NHER 58523 (Monument record) - Site of medieval ?hospital near Carrow Priory

This site, situated in the south-east corner of the grounds of Carrow Abbey, has long been identified as the site of a medieval hospital; being marked as such on the First Edition O.S 1:500 map (S1). Early sources associate this site with the Benedictine nunnery of St. Mary and St. John, known to have existed in Norwich during the 12th century. See (S2) and (S3). According to documentary sources it was two sisters from this nunnery who established the priory of St. Mary’s at Carrow in 1146, following a grant of land by King Stephen (S4). There is however no direct evidence for this assertion and it seems more likely this small early nunnery lay much closer to, or indeed within, the city centre. There was however clearly some form of building on this site, with the survival of fragmentary flint walls noted in 1954 (S3). These walls covered an area of approximately 20m by 12m and contained no visible architectural features. It is possible that this building was a hospital associated with Carrow Priory.

1976. Watching Brief.
Observation by M. Atkin (NCM) of trench cut through area recorded by O.S. as being the site of the Priory hospital. The section revealed a number of flint rubble walls and floors, one of the latter being tiled (S5). Dating evidence was limited although pottery of 13th- and 14th-century date was found associated with the floor levels. The condition of surviving earthworks was good and a contour survey of the area was provided by Coleman’s Ltd. The evidence recovered during this work supports the suggestion that this building was associated with Carrow Priory, rather than the earlier, 12th-century nunnery.
P. Wakins (HES) January 2013 (based in part on information compiled by NCM staff)