Bilsington Priory was a small community of Augustinian canons (not monks!) situated on the clay hills that cluster at the edges of Romney Marsh, a 100 square mile wetland in south-west Kent. Despite its relative insignificance, it was associated with a host of powerful people. The institution was founded in 1253 by John Mansel, a royal favourite of Henry III who himself attended the consecration ceremony. Following dissolution under the Lesser Monasteries Act (1536), the site passed through the hands of various secular owners, including Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (1533-55), and Anthony St Leger, Lord Deputy of Ireland under Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I. By the nineteenth-century, the priory remains had been incorporated into a farmhouse and adjacent agricultural buildings, until it was repaired and restored as part of a country house in 1906. I first visited the site in early December 2021, returning a week later with Lynn and Kevin Cornwell, field officers from Hastings Area Archaeological Research Group. With the permission of the current owner, Libby Lawson, and a license from Historic England, a geophysical survey commenced in early 2022.
The stated aim was to locate buried remains of the priory church, cloister, and accompanying monastic buildings. Our investigations centred upon the upstanding remains, a substantial L-shaped block of Kentish ragstone divided into several floors, with a large central hall. Multiple suggestions have been put forward for its use, including an infirmary or a hall of the prior. Two techniques were used: a resistivity survey was carried out immediately around the upstanding remains whilst a magnetometer was employed for the surrounding fields. It was hoped that the survey would at least locate some priory remains. Nothing conclusive, however, was uncovered in this regard.
1 The main upstanding remains at Bilsington seen from the north-west.
One possible building, situated adjacent to the upstanding remains, may relate to the priory. A partial footprint of an agricultural building, shown on the 1898 OS Map, has been proven to extend further north-east than previously known. As is often the case, only excavation will provide any further details. The surrounding fields offered more relevant, and tangible discoveries. Evidence of medieval ridge and furrow, lost field boundaries, and several prehistoric features will allow fragmentary reconstruction of the monastic estate and previous land-use. Whilst inspecting the upstanding remains, graffiti from the Durham Light Infantry was uncovered on the roof rafters. It was later confirmed by the DLI Archives that the regiment had indeed been stationed in south-east England in 1940 in the aftermath of Dunkirk. The geophysical survey revealed the priory site had been extensively disturbed – most plausibly during this occupation – making any results difficult to interpret.
2 Graffiti on the roof rafters of the upstanding remains.
This geophysics survey is part of a larger PhD project, based at Durham University, to integrate the surviving archaeological and documentary evidence for Bilsington Priory. I am enormously grateful for the financial support of the Council for British Archaeology South-East without whom this survey would not be possible. Thanks must also be given to Libby and Chris Lawson, Zena Hale, Kevin and Lynn Cornwell, Eva and Steve Corbett, Roy Dunmall, Mark Freeman, Mick Hide, and Bob Washington. Full details of the survey can be found in a report submitted to Historic England.
Alexander Hibberts, University of Durham