Reasons for Designation
From the time of St Augustine's mission to re-establish Christianity in AD 597
to the reign of Henry VIII, monasticism formed an important facet of both
religious and secular life in the British Isles. Settlements of religious
communities, including monasteries, were built to house communities of monks,
canons (priests), and sometimes lay-brothers, living a common life of
religious observance under some form of systematic discipline. It is estimated
from documentary evidence that over 700 monasteries were founded in England.
These ranged in size from major communities with several hundred members to
tiny establishments with a handful of brethren. They belonged to a wide
variety of different religious orders, each with its own philosophy. As a
result, they vary considerably in the detail of their appearance and layout,
although all possess the basic elements of church, domestic accommodation for
the community, and work buildings. Monasteries were inextricably woven into
the fabric of medieval society, acting not only as centres of worship,
learning, and charity, but also, because of the vast landholdings of some
orders, as centres of immense wealth and political influence. They were
established in all parts of England, some in towns and others in the remotest
of areas. Many monasteries acted as the foci of wide networks including parish
churches, almshouses, hospitals, farming estates and tenant villages. Some 225
of these religious houses belonged to the order of St Augustine. The
Augustinians were not monks in the strict sense, but rather communities of
canons - or priests - living under the rule of St Augustine. In England they
came to be known as `black canons' because of their dark coloured robes and to
distinguish them from the Cistercians who wore light clothing. From the 12th
century onwards, they undertook much valuable work in the parishes, running
almshouses, schools and hospitals as well as maintaining and preaching in
parish churches. It was from the churches that they derived much of their
revenue. The Augustinians made a major contribution to many facets of medieval
life and all of their monasteries which exhibit significant surviving
archaeological remains are worthy of protection.
The Augustinian priory, later abbey and associated pillow mound at King's
School survive as buried remains which will provide archaeological information
about the layout of an Augustinian abbey and about the lives of its
inhabitants. The flight of associated fishponds retain clear evidence of
waterlogging below the ground surface indicating the presence of preserved
deposits. The importance of the site is further enhanced by the numerous
contemporary documentary references which relate to the monument from its time
as the site of a Benedictine monastery, as an Augustinian priory and as an
abbey, all of which reflect its long history as a site of religious
importance.
Details
The monument, which lies in three separate areas of protection, includes the
site of an Augustinian priory later to become an abbey, an associated flight
of medieval fishponds, and a post-medieval pillow mound.
The site is divided by the London to Taunton main railway line and part of
the abbey's inner precinct lies within the grounds of King's School on the
north side of the railway line close to the boundary wall of St Mary's
churchyard. The remaining part of the inner precinct, which also includes the
flight of fishponds, is located on the north facing slope of Lusty Hill to the
south of the railway line.
An Augustinian priory was founded between 1127 and 1135 by William de Mohun,
the Earl of Somerset and as part of its foundation charter it was granted the
manor of Bruton. In addition, it was granted the right to hold the Hundred
Court and the right to hold a market. The priory was relatively small, housing
only 12 cannons and a prior at its foundation, increasing to 15 cannons with
about five various auxiliary staff by 1377. Despite this, the priory was
relatively wealthy, having been endowed with land and property to augment its
income. This affluence was reflected in the evident prosperity of the town of
Bruton which, according to a document of 1330, held a prosperous market which
was patronised by people from Glastonbury.
The status of the priory was raised to that of an abbey in 1510 when the then
prior, Prior Gilbert, later to become Abbot, made a pilgrimage to Rome to seek
permission for this elevation.
The abbey was dissolved in 1539 at which time it housed about 14 cannons.
The abbey and Manor of Bruton were bought by Sir Maurice Berkeley and the
abbey buildings were subsequently converted and incorporated into a manor
house.
The main priory, and the succeeding abbey and manor house buildings, are shown
on an early 18th century ground plan as being located to the south west of
St Mary's Church, their north east corner lying approximately 10m from the
churchyard boundary wall. They extend to the west towards the present King's
School buildings south of the abbey wall which faces on to Silver Street. The
main entrance into the abbey faced south towards Lusty Hill and a partial
excavation carried out in antiquity revealed the foundations of a probable
wall close to what is understood to be the south door.
Drawings which are dated to about 1780 show the manor from all aspects and
these correspond exactly with the earlier ground plan.
It is believed that the priory was established on the site of an enclosed
pre-Conquest monastery for Benedictine monks, founded in around 1005 by the
Earl of Cornwall.
The Berkeley manor, or Abbey House as it was known, was demolished in 1786 and
the building stone was given freely to anyone who wanted it including the
people of Bruton, some of whose houses are adorned with curious pieces of
stonework which probably derive from the manor.
The south and west boundary of the abbey precinct is located to the south of
the railway line and is formed by a low earthen bank which extends southwards
for approximately 130m before turning to the east towards Dropping Lane. The
profile of the bank has become difficult to define at ground level but it is
clearly visible on aerial photographs from which it is possible to plot the
southern extent of the precinct.
A flight of three fishponds which are associated with the abbey are also
included in the monument. These ponds are located on the east side of the
precinct and are aligned broadly from north to south following the line of
Dropping Lane to the east. All three are connected by means of a shallow
ditch which originates from the site of the old abbey mill to the north. The
northernmost pond is approximately 22m by 20m, the southernmost is 46m north
to south and about 17m across, whilst the dimensions of the centre pond are
now known only from previous records. Fish would have supplemented the monk's
diet.
Also included in the monument is a ditched pillow mound or warren which is
situated below the crest of Lusty Hill, about 325m south east of St Mary's
Church in an area which once formed the outer precinct of the abbey. The
mound, which is linear in form, is aligned from north east to south west. It
is 70m long by 15m wide and is approximately 0.5m high. It would have been
used for the husbandry of rabbits as an additional food source.
The following are excluded from the scheduling: all sports huts, pavilions and
sheds, all ground fast sports apparatus including rugby posts, all fencing and
fence posts, sign posts and gates, all post-medieval walling, all post-
medieval structures in use, all areas of hard standing and prepared surfaces,
however, the ground beneath all these features is included.
MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
