NHER 5749 (Monument record) - Ruins of the Priory of the Holy Sepulchre, Late Saxon occupation debris and possible site of Late Saxon or early medieval church

This small and poor Augustinian Priory was dissolved in 1536. (S1) states that it was founded by William de Warenne around 1146-8, but (S2) suggests an earlier date of around 1139.
See (S1) for a detailed history of the priory.
See (S3) in file for details of the standing remains of the nave and tithe barn, recorded in 1982.
E. Rose (NAU), 21 April 1982.

1969. Trial trenching in response to proposed housing development.
Underlying the priory occupation and cut into the natural sand and gravel were a series of pits, ditches and post holes. They contained a fine black sandy fill as well as much animal bone, shells, a stone spindle whorl and large quantities of pottery. The pottery was Late Saxon and included much Thetford ware along with Stamford and St Neots wares.
These remains have not been assessed in detail, but it is clear that there was intensive occupation in the areas to the east and north of the nave of the priory in the Late Saxon period. See also NHER 5865 for further Late Saxon occupation debris within this area.
Excavations to the east of the nave were intended to investigate the plan of the eastern part of the church. The position of the east wall of the church was located, but most other walls had been robbed out. The south wall of the choir was also located, and the priory church was found to have a transept. Almost nothing was found to indicate the internal arrangements within the priory. To the north of the church lay the south wall of the cloisters. No further investigation of the claustral area was carried out, but it is possible that the house that stood in this area until the 1950s had developed on the site of the eastern range of the cloister.
The excavations also revealed an earlier phase of building on this site which was represented by some substantial chalk footings. These footings pre-date the priory church as they were overlain by the transept wall and by the south wall of the nave. Equally, the excavator argues, the close proximity of the Late Saxon pits and other features suggest that the footings post-date these. The scale of the footings suggest that they were designed for a substantial building, but there are no definite indications as to its exact size. The excavator suggests that the scale of the footings and their alignment with the south walls of the nave and choir suggest that these footings belong to an earlier church building, perhaps a temporary church constructed at the time of the foundation of the priory, or a previously unknown church built during the later stages of the Saxon town when the town was already shrinking.
Information from (S1).
See also (S12) and see (S14) for short Summery.
A. Cattermole (NLA), 21 August 2008.

April 1982. Visit while restoration and some excavation in progress.
See (S3) for further details.
E. Rose (NAU), 21 April 1982.

(S4) refers to a stone coffin found at NHER 5748 being placed "temporarily in Canons Farm Chapel".

The stone coffin found at NHER 5868 was later taken to Canon's Close according to R.R. Clarke (NCM). [1] states that this was in fact in 1943 as recorded in (S5), when it was reinterred within the ruins at a service.
E. Rose (NAU), 17 November 1986.

April 1987. Visit.
Late Saxon and post medieval pottery sherds found.
A. Rogerson (NAU), 25 September 1987

June 1987.
Area east of ruins, presumably the site of the east end of the church, destroyed by installation of footings for a garage and the excavation of a large house-sized hole.
See (S6) in file.
A. Rogerson (NAU), 8 June 1987.

1995. Visit.
Interior of building has been cleared and is accessible to the public.
E. Rose (NLA), 10 May 1995.

1996.
Scheduled area greatly extended to include School Plain to east as probable covering of Late Saxon layers.
See (S7).
E. Rose (NLA) 19 September 1996.

July 2005. Watching Brief. Contexts 10-13 used.
Monitoring of works associated with the relocation and replacement of an information lectern. A mortar floor surface was observed within the eastern end of the nave and some stratification was found to survive in a previously unexcavated area external to the eastern wall of the building.
See report (S8) and (S11). The results of this work are also summarised in (S13).
The associated archive has been deposited with the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2016.31).
J. Allen (NLA), 28 April 2006. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 17 May 2019.

The site was converted to a farmstead in the post medieval period. When it was described in the 18th century by Thomas Martin (S9) the nave of the church had been converted into a barn and a large house lay to the north-east of this. A stone building serving as a hen house abutted the south of the nave and to the south-west lay a stone barn. Little of the choir of the church survived. Blomefield (S10) confirm's Martin's description, and explains that the ruins of the choir are heaped together to form a large hill known as Canon's Hill.
Information from (S1).
A. Cattermole (NLA), 21 August 2008.