Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

First Benedictine house on the same site as the earlier abandoned nunnery of St. Peter's (TR 23 NW 48) when Nigel de Muneville gave the Church of St. Mary and St. Eanswith which stood within the precincts of Folkestone Castle (TR 23 NW 53) to the monks. In 1139 the monks moved from the castle site to a new church given to them by William de Averenches and a new priory. The exact location for the site is not known and could have fallen over the cliff side. Leland in the 1540's noted a burial ground exposed here by coast erosion, and impressive ruins of ecclesiastical character which contained much Roman bonding tile and which he called 'a solemn old nunnery'. Lambarde in 1826 reported much the same. These could be evidence of this site or the eariler nunnery.

Monument Types

• ALIEN PRIORY (BENEDICTINE CELL, Medieval - 1095 AD to 1139 AD?)

Full description

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First Benedictine house on the same site as the earlier abandoned nunnery of St. Peter's (TR 23 NW 48) When Nigel de Muneville gave the Church of St. Mary and St. Eanswith which stood within the precincts of Folkestone Castle (TR 23 NW 53) to the monks. In 1139 the monks moved from the castle site to a new church given to them by William de Averenches and a new priory.

The exact location for the site is not known and could have fallen over the cliff side. Leland in the 1540's noted a burial ground exposed here by coast erosion, and impressive ruins of ecclesiastical character which contained much Roman bonding tile and which he called 'a solemn old nunnery'. Lambarde in 1826 reported much the same. These could be evidence of this site or the eariler nunnery.(1-15)

<1> OS 25" 1957 (OS Card Reference). SKE48272.

<2> Md Rel Houses 1953 54 66 (Knowles & Hadcock) (OS Card Reference). SKE46681.

<3> Page, W. (ed), 1926, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Kent Volume II, VCH Kent 2 1926 236-8 (Monograph). SKE7944.

<4> Hasted, E., 1786, The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2, Hasted's Hist of Kent 2nd Ed 1799 8 157 163 179 (Monograph). SKE8061.

<5> Plan of the town of Folkestone 1782 (in Folkestone Museum) (OS Card Reference). SKE48526.

<6> Folkestone Dist 1921 (W H Elgar) (OS Card Reference). SKE43428.

<7> Nova Legenda Anglie 1 1901 297 (OS Card Reference). SKE47717.

<8> Leland's Itinerary 2nd Ed 1744 7 1931 (OS Card Reference). SKE46011.

<9> F1 CFW 29.04.64 (OS Card Reference). SKE42804.

<10> Southern Water Services, 1993, Dover & Folkestone Wastewater Treatment scheme Environmental Statement (Unpublished document). SKE6815.

<11> Monasticum Anglicanum (abridgement) 1 71 (W Dugdale) (OS Card Reference). SKE47327.

<12> Harper-Bill, C, 1978, The Priory and Parish of Folkestone in the Fifteenth Century, Arch Cant 93 1977 195-200 (C Harper-Bill) (Article in serial). SKE8384.

<13> Rigold, S. E., 1973, Roman Folkestone Reconsidered, Arch Cant 87 1972 35-36 (S E Rigold) (Article in serial). SKE8045.

<14> KAR 69 1982 212-214 (P Keller) (OS Card Reference). SKE45405.

<15> Field report for monument TR 23 NW 17 - April, 1964 (Bibliographic reference). SKE5603.

Sources and further reading