Possible early medieval monastic site at South Kyme
Reference Name MLI60125
Name:
Possible early medieval monastic site at South Kyme
Summary:
Possible early medieval monastic site at South Kyme
Location:
SOUTH KYME, NORTH KESTEVEN, LINCOLNSHIRE
Description:
60125
The settlement at Kyme has several features which are paralleled at Crowland and Bardney early monastic sites, which suggest that there was an early monastic site here too. These include a characteristic topographical setting, built on an island in the fen, and the same topographical relationship to Sleaford as Bardney does to Lincoln and Crowland does to Stamford. There are also indications that South Kyme was of pre-Christian ritual significance, with many finds of Bronze Age axes. South Kyme has a group of ancient churches, and six fragments of early medieval sculpture are built into the north wall of the present church, discovered during restoration work of 1888-90. The stones seem to have formed part of rectangular panels for a shrine-like casket, since each of them shows parts of the moulded framework which bounded a panel. It dates to the late eighth or ninth century, and an ecclesiastical object of this quality and function is most unlikely to be found outside a monastery of some status at this early date. This in itself has been taken as evidence for a pre-Viking monastery. The rights of the thirteenth century priory indicated that it had been a minster before the Conquest. {5}{8}{9}{10}
Sources:
1 Index: OS CARD INDEX. SOUTH KYME. TF 14 NE:1,1965, BAIRD J
2 Index: SMR FILE. SOUTH KYME. TF 14 NE:E,1978, K.A.M.
3 Bibliographic reference: Knowles, D. and Hadcock, R. N.. 1971. Medieval Religious Houses, England and Wales. p475
4 Article in serial: CLAPHAM A W. 1923. ANTIQUARIES JOURNAL. VOL 3 pp118-121
5 Bibliographic reference: Taylor, H.M. and Taylor, J.. 1965. Anglo-Saxon Architecture. VOL 1 pp365-366
6 Scheduling record: ENGLISH HERITAGE. 1994. SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 22622. MPP23
7 Bibliographic reference: Pevsner, N. and Harris, J., with Antram, N.. 1989. Buildings of England (Second Edition). Lincolnshire. 2nd Rev Edn p665
8 Article in monograph: STOCKER, D.. 1993. ‘The early church in Lincolnshire’ in Pre-Viking Lindsey. pp.112-113
9 Bibliographic reference: Everson, P. and Stocker, D.. 1999. Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture. Lincolnshire. pp.24,73,248-251, Illus 339-45
10 Article in monograph: Stocker, D. and Everson, P.. 2003. ‘The straight and narrow way: fenland causeways and the conversion of the landscape in the Witham valley, Lincolnshire’, in The Cross Goes North, Processes of Conversion in Northern Europe, AD300-1300, edited by Martin Carver. pp.271-88