THE SITE OF GRACEDIEU PRIORY

Taken from the Bulletin of the Loughborough and District Archaeological Society, Volume I, No X, 1968 - 69

Article by Ernest J Miller

The site of the Priory is at the foot of a north facing slope near the intersection of the Ashby Road (A512) and the Gracedieu Brook. The brook forms the boundary to the west and the road the boundary to the north. A late 19th century railway embankment intersects the site from north east to south west. This partly follows the line of an 18th century canal, which can still be seen to the south west of the site where the brook goes under the canal aqueduct. There are a number of pools associated with the site, one of which, pool 2, drains via a small brook into the main Gracedieu Brook. The field in which this occurs is called Mill Field and it is reported that this small brook supported a mill. When the field was cleared and levelled two years ago a great deal of eighteenth century pottery was found near the brook, showing signs of occupation, if not a mill. Pools 1 and 3 appear to be the remains of a larger single pool, cut in half by the railway or the canal. Pool 1 has a six foot high embankment on two sides; this embankment protects the Priory, so dating these pools at least before 1700 (when the site was last occupied), and possibly much earlier. These pools have nothing to do with the canal, as they are at a lower level, and could never have been used as a reservoir.

Because of the embankment these pools appear to be man-made and it is possible that they are contemporary with the Priory. They could not have been part of any drainage system as pool 1 is lower than the site. The other possibility is that they were part of a monastic fish pool and the embankment was built to prevent flooding. When aerial photographs of the site were examined, it could be seen that disturbances extended over the whole of the area surrounding the Priory. But they can be divided into two main types: earthworks and remains of buildings. The ground towards the north contains mainly earthworks which appear to be the remains of the Priory wall and moat. The Ashby Road has been altered twice in recent years and the old wall that ran along the roadside demolished. Reports from local poeple indicate that this wall may have been the original boundary of the Priory. In this area a depression can be seen running parallel to the road, from the small pool by the railway e mbankment to the point where the road crosses the Gracedieu Brook. This may have been the moat, but for it to be supplied with water it would need to continue through the railway embankment and join the Gracedieu Brook at a higher level. Alas, all such remains have been destroyed by the building of the railway. Although this feature is without doubt an old water course, to have a moat inside the boundary wall is most unlikely, and it would seem that this is later in date than the Priory.

Towards the south and west of the standing ruins, lie areas that contain indications of buildings. It is most likely that here would have been the working areas of the Priory: kilns, malt house, etc. Also somewhere near the Priory was a mediaeval hospital, staffed by the nuns. It was to ascertain whether any floor levels were remaining to date these buildings that a test square was dug some 57 feet south of the south wall of the kitchen area (at this point there was a small depression). But instead of finding any floors, we dug into what was a roof-fall of a drainage tunnel; a surprising but not entirely unexpected find ! All monastic sites have thier sewerage systems, but this tunnel is most important because by following it underground and locating the refuse chutes, the position of other buildings can be plotted without disturbing the site.

At the point of entry the tunel runs approximately north-south. To the north it is blocked with soil which is within six inches of the roof. After examination we concluded that our point of entry had been a roof-fall and that part of the tunnel to the north had been deliberately filled in from its far end. When and why this happened is difficult to say, but remains of a wine bottle and chicken bones together with 18th and 19th century pottery fragments were found in the soil filling. The bottle was difficult to date but could have been 19th century. In another part of the tunnel more animal bones were found, indicating a fox's earth. Now if the tunnel north of the roof-fall had been used by foxes(and there are local reports of foxes on the site), then the local hunts would have "stopped" the earths prior to hunting. This is entirely guess-work but the tunnel's stone walls and roof are intact so the soil was carried into position, later it settled and left a six inch gap at t he top. The effort involved in filling this part of the tunnel must have been enormous, but it appears that it was done in the early part of the last century (when labour was relatively cheap). Towards the south the tunnel is free of obstruction.

The tunnel walls are constructed of rough forest stone laid with a minimum of mortar; the roof of large slabs of forest stone laid like lintels across the two walls, and the floor of flat stone slabs. The tunnel is 3'6" high and 2'2" wide and varies no more than about 2" over its entire length. From the entry point the tunnel is straight for 66 ft., where there is a change in the height of the roof (one roof lintel is higher than the others). This may have been the remains of a chute. After a further 10 ft., the tunnel turns to the east. The centre of this bend is 80 ft. from the entry point and at this point is a large chute. It is set in the centre of the roof, circular and 2 ft. in diameter, made of rough forest stone. The top has been capped by two large stone slabs: these are some 6 ft from the floor of the tunnel. It was possible to insert a steel spike between these slabs and locate our position in the field above. It appeared that at this point we were only 3 inches below the turf. After a further 11 ft. there was a similar chute, or well; 13 feet past this (104 ft. from the start) there was a further roof-fall very close to which was a collection of bones that may indicate animal occupation (but thank goodness we never met any!). It was very difficult to examine this for blockage because we were now over 100 ft. from the entrance, with no free flow of air and any exertion was difficult. But it did seem that soil had been poured down another chute, possibly to seal it off. But we were now very near the railway and it may have been the building of this that caused the blockage. The tunnel was now heading due east and may in due course join up with the remains of a tunnel that lies to the east of the standing ruins. There are traces of this tunnel going under the railway embankment and this could then head towards the stream that flows from pool 2. If this were so, water could flow through the tunnel and, either bring fresh water to, or refuse away from the buildings to the south of the standing ruins, then under the Priory's kitchens and away to the Gracedieu Brook.

It is hoped that at a later date the tunnel can be opened again, the blockages cleared and further chutes recorded. This way more lost buildings can be rediscovered.

Special thanks to John Dickinson and Bill Newton of the Gracedieu Archaeological Group for supplying the above source and photographs.

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