Wenlock Priory

 

D and I planned another day out this week to an English Heritage property. Monday was supposed to be sunny and dry so we set off for Wenlock Priory which we so enjoyed a couple of years ago.  The sun failed to materialise but at least it stayed dry! I do like Wenlock Priory as it is so tranquil and peaceful, the ruins are beautiful and it has a lovely atmosphere.

It is only about an hour away on a good run but unsurprisingly the dreaded M6 North was jammed which added 30 minutes to the journey :(

Be warned there are a lot of photos! I particularly liked the Chapter House and the Medieval Tiles!

A religious house was first founded here around AD680 when the Saxon King Merewalh of Mercia built a monastery for men and women.  The first abbess was Liobsynde and the second abbess, from AD687, was Milburge who was King Merewalh's daughter.  She beame famous for the miracles she performed - she allegedly brought a dead boy back to life, banished geese that were destroying her crops and made her veil float on a sunbeam.  She was abbess for ~30 years and her connections with royalty probably helped the monastery to acquire land and property. She died between 722 and 730 and became a saint after her death.

Just before 1040 the monastery was replaced with a college of priests which was built by Earl Leofric of Mercia and his wife Godgifu.  After the Norman Conquest, at the request of Roger of Montgomery who had been given the land the college was located on, monks were sent to Wenlock from the Abbey of Cluny in France.  Wenlock thus became a priory.

Just after 1100 it was alleged that Saint Milburge's bones had been discovered at Wenlock and the Priory became a place of pilgrimage with more miracles being performed.

The first English prior was appointed in 1376 and a charter declaring the priory English was made in 1395.  Wenlock Priory ceased to exist after Henry VIII's Suppression of the Monasteries. In 1540 all the valuables were confiscated and the buildings sold.  The infirmary and prior's lodge were turned into a private residence which still remains today.

The priory church was rebuilt on a large scale between ~1220 and 1260 following a cruciform (or cross shaped) plan.  The church would have been the main building of the monastery. Wenlock was one of the finest monastic churches in England and was 107 metres long.

West side of the North Transept.  Below the wall is a sunken area which contained a crypt which may possibly have held an unrecorded shrine.

To the right of the photo is what would have been the South Transept. The transepts housed side chapels often used for saying masses for the dead which brought much income to religious houses in the Middle Ages.

In the South Transept are the remains of a laver - a rare feature - perhaps used for the washing of monks's feet by the prior.

Piscina I think

The larger piers in the transept would once have supported a tower.

The infirmary and prior's lodge as mentioned earlier it is now a private residence. The infirmary was originally a single storey building where sick, old or infirm monks were housed and/or treated.  

Plants in Walls

Ruins of a small 15th century octagonal building used as a sacristry where vessels and vestments would have been stored.

Looking towards the eastern end of the church. It is believed St Milburge's shrine was located in this area although no evidence remains.

The architecture of the Chapter House is just amazing. In the first photo we look through arches to the topiary of the cloister garden.

The Chapter House is Norman built ~1140. The monks and prior would have met here each morning to discuss priory affairs and punishments for those who had been disobedient.

The elaborate false arcarding was typical of Cluniac buildings.

Above a blocked door is this Romanesque carving of a grotesque head and possibly serpents or dragons?

On the second floor of this building was St Michael's Chapel used by the prior for private worship.

The cloisters of a monastery in the Middle Ages formed a quadrangle adjacent to the church. On three sides were the "domestic" buildings where the monks ate, slept and studied.  The cloister would have formed a covered walkway where monks prayed, read and ate.

The Wenlock Lavabo

Made of Silurian Wenlock Limestone and built around 1220 was where the monks washed their hands prior to eating.  It could be used by up to 16 monks at the same time.  Lavabos are rare in England but common on the continent.  Two of the carved panels show John the Apostle with his hand on his chin and an unknown apostle and Christ calling Peter and Andrew in the Sea of Galilee with James and John in another boat.  The panels are replicas and the originals in storage to protect them from frost damage.

Cloister Garden

Medieval Tiles on the ground floor under St Michael's Chapel. Most are fragments sadly.

A lion?

A fox or a wolf?

D spotted this medieval person playing an instrument.

To the East of the cloisters is the library where there are many more medieval tiles. The area is fenced off but D managed to get a photo, through the netting, of this fish.  Staff were actually in the process of cleaning the tiles when we visited. Also in the library are two effigies from the tombs of former priors.

A few last photos of the Chapter House!

Some of D's photos - the bull in the first picture was in a field next to the car park. I hasten to add the zoom was used!

As there was no-one else in there we had a quick look round the shop and D came home with chutney and I bought a different fridge magnet, a tea towel and a new bear!!! Photo probably in next post as I am still trying to pick the right name!  I also have to be careful as we don't want to make Timothy jealous!!

Last time we wandered round Much Wenlock which is a lovely town and had a pub lunch and visited the church. But as neither of us is keen on going in buildings (and I certainly don't think I will be going in many after 19th July!!!) we had a picnic lunch in the car and then stopped off at Buildwas Abbey on the way home as we passed right by it and we haven't visited before.  More on the abbey and bear in the next post - I promise there won't be as many photos!!!

It was D's birthday last weekend and I made him his favourite Dorset Apple Cake. Actually I made two one a gluten free one for me as I wasn't prepared to miss out.  

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

Photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 those by D with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera.

Reference: English Heritage guidebook to Wenlock Priory