Excavations on the Site of Higham Priory

EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF HIGHAM PRIORY By P. J. TESTER, F.S.A. ABBEY Farm, situated a.bout 100 yards east of St. Mary's Church at Higham (National Grid Reference TQ 71757421), has long been regarded as the probable site of the Priory of Benedictine nuns founded in the twelfth century and suppressed in 1522. John Thorpe visited the place in 1776 in the hope of finding some remains to record in his Oustumale Rojjense, and in that work he published two sketches of the ruins as they appeared at the time. Some other writers, however, have favoured the view that the Priory stood a mile to the south-east at Lillechurch, but this view has never been supported by any sound archreological evidence.1 In 1959 a row of cottages adjoining Abbey Farm was demolished, and observations by our Local Secretary, Mr. A. F. Allen, and Mr. S. D. T. Spittle of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, showed that these cottages contained medieval work and might have formed part of the west range of the Priory. Mr. Allen published the evidence in Arch. Cant., lxxx (1965) where he also summarized what is lmown of the Priory's history from documentary sources. The possibility of discovering the layout of the Priory buildings by selective exca,vation in the area east of the destroyed cottages presented an attractive proposition, and in the winter of 1965 I visited the farm with Mr. Allen who pointed out a length of flint wall, and building debris on the surface of cultivated land which suggested where digging might usefully be commenced. The Kent Archreologioal Society, on the advice of its Excavations Committee, adopted the investigation as their official undertaking for 1966 and made a grant towards the cost. A resistivity survey was carried out by Mr. K. W. E. Gravett, and Mr. J. E. L. Caiger made a large-scale plan on which subsequent discoveries could be plotted. At the conclusion of this preliminary work, digging was commenced in April 1966. Nothing like a full. sea.le area-excavation could be attempted due to the present use of most of the site as a vegetable garden by the occupier of the farmhouse, but he kindly allowed us to dig a, number of trenches at points where foundations were expected to occur. A start was made by following the east-west line of the ruined wall noted by Mr. Allen, and the footings of its eastward continuation were 1 See F. C. Elliston-Erwood's discerning remarks in The South-Eaetem Naturaliat and .Antiquary, lix (1954), 3-4. 143 EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF HIGHAM PRIORY 6033 4·57 tt :: " 􀀉 II " . :i " : '􀀄 .... ." " II -• •-•--.,-•M ,. ... .,_,_., _,_.,_ _, ,_,,,_,.11 •- O II :: ' St Mary's Church Feet 100 0 8433 5·95 500 Jl.'xo. 1. The location of Abbey Farm, Higham. Ordnance Survey Plan TQ 7174 (revised July 1961). Crown Copyright. traced until a return was observed proceeding southward. Thls suggested the line of the eastern range, which further digging confirmed, though whether the nuns' church lay to the north or south of the cloister was still uncertain. However, some digging in the field' to the 144 ,-- ------ ---, ,--------1 I I I I I I I I I : J I I t I I 􀀏----- ,------------, ------------ ---􀀔􀀕 1-_-::--=. --=---=-- I I I I I I 1 1 I I I I I I I I I , :=====􀀄􀀅􀀆 WEST RANGE NAVE CLOISTER GARTH c=i COFFIN QUIRE CHAPTER HOUSE WARMING HOUSE GRAVES 􀀐::'.:::I t.'􀁀 :::] t HIGHAM PRIORY LAYOUT TRACED BY EXCAVATION IN 1966-7 􀁁 STANDING 􀁂 EXCAVATED G) ROBBED c= INFERRED .--- , __ 1 CONJECTURAL !%Ut'i/J EXISTING FARMHOUSE '° ,o JO SCALE IN FEET ,o FR ATER REREDORTER Fin.:!. l far,.,,. 1-1;, EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF IDGHAM PRIORY south-prompted by the occurrence of tiles and building debris on 􀃮he surface-brought to light obvious remains of the reredorter and its drainage system. In monastic houses this feature was almost invariably attached to the end of the east range further from the church which in this case must consequently have been to the north. In fact Mr. Allen's piece of standing wall was subsequently shown to have been part of the south wall of the nave, and it at present constitutes the sole remaining relic above ground of the medieval Priory. Further periods of digging in the late summer and following winter produced enough evidence to allow the plan of the Priory to be reconstructed. Many details are at present lacking and must remain so until more complete uncovering of the foundations can be undertaken. This is not likely to be possible while the site is intensively cultivated and partly covered by a roadway and farm buildings as at present, so it is thought justifiable to publish the evidence available for the guidance of those who in the future may have less restricted opportunities for investigation. It may at least be claimed that the position of Higham Priory and the general features of its layout are now established beyond doubt on archl80logical evidence, whereas formerly these matters were no more than subjects of speculation. AOKNOWLEDGMENTS Permission for the excavation was given by the landowners, St. John's College, Cambridge, and the tenant, Mr. R. G. Batchelor. The occupier of the farmhouse, l\fr. J. Palmer, kindly allowed us to dig trenches in his garden and store our tools in his outhouse. Our members, Mr. A. C. Harrison and Mr. T. Ithell, formed the nucleus of a digging team which was ably supported by Messrs. I. J. Bissett, A. P. Detsicas, G. Dockrell, D. B. Kelly, A. Miles, and Mr. and Mrs. D. T. Jones. Some boys of the Gravesend Technical School and Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School, Rochester, also took part. The plan (Fig. 2) has been drawn by the writer from measurements taken by Mr. R. H. Lawrence, related to survey-pegs set and recorded on a preliminary site-plan by Mr. J.E. L. Caiger. Reference is made in various parts of t,he following report and appendices to expert help received in identifying material found in the e:x:cavation. To the persons named and to all others who have assisted in this investigation the writer expresses his grateful appreciation. DESORIPTIO:N OF THE REMAINS The Ohurch. Unfortunately only the south side of this could be examined as the rest is covered by a farm road in constant use by vehicles. Much of the plan is therefore uncertain, though small cuttings made in the road established the north-east angle and proved the 145 EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF HIGHAM PRIORY position of the north wall of the nave. A small part of the south wall of the nave still stands to a height of about 6 ft. and is built of flint rubble, approximately 2½ ft. thick. A slight external thickening of the footings of the south wall, just west of its junction with the transept, may mark the step of the doorway from the cloister. A small pro􀃌 jection further west may indicate a respond or otherwise a support for the cloister bench. Most of the south transept had been completely grubbed but the robber-trenches could be readily traced and indicated the line of the walls. a b d r--------􀀉 I : I J +I f I : I +G 9 .. ___ .... h+ J+ FIG. 3. Diagrammatic plan to illustrate the probable internal arrangement of church and position of doorways. (a) West door. (b) Door from cloister. (c) North door suggested by Thorpe's drawing. (d) Door from cloister. (e) Altar against rood screen, flanked by openings. (j) Entrance through quire screen, flanked by altars. (gg) Nuns' stalls. (h) High altar. (:l:l) Altars of transept chapels. Chapter House. Part of the east range next to the church was separated from the rest by a wall not more than I ft. 4 in. thick, possibly the footing for a timber partition. The roughly square apartment thus formed must, from its position in the layout, be accepted as the chapter house, evidently a simple structure, not projecting beyond the eastern limits of the range and probably low enough to allow the dormitory to be continued above it. At its east end was a. well-defined rectangular area of chalk rubble with some broken roof-tiles incorporated, evidently the foundation for a dais or low platform against the east wall. A reasonable interpretation is that this was where the prioress's seat was situated, and the dais would have had a. paved or tiled surface a few inches above the general floor-level. No trace was found of benches for the nuns round the sides of the chapter house nor were any burials encountered in the part of the floor area. examined. In two places unglazed paving-tiles, 7¼ in. square and I in. thick, were found apparently in situ at the original floor-level. 146 EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF HIGHAM PRIORY Warming House. According to normal Benedictine practice this would underlie the dormitory and be equipped with a fireplace. Here we were fortunate to uncover the fireplace in the east wall and it proved to be one of the most interesting details found in the excavation. Its opening was 5 ft. 6½ in. wide in front and the sides were splayed so that the baok was only 4 ft. 9 in. in width. Stone blocks formed the lowest course of the sides with roof-tiles laid in horizontal courses above. At the back the tiles extended down to the hearth in the centre with stone blocks on either side in the first course. These details can be seen in the accompanying photograph of the better-preserved, north side of the fireplace (Pl. IB). Roof-tiles set on edge formed the hearth itself which showed signs of burning. A half-round mouldingradius c. I½ in.-bounded the front of the hearth and projected 5½ in. from the wall face. At the north end this moulding was preserved intact and returned to the wall, the angle being carved in one piece , with the lowest stone of the chamfered fireplace-opening. Several repairs and alterations had been made, indicating that the fireplace was in use over a long period. The opening had been narrowed by filling up the north side for about a foot, using stone which included a reused Early English moulding (Fig. 4:, No. I). Another tile hearth was then laid in similar manner to the first. A third hearth was subsequently laid on this, and at the same time the back of the fireplace was relined with tiles set in courses as previously. In the three successive hearths, the surface on which the fire itself rested was made of broken roof-tiles set on edge in accordance with a common medieval practice observed elsewhere.2 The original depth of the fireplace from the front of the stone kerb to the back was 2 ft. 11 in. The piece of re-used moulding retains traces of colour-decoration and is part of a string-course of thirteenth-century oharacter.3 Early medieval wall fireplaces usually had a projecting hood supported by shafts or corbels. Often there was a string-course at the junction of the vertical and sloping faces of the hood and it is suggested that when the first reconstruction of the Higham fireplace was undertaken its hood was removed and part of the string-course used with other material for building up the north side of the opening. No signs of a tiled or flagged floor occurred in the area of the warming house. In front of the £replace the section showed successive thin layers of black wood ash spread over the unpaved floor and sealed in one case by yellow sand, evidently put down to create a, clean surface. Day Stair. A platform of rubble occurred in a roughly rectangular form in the angle between the south side of the chapter house and the 1 Arch. Gant., lxxii (1958), 21 and lxxiii (1959), 211-13. 3 Brandon's Analysis of Gothiok Architecture (1849), Vol. II, pl. 24, no. 23; also pl. 16, string-course from St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Sandwich. 147 EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF HIGHAM PRIORY west wall of the east range. This was most likely the foundation of the stair by which the nuns ascended by day from the cloister to the dormitory. Benedictine houses commonly had day stairs in this position close to the chapter house, e.g. Christ Church, Oanterbury4 and St. Andrew's, Rocheater.5 2 3 4 5 I 9 MAID!.TONt 10 Flo. 4. 1-5, Fragments of mouldings; 6-9, pieces of decorated floor-tiles; 10, tiles from Maidstone Church, for comparison with 7, as illustrated in Cave-Browne's Hist-Ory of the Pariah Church of All Saints, Maidstone. (Scale: 1-9, ¼; 10, size of each tile 4¾ in. square.) Reredorter. The latrine block formerly communicated with the dormitory on the first floor of the east range and projected eastward from it at the south end. Normally efforts were made when siting medieval religious houses to ensure that a flow of water from a stream 4 Arch. Oant., vii (1868), 26-7. 6 Arch. Oant., xxiv (1900), 41-2. 148 EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF IDGHAM PRIORY could be used for flushing the reredorter drain. At Higham no such stream existed and a less satisfactory arrangement was employed, similar in principle to the garderobes used in secular houses. The garderobe, with its privy at first-floor level, formed a rectangular projection on the south side of the reredorter. At the original ground level its interior was paved with large flagstones which extended through a gap on the south side and joined the drain leading eastwards (Plate IIB). No doubt the gap was covered by an arch, the whole arra.ngement being similar to tha.t still existing a,t Old Soar, Plaxtol, in the solar-block of the late-thirteenth-century manor house. 6 The drain was floored by alternate slabs of stone and areas of roof-tiles set on edge like those in the hearth previously described (Plate IIIA). Most of the vertical sides had gone but they appeared to have been of chalk and tiles. Internally the drain mea,sured about a foot wide and was almost certainly at one time covered. After its course had been traced for some distance into the field it stopped abruptly and turned southward at right-angles into a covered drain of chalk and stone which continued for an undetermined distance (Plate IIIB). In removing some of the loose blocks of this drainextension a. late-thirteenth-century brass jetton was found imbedded in the mortar (Fig. 5), proving that its construction cannot antedate that period. Near by were some fragmentary chalk footings of medieval age but of uncertain significance. As the field was at that time being cropped we were unable to explore further in this area. The foundations of the garderobe, and especially its heavy paving, have been a nuisance in the past to the farmer whose plough has been repeatedly damaged by striking them. At the conclusion of our digging he accordingly removed these obstructions, some of the large flagstones still being visible where left on the edge of the field. Frater. There can be no doubt that the nuns' frater, or refectory, occupied the area indicated on the plan, and a small part of the north wall was excavated. Its south side lies under a hedge, a wooden shed and various other obstructions which have accumulated near the entrance of the farmhouse. The width of the frater is shown conjecturally on the plan and is unlikely to be inaccurate to any significant degree. West Range. Mr. Spittle's plan in .Arch. Gant., btxx shows the building destroyed in 1959 which he suggested might have formed the west range of the Priory. We therefore only needed to excavate a. small area in order to plot the alignment of the range in relation to th& other remains uncovered. Some digging at the south-west corner also established accurate details of the relationship of the destroyed 16 6 M. Wood, The English Medieval House (1965), 385. 149 EXCAVATIONS ON THE SITE OF HIGH.AM PRIORY walls with the existing farmhouse. To the north the footing of the end wall was partly uncovered .at its junction with the east wall, and it was found to be slightly beyond the line shown on the 1959 plan. Only 6 in. from it was another cross-wall, l½ ft. thick, the existence of which requires some explanation. A likely theory is that originally the west range extended up to the line of the south side of the church, and it was later shortened. In that case the thin cross-wall must have been a partition separating an apartment at the north end of the west range as originally constructed. Usually a room in this part of a monastic layout served as the outer parlour, and afforded communication between the enclosed community and the outside world. In the later Middle Ages the west range often contained the house of the superior and I am inclined to interpret the building demolished in 1959 as remains of the prioress's lodging adapted as a farmhouse in the postSuppression period. Its north wall as shown on Spittle's plan must have been external as it was observed to contain a window. Oloister. Cuttings were made to intersect the line of the cloister walls on all four sides of the enclosure. The results showed that the four alleys were of consistent width although the walls supporting the arcade were of unequal thickness. Next to the church the cloister footing was 3 ft. thick and was flanked by a flint-lined gully intended to catch the drips from the eaves of the pitched cloister roof. At the south-east corner a thin wall, 1 ft. 5 in. thick, was preserved, resting on the south side on a wider footing. Against the inside of this wall, at the south end of the east alley, were a number of glazed floor-tiles in siflu on the original floor-level 2 ft. from the present surface. These tiles were 8½ in. square and just over an inch thick and are described more fully under separate heading. Graves. Just east of the south transept a trial cutting uncovered the lower part of two uncoffined skeletons. This was the usual situation for the monastic cemetery and the graves were undoubtedly those of nuns. The remains lay 3½ ft. from the present surface and after exami• nation in situ they were reburied without further disturbance. An empty grave, lined with chalk blocks, measuring 7 ft. in length, 1 ft. 9 in. wide at the head and slightly less at the foot, occurred in the north cloister-alley (Plate IIA). Some bones scattered in the immediate vicinity were evidence of grave-robbing at an unknown period. The position of a stone coffin in the east alley of the cloister is shown on the plan. Its lid was in place but broken and the foot of the coffin damaged, the hole being repaired with small unmortared yellow and pink bricks. Under the lid was a course of the same type of bricks set round the edge of the coffin (Plate IA). While the bricks are not likely to be earlier than the end of the thirteenth century-and more 150 B. l'LAT£ l A. lStone coffin in eaat alley of cloister, with human remains in situ. North side of fireplace in wnrrning house, sfter remon1l of two supei-impos,>n hearths. Viewed from the south. (/lfct />. 150 PL,\TE 11 .-\, Chalk-lined grave in north ulle􀁈• of cloister. B. Stone p,wing of izurdcrobe, ,·iewed from the south. .\. Heredorter drain, floored wilh stone slobs alternating with roof.tiles set on edge. B. Southward extension of rcrcdorter drain. l'LA'rl-: 111 PLATE IV Etj. 2. Xorth Wcfr Ylew t/1/Jc Ikmains !'/ Higham .Abby;,1i-..J.22. f!9. 3. ,South Vit!w :,f'!IJ,, Bemains if Higham Ahl1y,-;1,.J22. Drawings from Thorpe's Cu8tmnale Roffense ( 1788). b.:XUAVA'l'!U.NIS U.N 'l'.l:Lll: t:l.l'l'b.: U.lf J:i.HH:1.A.M. .l:'.t(.!0.t(.'.'i probably later-the coffin is twelfth-century, as Mr. L. R. A. Grove has shown (Appendix II). Clearly it was re-interred at this spot having been removed from some other position, probably in either the church or chapter house. In the course of removal it was damaged in the way described and repaired with bricks on reburial. On lifting the lid the coffin was found to be filled with dark soil enveloping the complete skeleton of an adult male lying with its skull slightly below the cavity intended for its accommodation. Over the feet of the skeleton was another skull, lacking its lower jaw, and some long-bones. These remains represent a second individual, a.bout 15 years of age, and had evidently been placed in the coffin at the time of its reburial (Appendix III). We may fairly assume that the complete skeleton was the primary burial and that it belonged to someone of importance connected with the early period of the Priory's existence. These remains were apparently taken in the coffin from their first resting-place and reburied in the cloister, the lid being removed in the process to lighten it and facilitate handling. Deopite this precaution the lid was accidentally broken and the foot of the coffin damaged. It was then lowered into its new grave, in digging which some uncoffined bones of an earlier burial had presumably been disturbed. They were laid in the foot of the open coffin which was then filled with the spoil of the newly-dug grave, and the lid replaced. Mr. Allen has recorded that when a cess-pit was dug in 1957 some hum.an remains were found, and it is significant that this pit was adj a.cent to the south side of the coffin indicating that other burials were made in this part of the cloister. The fact that bricks were put under the lid may be explained by supposing that the grave was found to be a few inches too deep and that the bricks were needed to bring the lid flush with the cloister floor. Burr..nmo MATERIALS AND CoNSTitUOTION.AL DET.AILS The excavated foundations of the church and claustral buildings were composed of flint rubble incorporating some chalk and rag. stone. Severa.I pieces of Roman tile or brick had been re-used in the footings and Roman remains are recorded to have occurred 300 yards south-west of the Priory, as noted on the Ordnance Survey maps. In only two instances could thicknesses of walls, as distinct from foundations, be ascertained. The south wall of the nave was 2 ft. 6 in. thick, and the east wall of the east range was 2 ft. 8 in. Fragments of Purbeck marble shafts, 3½ in. in diameter, were­ found in the east range, next to the church and also near the fireplace. Broken slabs of the same material, in small pieces, occurred in this area. Pieces of worked freestone, such as the mouldings shown in Fig. 4, 151 EXCAVATIONS ON THE·SITE OF HIGHAM PRIORY were invariably of Upper Greensand, a stone much used in the Rochester area in the late-twelfth and thirteenth centuries.7 Barnack Stone, the material used for the coffin found in the cloister, was imported into the Lower Medway as early as the first half of the twelfth century when it was being employed in work at Rochester. The quarries were about 8 miles north-west of Peterborough.a Roof-Tiles and Sl,ates. Plain roof-tiles occurred over the site in contexts which indicated that they were derived from the roofs of the Priory buildings, and they were also used in the hearth and reredorter drain. Complete specimens were rare but the main dimensions could be ascertained in several cases. All have a pair of tapering pegholes at one end: From reredorter drain construction 10½ X 6½ X ½ in. Warming house hearth (latest phase) 10¼ X 6½ X ½ in. South end of ea.st range . . 10¾ X 5½ X ½ in. On the underside of the last example there is extensive glazing. In medieval levels over the entire site were found pieces of greenish slate of a type known to have been used for roof-covering in southern England during the Middle Ages. A sample submitted to the Geological Survey and Museum9 was identified as a green, chlorite-rich phyllitio slate encountered in the Lower Devonian sequence (Dartmouth and Meadford Beds) in parts of Cornwall and Devon. There are numerous old quarries in the South Hams district which were used in the Middle Ages for the supply of building materials, including slates. These were distributed widely by means of coastal trade. No complete slates were found at Higham but one fragment indicated a width of 3½ in. Bricks. Some excellent examples of small yellow and pink medieva.l bricks were found in association with the stone coffin. They had been used to set under the lid and also to repair the broken foot. Dimensions vary slightly but 7½ x 3¾ x l½ in. was typical. Early use of such small bricks occurs at Salmestone Grange and in the vaults of Allington Castle, c. 1280. They were also commonly imported from Holland from the fifteenth century onwards.10 Floor-Tiles. Plain glazed floor-tiles were found in situ in the east cloister-alley at its south end. They were of red clay and measured 8½ in. square and 1 in. thick. Some had dark-green glaze, others were 1 Arch. Oant., xxi (1895), 40. • 8 The Barnack quarries were owned by the monks of Peterbor