Summary
Core area of a medieval nunnery surviving as buried remains including that of the church, cloister and associated service buildings.
Reasons for Designation
Kirklees Priory, a medieval nunnery, is scheduled for the following principal reasons:
* Rarity: as a positive identification of a medieval nunnery retaining archaeological remains of its entire inner court;
* History: Kirklees Priory is relatively well documented as a medieval nunnery. It is also traditionally connected to the legendary death of Robin Hood;
* Archaeology: the excavations of 1905 focused on identifying wall lines, generally leaving material in situ, they thus added to our understanding of the monument with minimal damage to archaeological potential;
* Group value: the monument contributes to and benefits from the understanding of the surviving monastic buildings of Home Farm to the north: the Abbey Gatehouse and two timber framed barns (many of which are listed).
History
Although women such as St Hilda of Whitby (614-680) played a leading role in the early establishment of religious communities in England, following the Norman Conquest, monasteries for men attracted by far the most royal and aristocratic patronage, with new foundations for women being much fewer in number, and much less generously endowed. However it is known, from documentary sources, that at least 153 nunneries existed in England in the medieval period, following the rules of most of the major religious orders of the time, including the Benedictines, Cistercians, Augustinians, Franciscans and Dominicans. Although the precise locations of only around 100 sites are known, with few having been examined in any detail, nunneries appear to have been arranged in a similar fashion to male monasteries with the church and the domestic buildings arranged around a cloister forming a central core, normally with an outer court for ancillary buildings such as barns and other stores. The outer court also often included a gatehouse and guest accommodation. Clean water supply was seen as an important requirement and such features as near-by fish ponds are also typical.
Kirklees Priory was founded as a Benedictine nunnery by Reiner Le Fleming, Lord of the Manor of Wath upon Dearne, probably during the reign of Henry II (1154-89). Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and St James, the nunnery followed the Cistercian rule for most of its existence, although being a nunnery, it was not officially part of the Cistercian Order and was under the supervision of Diocesan Bishops. Never a wealthy foundation, it did nonetheless receive a number of grants of land, rights and other income over the years, especially during its early history. Kirklees Priory is perhaps most famous for its connection with the legend of Robin Hood, being where he is reputed to have died after being poisoned by the abbess. More reliable than this legend are various medieval documentary references to the priory which include those within the Archbishops' registers at York. These include reference, amongst other things, to the indecent conduct of three nuns in the early fourteenth century. In 1535, the priory was valued at just less than £20, although it escaped dissolution until 1539, by which time it was valued at nearly £30, having a community of eight nuns, six of whom were granted pensions.
Ownership of the priory and its lands passed through a number of hands until it was purchased by John Armytage in 1565, a wealthy clothier who established Kirklees as the family seat. A hall (known at the time as Low Hall) was maintained at the priory through much of the seventeenth century, although by then, Kirklees Hall, 0.5km to the west, was the principal residence of the estate. There is a general assumption that the priory church and the claustral buildings were demolished by the early sixteenth century, although a sketch dated 1669, "The Prospect of Kirklees Abbey where Robin Hood Died…" appears to show the priory church and other claustral buildings as still surviving. However, this is contradicted by the earliest known map of the estate, thought to date to the early or mid seventeenth century, which shows the site of the church and cloister as an open field. The reliability of the detail of this map is questioned as it omits buildings in the area that still survive and are thought to predate the map. One of these is Kirklees Priory Gatehouse (Listed Grade II*): although much of this building is post-Dissolution in date, at least some of the timber framing is thought to have been built for the nunnery. Home Farm also retains two large timber-framed barns that are pre-Dissolution in origin, and are thought to have been part of the nunnery's outer court. These barns are not included in the scheduling, but are Listed Grade I.
In 1706 or 1712, the grave slab of Elizabeth de Stainton (sometime prioress of Kirklees and erroneously often identified as Robin Hood's murderer) was discovered and was subsequently mounted on a raised table tomb set with a second tomb within a railed enclosure (Listed Grade II as The Nuns Grave). This lies outside the scheduled area to the north east. In 1863 George Armytage (later becoming Sir George, the 6th Baronet) made a plan of buried remains of the priory uncovered during the construction of chicken runs. In 1902-5, after succeeding to the estate and title, he carried out a more systematic archaeological excavation, uncovering, but not fully excavating, wall lines to reveal the plan of the priory's inner court, using the 1535 Royal Commissioner's written survey of the priory as a guide to interpretation. This survey and other medieval documentary references had been researched and published by S. J Chadwick. Sir George placed inscribed marker stones at the four corners of both the church and cloister. In 2007, geophysical survey by Bradford University confirmed the continued survival of archaeological remains of the priory's inner court and also detected some evidence of archaeological features across the wider area.
Details
PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
The earthwork and buried remains of the priory's inner court including church, cloister, prioress's lodging as well as ancillary buildings including a brew and bake house.
DESCRIPTION
The core features of the priory lie within a paddock known as Priory Field lying on the east side of Home Farm, immediately east of Kirklees Priory Gatehouse (Listed Grade II*) and west of the walled orchard (the walls being Listed Grade II), the undulating paddock gently sloping southwards towards the Nun Brook.
The church lies central to the eastern half of the paddock being approximately 24m long and 6.5m wide. Geophysical survey suggests that the stones placed in 1905 marking the west end of the church are set slightly too far to the west. The church is simple in plan, lacking transepts or any marked division between nave and chancel, but has a projection on the northern side which may represent the remains of a porch or bell tower. The 1905 excavations found that the remains of the church were heavily robbed of stonework. To the south of the church, set at the centre of the cloister, is a large, shallow stone bowl identified as the priory's lavabo (a basin for the ritual washing of hands). Like the church, the extent of the cloister is marked with stone blocks placed in 1905, all these marker stones being included in the scheduling. There is fragmentary evidence of the eastern cloistral range, but much better survival of the ranges to the west and south, with stone wall lines of some buildings identifiable as low earthworks. Most of the buildings within Priory Field appear to have been stone built, including a range of ancillary buildings (brew house, bakery, flour bolting house and stables) which extends between the western cloistral range and the gatehouse. However, geophysical survey has also identified the remains interpreted as the prioress's quarters to the north of the church which were recorded in 1535 as being of timber construction. Geophysics has also hinted at the survival of earlier buildings underlying the cloister, although these features may instead be part of the nunnery's water supply system.
EXTENT OF SCHEDULING
The scheduled monument is focused on the paddock known as Priory Field as this contains the known core of the medieval priory. The original precinct for the nunnery is thought to have been much larger, considered to be the original estate bought by John Armytage in 1565, being a large proportion of the modern Kirklees Park which is now a Grade II-Registered Historic Park and Garden. However, the extent of the precinct is uncertain, and no precinct boundaries have been positively identified.
The priory's outer court is thought to have mainly occupied the area of the modern Home Farm to the west and north of Priory Field. Although this includes standing buildings that are late medieval in origin (Grade II* Listed Gatehouse and two Grade I timber-framed aisled barns) and the area around and beneath the buildings is expected to retain medieval archaeology, the area of Home Farm is not included within the scheduling.
The area of gardens to the east of Priory Field is also not included within the scheduling. This area includes the Grade II Listed Nuns Grave and the Grade II Listed Walled Garden also thought to be medieval in origin. Archaeological investigations have identified some possible features within this area (including what may be a further three graves) however their extent and interpretation is uncertain.
EXCLUSIONS
Boundary walls and fences defining Priory Field lie immediately outside the area of the scheduling. Modern water and feed troughs, and other fence posts are excluded from the scheduling, although the ground beneath is included. In the northern part of the field there is a circular concrete cover for a septic tank serving Home Farm. This is also excluded from the scheduling, although the surrounding and underlying ground is included.
