Croxden Abbey Remains

Details

SK 03 NE CROXDEN C.P. CROXDEN

8/15 Croxden Abbey remains 12/1/66 GV I

Cistercian Abbey remains. c1179-c1280 with addition of 1335-6. Sandstone ashlar. Remains of cruciform plan church with nave, aisles, transepts, and choir of chevet type, sacristy, chapter house, parlour, slype, dormitory undercroft, reredorter, day stair, warming house, Abbot's lodging, and infirmary. Church: West end: pointed West doorway of 4 roll and hollow moulded orders and hood mould; bases and capitals show positions of former nook shafts; 3 tail lancets, the central one above the West doorway does not extend as low as the others, lancets and doorway are flanked by 2 buttresses; a small pointed and moulded doorway leads into the South aisle. South aisle: The 2 surviving bays of the South aisle wall arcading (Second and third bays from the West) have keel moulded engaged columns with moulded capitals from which spring simple chamfered vaulting ribs; the easternmost of the 2 bays has a small door which originally communicated with the cloisters, the exterior has 3 moulded orders with stiff leaf capitals. South transept: 2 tall lancets in South wall, one at the South end of the West wall and the South jamb of a second; ground floor round headed doorway in centre of South wall leading to the sacristy; first floor segmental pointed arch doorway to West side of South wall leading to the former dormitory, and originally flanked by nook shafts of which the capitals remain; other capitals and corbels in the South transept have palmette decoration and the vaulting ribs are roll moulded; keeled central column flanked by nook shafts to East aisle, with moulded capital. East end: Originally consisted of apse ambulatory and radiating chapels to form a chevet, the outline of which is displayed; all that is left standing is a portion of the N.W. chapel, this has a keel moulded column with moulded base, a heavily weathered corbel, from which spring roll and fillet moulded vaulting ribs, appears to have had stiff leaf decoration; on the outside is a palmette capital from a former nook shaft which flanked the West side of the North window; 4 medieval coffins and the remains of a fifth are laid out in the ambulatory. East range of cloister: From North to South are the chapter house, parlour, slype, dormitory undercroft; the dormitory was over. Chapter House: 5 x 3 bays, aligned East-West, West wall and the 2 Western bays of the North wall survive; the West wall has a central pointed doorway to the cloister flanked by pointed windows with moulded jambs; stiff leaf capitals to former nook shafts flanking door and windows; moulded bases to former piers of 8 shafts. 2 bays of wall arcading on North side. Parlour: 2 bays; roll and fillet and keel moulded vaulting ribs; pointed doorway in West wall leading to Cloister, with lobed decoration in relief over the arch. Slype: 4 bays; transverse chamfered rib vaulting. Dormitory undercroft: 4 x 2 bays, aligned North-South; North wall, West wall, the North half of the East wall and the stubs of the South wall survive; one complete lancet and the remains of another in the East wall, one in the West wall, and the jambs of 2 lancets in the South wall; blocked segmental pointed door arch in the South bay of the West wall; formerly a similar door directly opposite in the East wall; doorway in West bay of North wall; vaulting ribs spring from moulded corbels. South range of cloister: From East to West: spiral day stair to the dormitory, warming house with large fireplace and 2 square-headed windows, another room with fireplace flanked by 2 blind panels with roll and fillet moulded nook shafts. Rere dorter: S.E. of East range; drainage channel exposed to South; door in East wall; corbel and springing of vaulting ribs in N.W. corner. Abbot's Lodging: 1335-6; East of rere dorter; 4 bays with 3 central piers; the 3 eastern bays were rib vaulted, the West bay of 2 storeys was divided off by a wall; spiral stair in N.W. corner. Infirmary: North of Abbot's lodging; 7 bays originally, and rib vaulted, the ribs spring from internal buttresses, drainage channel of infirmary rere dorter to south. A 2-bay rib vaulted chapel originally, projected to the East. Remains of possible precinct wall to South of the Abbey. Croxden Abbey was founded by Bertram de Verdun in 1176, and was colonised by Cistercian monks from Aunay in Normandy; the first settlement was at Colton; emigration to Croxden occurred in 1179. A road divides the Church and site into 2 parts. B.O.E., Pp. 111-113; Charles Lynham, The Abbey of St Mary, Croxden (1911); (A.M. Staffs. No.5).

Listing NGR: SK0658539695

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

405525

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Lynham, C, The Abbey of St Mary Croxden, (1911)
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: Staffordshire, (1974)

End of official list entry

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