SITE OF A COLLEGE AND BENEDICTINE ABBEY, ST MARY'S CHURCH

Reference Name MLI50246

Name:
SITE OF A COLLEGE AND BENEDICTINE ABBEY, ST MARY'S CHURCH

Summary:
SITE OF A COLLEGE AND BENEDICTINE ABBEY, ST MARY'S CHURCH

Location:
STOW, WEST LINDSEY, LINCOLNSHIRE

Description:
In 1091 the Benedictine Abbey of St Mary at Eynsham, Oxfordshire, was transferred here by Bishop Remigius and the church reconstructed. When the community returned to Eynsham in 1094-5 the building reverted to use as a parish church. The monument therefore includes the buried remains of an earlier Anglo-Saxon church overlain by those of the 11th century collegiate and abbey church with associated monastic buildings, in turn overlain by a medieval and later parish church. The monument is located at the centre of the village of Stow in St Mary's churchyard. The present church, which is excluded from the scheduling, incorporates the transepts and crossing of the early 11th century collegiate church, rebuilt in the late 11th century as part of the abbey church. Beneath the church, evidence has been found for what is believed to be the first stone church on the site, as well as remains of the pre-Norman church which would have been part of the 11th century collegiate and abbey building complex. The high density of human burials found during the excavation of the vestry indicates a continuous and intensive use of the site from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards. {1}{2}{3}{4}{5}

Sources:
1 Scheduling Record: ENGLISH HERITAGE. 1995. SCHEDULING DOCUMENT 22621. MPP 33
2 Bibliographic Reference: Knowles, D. and Hadcock, R. N.. 1971. Medieval Religious Houses, England and Wales. p.483
3 Bibliographic Reference: Owen, Dorothy M.. 1971. Church and Society in Medieval England. p.2
4 Article in Serial: Page, A.B.. 1984. 'Archaeology in Lincolnshire and South Humberside, 1983' in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. vol.19, pp.105-6
5 Unpublished Document: PARISH FILE. STOW. St Mary's Church folder