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
