CREAKE ABBEY


Description:  The standing and buried remains of the abbey church and conventual buildings of Creake Abbey. The earliest religious foundation on the site was a chapel, which was established in 1206 by Lady Alice de Nerford and her husband Sir Robert. In or soon after 1217, Sir Robert used the chapel to found a hospital dedicated to St Bartholomew. In 1227 the hospital adopted the Augustinian rule and became a priory of regular canons of the order. In 1231 Henry III elevated the priory to the status of an abbey. In 1500 plague killed the canons, but the abbot survived until 1506, when the abbey ceased, over thirty years before the Dissolution. The standing ruins of the church form the core of the monument. The walls, which to the east of the nave stand in parts almost to their original height, are constructed of mortared flint rubble with limestone dressings and display evidence of a drastic remodelling in the 15th century. The presbytery was the first part to be constructed and was altered in the late 13th century. The form of the chapels as they now appear, is the result of alterations in the early 14th century. The nave is presumed to have been demolished following the fire in the late 15th century and not rebuilt, and both transepts were also demolished, leaving only the inner bay to either side of the crossing. Wall footings are exposed which show the original extent of the north transept, and the foundations of the south transept walls have been traced by excavation. Scheduled.

Country:  ENGLAND

County:  NORFOLK

District:  KINGS LYNN AND WEST NORFOLK

Parish:  NORTH CREAKE

Grid Reference:   TF85563948

Map Reference:  [EPSG:27700] 585560, 339480

Period:  MEDIEVAL, 1206, 1217 - 1227, 1227 - 1231, 1227 - 1506, 1231 - 1506, 1267 - 1299, 1300 - 1332, 1400 - 1499

Subject:  ABBEY, AUGUSTINIAN MONASTERY, BARN, BUILDING, CHAPEL, CHAPTER HOUSE, CHURCH, CLOISTER, CROPMARK, DITCHED ENCLOSURE, DORMITORY, DOVECOTE, DRAINAGE DITCH, EARTHWORK, FISHPOND, GATEHOUSE, GRANARY, GUEST HOUSE, HOSPITAL, PRIORY, REFECTORY, RUINED BUILDING, STRUCTURE, WATER CHANNEL

Identifiers: 
[ADS] Depositor Id: TF 83 NE 1
[ADS] Import RCN: NMR_NATINV-358245

People Involved: 
[Publisher] Historic England