Gisborough
Priory
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Gisborough Priory is located on the eastern
fringes of the medieval market town of Guisborough,
which lies to the north of the North Yorkshire
Moors in the north-east of England. Map Reference
NZ 618 163.
In 1119 AD, Robert De Brus founded and lavishly
endowed a priory for Augustinian canons at Guisborough.
This monastery became one of the most powerful
in Yorkshire and dominated the life and fortune
of both the town of Guisborough and the surrounding
area throughout the Middle Ages.
In 1985 and 1986, Cleveland County Archaeology
Section (now Tees Archaeology) excavated the
west end of the nave as part of a programme of
consolidation and repair of the whole monument
funded by English Heritage. The excavation revealed
the remains of Saxon structures beneath the Priory.
Accompanying these buildings were fragments of
pottery, a coin and a glass bead. The buildings
had been abandoned and the land was ploughed.
The Norman Church was narrower and shorter than
its successors and the only part visible today
is the arched gatehouse. Around 1200 AD, the
Priory was able to rebuild the church on a much
larger scale. The west end had twin towers either
side of a large double doorway. The aisles were
floored with coloured geometric tiles, while
the columns of the arcade stood on sandstone
paving. The north aisle was divided into a series
of small alcoves and these often contained burials.
Several burials were discovered which included
at least two priests, buried in stone coffins
with carved lids and accompanied by a chalice
and paten. At the west end of the nave a bell-founding
pit was discovered and this would allow the bell
to be cast on site and hoisted out of the mould
directly into the belfry.
A stone lined well, seven metres deep may have
been built to safeguard the water supply during
the Scottish Wars when the Priory was given permission
to build a defensive wall around the monastery.
The Priory was also acting as a safe house for
Augustinians at this time.
The church was completely destroyed by fire
in 1286 AD, which was caused by a workman who
was repairing the roof lead. The fire consumed
all of the Priory’s books, plate and vestments.
Red scorch marks can still be seen on the paving
between the pillars.
The fortunes of the Priory recovered enough
to rebuild the church on an even grander scale.
The final structure was complete by the end of
the fourteenth century and measured 111 metres
long and was over 30 metres tall. The east end,
which still stands today, dates to this period
but the west end was less severely burnt and
shows a different architectural style. The cloister
was also rebuilt around this time but the costs
involved exhausted the Priory and no further
reconstructions were attempted.
Little is known of the other buildings of the
Priory, which were positioned to the south of
the church. A dovecot was added in the sixteenth
century and at the Dissolution of the Monasteries
in 1540, Gisborough priory possessed two gatehouses
and a large guesthouse. In 1550 the Priory grounds
were sold to Thomas Chaloner, who incorporated
the standing stonework into his ornamental gardens
for his new mansion at Bow Street. The mansion
has since been demolished but the magnificent
east window was left as a romantic ruin.
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