| Abstract: |
Archaeological, architectural and historical study of one of the largest complexes of buildings in the medieval City of London, of which two fragments survive above ground today. It is the fifth volume in a series on the monasteries of London, and is based on archaeological observations and excavations of 1908, 1953 and 1977--90, as well as on two plans of the main priory buildings drawn by John Symonds in c.1585, and antiquarian observations of 1790--1825 as parts of the priory were uncovered and demolished. A church had been established at the site by the late-eleventh century, and a cemetery found on several sites in the study area may have functioned with it or with the new priory church which was built in the first half of the twelfth century. A Lady chapel was constructed in 1197--1221, and a period of concerted rebuilding from the late-twelfth century to about 1350 is indicated. The cloister lay to the north of the church and the canons probably had a latrine or reredorter over the city ditch on the north site of the precinct, and a door through the city wall. Artefactual evidence from the priory is slight, but included pieces of silk from vestments, pottery, glass urinals, metalwork and items of leather and wood; there were also architectural fragments. Two areas of external cemetery were also excavated; no differentiation could be made, based on ceramic dating, between the groups of burials, and the whole cemetery is dated to a span beginning in the eleventh or twelfth century, with some burials probably continuing into the early-thirteenth century. It is probable that both burial areas included lay people. One mature man buried on the south side of the church had a silver pectoral cross on his shoulder. The skeletons presented a variety of osteological conditions consistent with their probable high status. Holy Trinity Priory was dissolved in 1532, and the site passed to Thomas Audley, who built a house by adapting the extensive priory buildings. After 1544 the precinct passed by his daughter to the Duke of Norfolk, and was sold to the City in 1592. By the 1560s the main house was skirted about within the former precinct by smaller houses and industrial premises. Documented among the latter in 1571 were those of Jacob Jansen, credited with introducing the manufacture of `delftware' pottery to London, and the area also attracted other potters; although their workshops have not been found, there are wasters from several sites around the former priory. In 1657 the Jews were officially allowed to return to England, and settled in the precinct and the adjacent parish of St Katherine Cree. A synagogue was built on the site of the prior's kitchen, adjacent to the grand house which seems to have gradually slipped into decay; it collapsed in 1822. The archaeology of the Jewish community is briefly considered. Reconstruction of the buildings forms a major element of the publication, and the pottery analysis links the phases of the site; there is a detailed discussion of the evidence for the earliest tin-glazed pottery production in London. The evidence brought together forms an assessment of the place of Holy Trinity Priory in the history of the Augustinian movement, in the history of London's monasteries and, as far as possible, in the development of Romanesque architecture in Britain. Includes French and German summaries, and separately authored reports on |
