Shrewsbury Dominican Friary ( )
Description: Constituent site within the Blackfriars precinct (62554). Excavations into the riverbank took place in 1823 for the Union Wharf (for the wharf, a dwelling and warehouse, and a new access road). A skeleton 6ft 4 ins long was first encountered, followed by foundations said to be of a tower flanking the gateway to the convent; a Roman coin and a Nuremberg jetton were also found. The principal discovery was of a north-south range of buildings constructed of sandstone masonry, some of it re-used from an earlier building. Higher up the slope graves were found, suggesting that the excavated walls must have been sub-structures or basements to buildings at the higher level. Painted glass, decorated floor tiles, another Roman coin, and a silver coin bearing a cross, were also found. Architectural fragments were suggested to have come from a window 'of great magnitude and elegance'. Two graves at the higher level were contained within stone coffins, covered with dressed but undecorated stone slabs <1><2><3>/ . The anonymous MS account <1>/ is accompanied by a measured plan showing parts of three rooms, one with a three-sided east-facing apsidal end. This plan can be reconciled with a rather rougher one by David Parkes <3>/ , which also shows, immediately to the west, what appears to be the east walk of the cloisters, with three burials in its floor. These suggest that the excavators had hit the sub-structures of the east claustral range, possibly including the chapter house <4>/ . Neither plan, however, shows any fixed points outside the excavation, so the walls cannot be accurately located on the ground, though there is no doubt that the site generally occupies that of the present Union Wharf House <?>
Country: England
County: Shropshire
Parish: Shrewsbury
Grid Reference:
SJ494126
Map Reference:
[EPSG:27700] 349400, 312600
Period: MEDIEVAL, MEDIEVAL, MEDIEVAL, MEDIEVAL, MEDIEVAL, MEDIEVAL, ROMAN
Subject: HUMAN REMAINS, ARCHITECTURAL FRAGMENT, COIN, FLOOR TILE, JETTON, PAINTED GLASS (WINDOW), SITE, COIN
Identifiers:
[ADS] Depositor Id: PRN 60277
[ADS] Import RCN: SALOPSMR-11545
People Involved:
[Publisher] Sustainability Group, Shropshire County Council
Bibliographic References:
- <01> Anon (1823?) Dominican or Preaching Friars, Shrewsbury
- <04> Baker, N J (1997) An Archaeological Evaluation of the Dominican Friary (Blackfriars), St Mary's Water Lane, Shrewsbury
- <03> Parkes, D (1800-1830) Drawings of Remains of Antiquities in Shrewsbury, p5, p17-18
- <02> Pigeon, H (1823) Dominican Friary
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https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archsearch/record?titleId=77561
