Summary
The buried and earthwork remains of Dunstable Priory, an Augustinian priory founded in the C12 and surrendered in 1539 or 1540.
Reasons for Designation
The remains of Dunstable Augustinian Priory are scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Period: remains are known to date from the C12 when the priory was founded, and to have continued in use beyond the surrender of the priory in 1539 or 1540;
* Survival: for the exceptional buried and earthwork remains, depicting the form and plan of the priory;
* Diversity: for the range and complexity of the features including the apsidal east end of the monastic church and lady chapel, and other features including the precinct boundaries, cloisters, chapter house, dormitory, and refectory;
* Potential: for the stratified archaeological deposits which retain considerable potential to increase our understanding of the physical characteristics of the buildings at Dunstable Priory and of medieval monasteries more generally;
* Documentation: for the high level of historical and archaeological documentation on the Priory’s history and evolution, and on historic events which took place here including the annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon, and Henry VIII’s plans for a Bishopric and palace here following the surrender of the priory;
* Group Value: the remains have strong group value with the three adjacent highly-graded listed structures: Grade I listed Priory Church of St Peter, which is the nave of the original Priory Church, the Grade I listed upstanding remains of the Priory Gateway and attached section of precinct wall, and the Grade II* Priory House with its vaulted undercroft, interpreted as the former almonry.
History
Despite the existence of a Roman town where Watling Street crossed the Icknield Way, Dunstable is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey. Henry I founded the town sometime around 1114.
The Augustinian priory was almost certainly in existence by 1125 when the first prior, Bernard, witnessed a gift to Dunstable’s mother house, Holy Trinity, Aldgate. At an uncertain date (traditionally stated to be 1131) Henry I gifted the town and all its rents to the priory: this must have happened soon after the priory’s foundation in order for it to sustain itself. By the middle of the C12 the construction of the priory church was well underway, with the main body of the nave thought to date to around 1150-60 but with other fabric in the gallery and on the west front suggesting further developments at the end of the C12.
The start of the C13, under the auspices of Richard de Morins (prior 1202 - 1242), appears to have been a vibrant period in the priory’s history. The probable rededication of the church in 1213 may have been prompted by the acquisition of relics which had the potential to be an important source of income for the church. This may have been the context for the flurry of developments in the church at the end of the C12 and even for the ambulatory and radiating chapels constructed around the presbytery’s apsidal eastern end. These would have provided somewhere to display relics and a means of access for pilgrims without disturbing the canons in the main body of the church. There were a number of other developments at the priory in the early C13, many of which are known from the Annals of Dunstable Priory. These include the granting of a fair by King John in 1203, the construction of a leper hospital, the construction of an almonry in 1208 and the construction of the Lady Chapel in 1228. The surviving stone undercroft at Priory House has been dated to the early to mid-C13 and its position suggests it may have been the almonry.
In 1222 both the roof of the presbytery and two towers on the west front of the church collapsed, one on to the prior’s lodging. This, along with the royal lodgings, was probably located above the cellarer’s rooms in the western range of the cloister. Various references to walls and inner gates throughout the Annals show that there were defined boundaries to the priory at this date and probably an inner and outer precinct. Despite references to general decline and increasing debt at the priory, a number of different building projects occurred in the 1250s, including the building of a new dormitory, a new house for carpenters and wheelwrights in the courtyard and a large stable.
In 1259 a Dominican friary was founded by royal request almost opposite the priory at the other side of Watling Street, apparently to the priory’s frustration.
In the 1270s the priory renovated the north aisle of the church and started work on a room for the King. Records show that by 1291-2, Dunstable was not a wealthy establishment when compared to some of its contemporaries
Less information is available about the Priory in the C14 and beyond as the Annals end in 1297. There were sporadic alterations to the church including the rebuilding of the Lady Chapel in 1324 and probable alterations to divide the church into a parish church and a conventual church in 1390, which may be evident in its surviving fabric. This was followed in 1392 by a formal agreement in which the town was granted use of the nave as the parish church.
In the C15 work was undertaken on the west front of the church and there were major renovations of the north-west tower.
Arguably one of the Priory’s most important moments came in May 1533 when the court that was to officially annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Catharine of Aragon sat in the Lady Chapel. However, seven years later, in December 1539 or January 1540, the Priory was dissolved. The priory had a net income of over £344 in around 1535.
The priory’s connection with Henry VIII did not end at the point the monastery was dissolved. As Henry toyed with the idea of creating a bishopric at Dunstable, plans were drawn up to convert the claustral buildings into what appear to have been royal apartments. It is not clear how far the work progressed but it seems to have been abandoned on the death of Henry in 1547. The land was sold in 1554 and then seems to have been variously owned and rented by numerous individuals, latterly, though possibly not always, along with the property that eventually became known as Priory House. After periods of time as a home and as a private asylum, Priory House became the manager’s residence for the Munt and Brown straw hat factory in 1832. It appears to have been acquired along with the land containing the remains of the priory which, along with Priory House, were acquired by the local authority in 1946 in order to create public open space.
Various archaeological studies of the Priory Gardens have been made including in 1859 digging around the buried eastern end of the monastic church and the discovery of stone coffins.
On 3 May 1948 the known extent of the monument (not including the Priory Church and Priory House) was scheduled under the “Old County Number” (OCN) Bedfordshire 3.
In 1948 two trenches were excavated immediately to the east of the church which revealed one of the columns from the original crossing and another wall to the east. The trenches and their spoil heaps are visible on low-level oblique photographs taken in 1949.
In March 1970 a linear trench was dug across part of Priory Gardens to the east-south-east of the church in order to re-lay part of a main electricity supply cable (thought to have been laid originally in 1938). The excavation revealed a substantial Roman ditch with other shallow, probably pre-medieval, trenches parallel. The partial remains of at least 18 skeletons identified as middle-aged to elderly males were discovered, which would be typical of the canons’ cemetery that might be expected in this location. Sections of foundations of a substantial monastic building were also found, later identified as the chapter house.
In 1986 the Manshead Archaeological Society (MAS) undertook a small excavation to remove hedge roots on the boundary between the formal gardens of Priory House and the meadow south of the Priory, revealing amongst other features an ‘exceptionally’ large, probably medieval, well: over 2m in diameter, but no coherent building remains. They also undertook various excavations outside of the scheduled area in 1992-1993.
In 2003 MAS excavated five small pits immediately south of the nave of the church, ahead of a scheme to install new lighting. The holes revealed evidence for a stone wall core running parallel to the existing church wall, perhaps indicating the northern side of the cloister walk.
In June 2004 MAS was also involved in the observation and recording of trenches created by the removal of an ornamental hedge to the south of the Priory. The excavations revealed evidence for comprehensive demolition of the Priory at dissolution and evidence for former floor surfaces and robbed out walls, also presumably associated with the cloister walk or cellarer’s range.
In 2004-5 the Manshead Archaeological Society carried out what appears to have been the first of two earth resistance surveys. Both surveys revealed details of the monastic church, main cloister and other associated buildings, including a possible, smaller, second cloister.
In May 2021 Historic England began a research project aimed at better understanding the nature, extent and significance of the buried remains of Dunstable Priory, as part of the Dunstable High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) The project involved a number of pieces of research: analytical earthwork survey of the surface remains visible in Priory Gardens (including via a drone-derived Structure-from-Motion model); Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of Priory Gardens and the Priory Academy (formerly Priory Middle School) playing fields to the south; assessment of the available aerial photographs and also documentary research using select primary as well as secondary sources. The research has demonstrated that the priory church was more elaborate than previously thought and has added to earlier understandings of the layout of the priory buildings and the wider monastic landscape.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The remains of an Augustinian priory founded in the C12 and surrendered in 1539 to 1540.
DESCRIPTION
The site lies on the public park known as the Priory Gardens, located in the centre of Dunstable, south-east of the central crossroads formed by modern roads that lie on the route of the Roman roads Watling Street and Icknield Way.
The monument comprises substantial buried remains of the former Augustinian priory. The buried remains include many features which can be identified with a strong degree of confidence as individual monastic buildings, and other areas identified as collapsed buildings and spoil heaps. There is strong potential for below-ground archaeological deposits.
Historic England investigation in 2022 and previous research such as the resistivity surveys carried out by the Manshead Archaeological Society in 2004-5 have identified numerous buried features of the Priory, which are described below. As well as the identified features which date from the final phase of the monastery buildings there is strong potential for stratified remains from the earlier phases of building as the monastery was developed.
INTERPRETATION OF THE LAYOUT OF BURIED FEATURES
To the east of the standing church are the buried remains of the choir with its apsidal end and ambulatory. The remains of a north and south transept have been identified at the western end of the choir, and the remains of a probable pair of chapels that radiated out of the apse to its north and south, and to the extreme east the remains of the lady chapel have been identified.
To the south of the choir are the remains of the chapter house, and west of this the cloister has been identified, and the remains of the outer parlour that had the prior’s lodgings above, and the cellarer’s range that had royal lodgings above, with a kitchen attached to the northern end.
South of the chapter house the dormitory has been identified and south of the cloister the refectory. South of the refectory is another possible cloister.
The buildings identified above are all built on a north-south alignment, but the remains of all identified buildings to the south are on a north-north-west to south-south-east alignment. This may have been to accommodate the modified natural slope that forms the western boundary of the inner court. , Remains in this area are thought to represent a latrine block, an infirmary and a possible well or garden.
There are remains of the precinct boundary to the north (extending eastwards from the standing church), and another section extending west of the standing church. West of the site the inner precinct wall has been identified.
Tarmacked areas of paths and drives will have required minimal disturbance to the below ground archaeological deposits.
EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The scheduled area to the north follows the southern boundary bank of the churchyard. To the east it follows a wooden fence that forms the boundary to the Priory Gardens, towards the south the boundary is marked by an aluminium fence. To the east the boundary follows the metal fence to Dunstable Academy playing field. The boundary to the west and the north follows the extent of the Priory Gardens until it reaches the south edge of Church Walk and Church Close.
EXCLUSIONS
Within the area of protection all modern boundary fences, path and road surfaces, hard standings, drain covers, interpretation plaques and signage, litter bins, benches, lamp posts, flagpoles, raised flower beds, the low fence around the lawn, the pergola, the verandah attached to the side of Priory House, the listed Priory Gate, the War Memorial and the Scouting Centenary Memorial are all excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath all these features is included.
