamford Junior School to the south, indicating that a sizeable burial ground was associated with the priory. The south-west corner of a building, a limestone drain and a cobbled surface are thought to represent the remains of conventual buildings north of the central priory complex. The surface and drain may represent a courtyard. The built remains are thought to date to after the construction of the cemetery. {22}{23}

Sources/Archives (23)

  •  Index: SMR cards for Stamford. STAMFORD. TF 00 NW:BU,1977, TMA.
  •  Index: Ordnance Survey. O.S. cards for Stamford. STAMFORD. TF 00 NW:22,1961, SEAMAN B H.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: William Page (ed). 1906. The Victoria County History: Lincolnshire - Volume 2. VOL 2 p98.
  •  Article in Serial: NEVINSON, C.. 1879. 'HISTORY OF STAMFORD' in JOURNAL OF THE BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. p14.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: D. Knowles and R.N. Hadcock. 1971. Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales - Second Edition. -.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Hartley, J.S. and Rogers, A.. 1974. The Religious Foundations of Medieval Stamford. pp56-58.
  •  Bibliographic Reference: POWER, E.. 1922. ENGLISH MEDIEVAL NUNNERIES. -.
  •  Unpublished Document: STURMAN W A. 1944. THE HISTORY OF THE NUNNERY OF ST MARY.... MA THESIS: LONDON UNIV..
  •  Bibliographic Reference: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1977. An Inventory of Historical Monuments. The Town of Stamford. pp31-32; Fig 37; PLATE 5.
  •  Unpublished Document: 1973. PARISH FILE. STAMFORD. NUNNERY OF ST MICHAEL.
  •  Correspondence: SMITH, J.. 1985. PARISH FILE. STAMFORD. ST MICHAEL'S NUNNERY.
  •  Scheduling Record: ENGLISH HERITAGE. 1994. SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 22607. MPP22.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. 1999. Land adjacent to Stamford High School. SKR99.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. 1999. Evaluation of land adjacent to Stamford High School. LCNCC 171.99.
  •  Article in Serial: Mahany, Christine. 1977. South Lincolnshire Archaeology: 1. pp.10-11.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. June 2000. Land at Stamford High School, Stamford. SHS00.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. June 2000. Land at Stamford High School. LCCMC 2000.88.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. July 2000. Land adjacant to Stamford High School, Kettering Road, Stamford. SJS00.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. July 2000. Land adjacent to Stamford High School, Kettering Road, Stamford. LCNCC 2000.88.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. July 2000. Extensions to the porch of Stamford Junior School, Stamford High School, Kettering Road, Stamford. JSS00.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. July 2000. Extensions to the porch of Stamford Junior School, Stamford High School, Kettering Road, Stamford. LCNCC 2000.88.
  •  Report: Archaeological Project Services. Aug 2001. The Nuns Boarding House, Stamford High School, Stamford. STN00.
  •  Archive: Archaeological Project Services. Aug 2001. The Nuns Boarding House, Stamford High School, Stamford. LCNCC 2000.89.

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Location

Grid reference Centred TF 0274 0649 (185m by 183m) Centre
Civil Parish STAMFORD, SOUTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE

Related Monuments/Buildings (3)

Related Events/Activities (7)

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Record last edited

Mar 21 2021 8:35PM

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