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HER 595 - Chertsey Abbey (Benedictine) pre AD 666-1537
Scheduled Monument
Chertsey Abbey was a Benedictine foundation dedicated to St Peter. It was first mentioned in AD666 but this community was destroyed by the Danes. It was refounded before AD964; the abbey was rebuilt in 1110 and in 1537 the monks were transferred to Bisham and finally dispersed after a year. The church had only been slightly altered since 1110. Fishponds were dug in 1308.
After 1537 the buildings were demolished for building material and Oatlands was found to have foundations built almost entirely of Abbey debris. A house built on the site in the 17th century was demolished in 1810.
In 1853, stone digging on the site led to the discovery of a pavement of encaustic tiles for which the Abbey is now famous. Excavations were made by the Surrey Archaeology Society in 1855 when clearance the south side of the church discovered several burials in stones coffins.
Further excavations in 1861 established the part-plan of the Norman church and a south chapel (wrongly identified as the chapter house). Coffins, architectural debris and walling were left exposed and incorporated into ornamental gardening.
The Abbey site was excavated in late 1954 by Group Captain Knocker in advance of building development. He confirmed the 1861 plan of the church and established that the cloisters were on the north of the church (previous plans show a conjectural conventional positioning to the south).
During 1922 a kiln for manufacturing the encaustic tiles was excavated by Dr Eric Gardner (HER 594) and from 1928-33 excavations by the Rev A T Gardner and others revealed a number of domestic ovens or roofing tile kilns.
| Record Type | Monument |
|---|---|
| Scheduled Monument Number | 23002 |
| Condition | Poor |
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| Grid Reference | TQ 043 671 |
|---|---|
| Parish | Chertsey |
| Parish (old name) | Chertsey |
| District | Runnymede, Surrey |
| Map Square | TQ06NW |
| Evidence Type | Monument Type | Date Range: |
|---|---|---|
| DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE EARTHWORK SUB SURFACE DEPOSIT | ABBEY FISHPOND MOAT Abbey Barn | Medieval Saxon 14th Century Late Saxon Medieval 1066-1540 Norman |
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This is the record of an archaeological site, find, a historic building or a park and garden from Surrey’s Historic Environment Record (HER).The HER is the most up-to-date and comprehensive record of known archaeology within Surrey, and a great starting point for research into any aspect of the historic environment of Surrey.
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