Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ancient monument and are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. They are considered to be the most important monastic remains in Cheshire.
The priory was established as an Augustinian foundation in the 12th century, and was raised to the status of an abbey in 1391. The abbey was closed in 1536, as part of the dissolution of the monasteries. Nine years later the surviving structures, together with the manor of Norton, were purchased by Sir Richard Brooke, who built a Tudor house on the site, incorporating part of the abbey. This was replaced in the 18th century by a Georgian house. The Brooke family left the house in 1921, and it was partially demolished in 1928. In 1966 the site was given in trust for the use of the general public.
Excavation of the site began in 1971, and became the largest to be carried out by modern methods on any European monastic site. It revealed the foundations and lower parts of the walls of the monastery buildings and the abbey church. Important finds included: a Norman doorway; a finely carved arcade; a floor of mosaic tiles, the largest floor area of this type to be found in any modern excavation; the remains of the kiln where the tiles were fired; a bell casting pit used for casting the bell; and a large medieval statue of Saint Christopher.
The priory was opened to the public as a visitor attraction in the 1970s. The 42-acre site, run by an independent charitable trust, includes a museum, the excavated ruins, and the surrounding garden and woodland. In 1984 the separate walled garden was redesigned and opened to the public. Norton Priory offers a programme of events, exhibitions, educational courses, and outreach projects. In August 2016, a larger and much extended museum opened.
History
Priory
In 1115 a community of Augustiniancanons was founded in the burh of Runcorn by William fitz Nigel, the second Baron of Halton and Constable of Chester, on the south bank of the River Mersey where it narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. This was the only practical site where the Mersey could be crossed between Warrington and Birkenhead, and the archaeologists Fraser Brown and Christine Howard-Davis consider it likely that the canons cared for travellers and pilgrims crossing the river. They also speculate that William may have sought to profit from the tolls paid by these travellers.
The priory was the second religious house to be founded in the Earldom of Chester; the first was the BenedictineSt Werburgh's Abbey at Chester, founded in 1093 by Hugh Lupus, the first Earl of Chester. The priory at Runcorn had a double dedication, to Saint Bertelin and to Saint Mary. The authors of the Victoria County History suggest that the dedication to St Bertelin was taken from a Saxon church already existing on the site. In 1134 William fitz William, the third Baron of Halton, moved the priory to a site in Norton, a village 3 miles (5 km) to the east of Runcorn. The reasons for the move are uncertain. It may have been that fitz William wanted greater control of the strategic crossing of the Mersey at Runcorn Gap, or it may have been because the canons wanted a more secluded site. Nothing remains of the site of the original priory in Runcorn.
The site for the new priory was in damp, scrubby woodland. There is no evidence that it was agricultural land, or that it contained any earlier buildings. The first priority was to clear and drain the land. There were freshwater springs near the site, and these would have provided fresh running water for latrines and domestic purposes. They would also have been used to create watercourses and moated enclosures, some of which might have been used for orchards and herb gardens. Sandstone for building the priory was available at an outcrop nearby, sand for mortar could be obtained from the shores of the River Mersey, and boulder clay on the site provided material for floor and roof tiles.
Excavation has revealed remnants of oak, some of it from trees hundreds of years old. It is likely that this came from various sources; some from nearby, and some donated from the forests at Delamere and Macclesfield. The church and monastic buildings were constructed in Romanesque style.
The priory was endowed by William fitz Nigel with properties in Cheshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Oxfordshire, including the churches of St Mary, Great Budworth and St Michael, Chester. By 1195 the priory owned eight churches, five houses, the tithe of at least eight mills, the rights of common in four townships, and one-tenth of the profits from the Runcorn ferry. The prior supplied the chaplain to the hereditary Constables of Chester and to the Barons of Halton.
During the 12th century, the main benefactors of the priory were the Barons of Halton, but after 1200 their gifts reduced, mainly because they transferred their interests to the Cistercianabbey at Stanlow, which had been founded in 1178 by John fitz Richard, the sixth baron. Archaeologist J. Patrick Greene states that it is unlikely that any of the Barons of Halton were buried in Norton Priory. The only members of the family known to be buried there are Richard, brother of Roger de Lacy, the seventh baron, and a female named Alice. The identity of Alice has not been confirmed, but Greene considers that she was the niece of William, Earl Warenne, the 5th Earl of Surrey and therefore a relative of the Delacy family, who were at that time the Barons of Halton. The earl made a grant to the priory of 30 shillings a year in order to "maintain a pittance for her soul". As the role played by the Barons of Halton declined, so the importance of members of the Dutton family increased. The Duttons had been benefactors since the priory's foundation, and from the 13th century they became the principal benefactors. There were two main branches of the family, one in Dutton and the other in Sutton Weaver. The Dutton family had their own burial chapel in the priory, and burial in the chapel is specified in three wills made by members of the family. The Aston family of Aston were also important benefactors.
The priory buildings, including the church, were extended during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. It has been estimated that the original community would have consisted of 12 canons and the prior; this increased to around 26 members in the later part of the 12th century, making it one of the largest houses in the Augustinian order. By the end of the century the church had been lengthened, a new and larger chapter house had been built (I* on the plan), and a large chapel had been added to the east end of the church (N). In about 1200 the west front of the church was enlarged (M), a bell tower was built and guest quarters were constructed. It is possible that the chapel at the east end was built to accommodate the holy cross of Norton, a relic which was reputed to have miraculous healing powers. A fire in 1236 destroyed the timber-built kitchen (Q) and damaged the west range of the monastic buildings and the roof of the church. The kitchen was rebuilt and the other damage was rapidly repaired.
Abbey
During the first half of the 14th century, the priory suffered from financial mismanagement and disputes with the Dutton family, exacerbated by a severe flood in 1331 that reduced the income from the priory's lands. The direct effects of the Black Death are not known, but during the 1350s financial problems continued. These were party mitigated with the selling of the advowson of the church at Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Matters further improved from 1366 with the appointment of Richard Wyche as prior. He was active in the governance of the wider Augustinian order and in political affairs, and in 1391 was involved in raising the priory's status to that of a mitred abbey. A mitred abbey was one in which the abbot was given permission to use pontifical insignia, including the mitre, ring and pontifical staff, and to give the solemn benediction provided a bishop was not present. It was rare for an Augustinian house to be elevated to this status. Out of about 200 Augustinian houses in England and Wales, 28 were abbeys and only seven of these became mitred. The only other mitred abbey in Cheshire was that of St Werburgh in Chester. In 1379 and in 1381 there were 15 canons at Norton and in 1401 there were 16, making it the largest Augustinian community in the northwest of England. By this time the barony of Halton had passed by a series of marriages to the duchy of Lancaster. John of Gaunt, the 1st Duke of Lancaster and 14th Baron of Halton, agreed to be the patron of the newly formed abbey. At this date the church was 287 feet (87 m) long; it was the second longest Augustinian church in northwest England, exceeded only by the 328 feet (100 m) long church at Carlisle. Towards the end of the 14th century, the abbey acquired a "giant" statue of Saint Christopher. Three wills from members of the Dutton family from this period survive; they are dated 1392, 1442 and 1527, and in each will money was bequeathed to the foundation.
The abbey's fortunes went into decline after the death of Richard Wyche in 1400. Wyche was succeeded by his prior, John Shrewsbury, who "does not seem to have done more than keep the house in order". Frequent floods had reduced its income, and in 1429 the church and other abbey buildings were described as being "ruinous". Problems continued through the rest of the 15th century, resulting in the sale of more advowsons. By 1496 the number of canons had been reduced to nine, and to seven in 1524. In 1522 there were reports of disputes between the abbot and the prior. The abbot was accused of "wasting the house's resources, nepotism, relations with women" and other matters, while the prior admitted to "fornication and lapses in the observation of the Rule". The prior threatened the abbot with a knife, but then left the abbey. The physical state of the buildings continued to deteriorate.
The records of the priory and abbey have not survived, but the excavations and the study of other documents have produced evidence of how the monastic lands were managed. The principal source of income came from farming. This income was required not only for the building and upkeep of the property, but also for feeding the canons, their guests, and visiting pilgrims. The priory also had an obligation from its foundation to house travellers fording the Mersey. It has been estimated that nearly half of the demesne lands were used for arable farming. The grain grown on priory lands was ground by a local windmill and by a watermill outside the priory lands. Excavations revealed part of a stone handmill in the area used in the monastic kitchen. In addition to orchards and herb gardens in the moated enclosures, it is likely that beehives were maintained for the production of honey. There is evidence from bone fragments that cattle, sheep, pigs, geese and chickens were reared and consumed, but few bone fragments from deer, rabbits or hares have been discovered. Horseflesh was not eaten. Although few fish bones have been discovered, it is known from documentary evidence that the canons owned a number of local fisheries. The fuel used consisted of wood and charcoal, and turf from marshes over which the priory had rights of turbary (to cut turf).