Monument record MLI43630 - Tupholme Abbey
Summary
The Scheduled and Listed parts of Tupholme Abbey.
Type and Period (3)
- ABBEY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1536 AD)
- RELIGIOUS HOUSE (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1536 AD)
- MONASTERY (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1536 AD)
Protected Status/Designation
Full Description
PRN 43630
The Premonstratensian Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Tupholme was founded some time between 1155 and 1166 by Gilbert de Neville and his brother Alan. {16}
The wall of the refectory survives and has lancet windows and a graceful pulpit with trefoiled arches. It is in ruins and the foundations of the abbey are covered with grass. {1}
The upstanding remains are in fairly good condition apart from the central window arch which looks in danger of collapsing. The pulpit with steps and remains of two trefoil arches are well preserved. The masonry shows evidence of some recent repointing in parts and is fairly free of weeds. Beyond the pulpit to the west, the wall has a lot of reused masonry and clear butt joints where it joins on to the main wall. At ground floor level are eight arched openings and the remains of an earlier window at first floor level with a blocked up doorway underneath. The remains are incorporated into a now derelict farmhouse which affords some protection. To the south, are the remains of an extensive moated system with a fairly rectangular moat containing a level island and beyond this a larger enclosing moat, containing a brick sheep dip on the south side. An excavation was undertaken in 1990 in response to ground disturbing remedial works. The foundation trench for the surviving section of refectory wall was identified as a floor surface. In general natural deposits were found to occur within 1.2 metres of the ground surface. {6}{7}
The monument includes the remains of Tupholme Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery founded between 1155 and 1165 on land granted to the Abbey by Alan and Gilbert de Neville. In 1342 the Manor of Ranby was granted to the Abbey by Ralph de Neville. Tupholme was a relatively small establishment of up to twelve canons and had limited endowments in the county of Lincolnshire. Along with other Lincolnshire monastic sites Tupholme was involved in the wool export trade, although to a lesser extent than other houses. To assist in this trade it was linked to the river Witham by a navigable waterway granted by Henry II. The abbey was dissolved in 1536 and the property granted to Sir Thomas Heneage of Hainton. Thereafter the site was occupied by a country house, demolished around the beginning of the 18th century and replaced in the 19th century by cottages and a farmhouse, which were themselves demolished in 1986. The remains of the medieval monastery are therefore intermingled with those of the post medieval house and farms and the monument includes the earthworks and standing remains of medieval and post medieval buildings, ponds, ditches and associated features. {12}{15}
It is suggested that there is a relationship between Tupholme Abbey and the nearby conjectured causeway, possibly dating as far back as the Bronze Age (PRN 44508). {13}
A stone recording project was carried out to record the various pieces of loose medieval architectural stone lying around the abbey site. A total of 265 pieces of stone were recorded. {14}
For the full description and the legal address of this listed building please refer to the appropriate List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. {15}
Sources/Archives (16)
- <01> SLI4067 Scheduling Record: HBMC. AM 7. -.
- <02> SLI4030 Scheduling Record: HBMC. 1987. AM 107. -.
- <03> SLI886 Bibliographic Reference: William White. 1856. History, Gazetteer and Directory of Lincolnshire - Second Edition. p 655.
- <04> SLI4510 Unpublished Document: A.J. White. 1979. TUPHOLME ABBEY. NO. 10.
- <05> SLI4058 Scheduling Record: HBMC. 1987. Scheduled Ancient Monuments record printout. Lincs 10.
- <06> SLI1849 Report: Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire. 1995. An Archaeological Excavation at Tupholme Abbey, near Bardney. TUP90.
- <07> SLI1517 Archive: Heritage Trust of Lincolnshire. 1995. An Archaeological Excavation at Tupholme Abbey, near Bardney. LCNCC 153.95.
- <08> SLI173 Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. EW91,92;BR92;CFJ5;AHD47.
- <09> SLI173 Aerial Photograph: 1945-84. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY COLLECTION. BZL54.
- <10> SLI193 Aerial Photograph: 1946-98. RCHME. 2927/17,1976, .
- <11> SLI193 Aerial Photograph: 1946-98. RCHME. 5164/34; 2963/2.
- <12> SLI4468 Scheduling Record: ENGLISH HERITAGE. 1997. SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 30221. MPP 23.
- <13> SLI8111 Article in Monograph: David Stocker and Paul Everson. 2003. ‘The Straight and Narrow Way: Fenland Causeways and the Conversion of the Landscape in the Witham Valley, Lincolnshire’, in The Cross Goes North: Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe, AD300-1300. pp.271-88.
- <14> SLI11649 Report: The Friends of Lincolnshire Archaeology. 2007. Revealing the Abbey: Stone Recording project at Tupholme Abbey. -.
- <15> SLI9064 Index: Department of the Environment. 1985. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.
- <16> SLI1089 Bibliographic Reference: D. Knowles and R.N. Hadcock. 1971. Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales - Second Edition. pp. 185 and 192.
Map
Location
Grid reference | Centred TF 1442 6820 (352m by 492m) Estimated from Sources |
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Civil Parish | TUPHOLME, EAST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (2)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- Event - Survey: Stone recording at Tupholme Abbey (ELI8121)
- Event - Intervention: Trial trenching at Tupholme Abbey (ELI146)
Please contact the HER for details.
External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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