THE KENILWORTH HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY will be hosting free guided walks of Kenilworth St. Mary’s Priory/Abbey ruins on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September 2022 at 3pm in support Heritage Open Days. Take a walk back in time to when Kenilworth St. Mary’s Priory, later Abbey, was one of the most prestigious Augustinian houses… Read More Heritage Open Days 2022
This then & now comparison shows an etching of the Tantara Gatehouse, one of the largest surviving fragments of the old Abbey of St Mary, Kenilworth, matched as closely as possible to its modern day vantage point in June 2021. A more precisely matched ‘now’ vantage point can’t quite be achieved, as a large yew… Read More Tantara Gatehouse Etching – Then & Now
KENILWORTH HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY will be hosting free guided walks of Kenilworth St. Mary’s Priory / Abbey ruins on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September 2021 at 3pm in support of Heritage Open Days. Take a walk back in time to when Kenilworth St. Mary’s Priory, later Abbey, was one of the most prestigious… Read More Heritage Open Days – Free guided walks of Kenilworth St. Mary’s Abbey ruins
This undated image of St Nicholas’ Churchyard, was provided to KHAS from the collection of the late Reg Palmer. It shows the path running down from the High Street from the north-west towards the Norman west door of St Nicholas’ Church, which was rescued from the Abbey and inserted into the church’s tower by Robert… Read More St Nicholas’ Churchyard – Then & Now
This wonderful photo was snapped by Ian Fenwick, while on a recent lockdown walk. It shows the Abbey lapidarium wall, taken with the sun at the perfect angle for the shadows to accentuate the details of the mouldings: If you are curious about the lapidarium wall, you can find some pictures of it being re-assembled… Read More Lockdown Photo: The Abbey Wall
This image of the lake at Oxpen Meadow, Abbey Fields, was provided to KHAS from the collection of the late Reg Palmer. Formerly a fishpond belonging to the Abbey of St Mary up until the dissolution, Robin Leach dates its draining to become the oxpen meadow as c1650. Harry Sunley tells us in A Kenilworth… Read More Oxpen Meadow – Then & Now
The Abbey ‘Barn’ Museum will be open again for Heritage Open Days on Saturday September 21 and Sunday September 22, from 2.30 to 4.30 pm. Kenilworth Weekly News today ran a feature on the Society’s forthcoming activities over the weekend. The article also covers the ever successful Abbey Ruins walks last weekend, which were hosted… Read More Abbey ‘Barn’ Museum open for final weekend of Heritage Open Days
A reminder that, as part of the commemorations of the 900th anniversary of the founding of the Abbey, members of KHAS will be hosting free guided walks of the Priory/Abbey ruins today, Sunday 15th September 2019. Take a walk back in time to when Kenilworth St. Mary’s Priory, later Abbey, was one of the most… Read More Barn Museum and Abbey Walk
To mark the 900th year of the Foundation, there will be a Celebration in S. Nicholas’ Church of “The Masse” at 10 in the morning of the 28th of August, the feast day of S Augustine of Hippo to whom, with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Priory, later Abbey, was dedicated. The order of service will be that… Read More Kenilworth Abbey 900
This image of an archway adjoining the Abbey Gatehouse was provided to KHAS from the collection of the late Reg Palmer. The comparison shows two images of the archway into the sunken chamber beside the Abbey Gatehouse, sadly showing visible signs of deterioration to the stone work between the two images. The ‘then’ image above… Read More Abbey Gatehouse Archway – Then & Now
Members heading south in the summer may well be interested in this invitation from Chichester Cathedral to visit its library. The book of which they are most proud is the ‘Kenilworth Missal’, which figures in their advertisement in the current “Friends’ Newsletter”. The leaflet refers to regular monthly Open Days: “…these are on the first… Read More Kenilworth Missal at Chichester Cathedral
These images of the restoration of the Abbey’s Lapidarium Wall were provided to KHAS from the collection of the late Reg Palmer. A lapidarium (from the Latin lapis, meaning stone) is defined as a place where stone monuments and fragments of archæological interest are exhibited. The images show the rebuilding of the wall in 1984,… Read More Rebuilding the Lapidarium Wall – Then & Now
This year we are commemorating the 900th Anniversary of the initial founding of Kenilworth Priory as described in Canon John Strecche’s 15thC Chronicle. Members of KHAS will be hosting free guided walks of the Priory/Abbey ruins on the following dates: Sunday 28th July and Saturday and Sunday 14th and 15th September 2019. Take a walk… Read More Forthcoming Events
This 1980s ‘then’ image of the surviving part of the Abbey’s chapter house wall was provided to KHAS from the collection of the late Reg Palmer. The ‘now’ image was taken in the Summer of 2018. The area of the Abbey is a scheduled ancient monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archæological Areas Act 1979.… Read More The Chapter House Wall – Then & Now
This Then & Now comparison attempts to match the view of St Mary’s Abbey, Kenilworth as captured an engraving by brothers Samuel and Nathaniel Buck in 1729. The engraving is taken from their work Views of Ruins of Castles & Abbeys in England, Part 2, 1726-1739. Prolific antiquarians, the Yorkshire born Buck brothers travelled the… Read More Buck Print of the Abbey – Then & Now
The Abbey Gatehouse, sometimes known as the Tantara gatehouse, is one of the few surviving parts of the Abbey to still exist above ground and has the added distinction of being one of the oldest structures in Kenilworth apart from the castle and parts of St Nicholas’ church. Work has been carried out in recent… Read More Work to begin on Kenilworth Abbey Gatehouse
Heritage Open Days 2016 Kenilworth Abbey ‘Barn’ Museum & Heritage Centre open both Saturday and Sunday 10th & 11th September 2.30 to 4.30 pm. On Saturday 10th there will also be a free guided walk of the Abbey ruins at 3pm. If you have ever wondered who built Kenilworth Abbey, why it is sometimes called… Read More Free Guided Walk of the Abbey – 10th September
Another shot attributed to J. Tarver from 1963, this time of St Nicholas Church taken from within the Abbey ruins, with matching a 2016 counterpart shot. It is not known when St Nicholas’ Church was established. The nearby Priory (later Abbey) of St Mary was established by Geoffrey de Clinton in 1122 and we do… Read More St Nicholas Church – Then & Now
This Then & Now set is part 2 to the earlier part 1 posting here: http://www.khas.co.uk/garden-rest-stonework-pt1-now/ According to The Abbey of St Mary guidebook by E. Carey-Hill (Odiboure Press, 1985) “What is now known as the Lapidarum Wall was completely rebuilt from its foundations, including the bench, in 1984. The work was carried out by… Read More Garden of Rest Stonework part 2 – Then & Now
According to The Abbey of St Mary guidebook by E. Carey-Hill (Odibourne Press, 1985) “When the north cloister wall of 1890 was rebuilt in 1984, the carved stones were grouped according to architectural type”. He goes on to say “Not all examples of each type have been exposed, as some are buried in the wall… Read More Garden of Rest Stonework part 1 – Then & Now
This pair of pictures from 1963 and 2016 shows the Abbey’s Tantara Gatehouse with St Nicholas’ Church in the background. The 1963 shot is labelled as having been taken by a J. Tarver. As can clearly be seen from the ‘then’ picture, the gatehouse had become overgrown and it was later designated as dangerous and fenced… Read More St. Nicholas Church from South-West, 1963 – Then & Now
Free Guided Walk – 31st July 2016 A reminder: On 31st July 2016 KHAS members will be hosting a free guided walk of Kenilworth Abbey ruins in support of the CBA’s Festival of Archaeology 2016. Take a walk back in time to when Kenilworth’s St. Mary’s Priory, later Abbey, was one of the wealthiest and… Read More Free Guided Walk of Kenilworth Abbey – 31st July
In the days when the Abbey Fields was a patchwork of farmers’ fields, the ‘tumbledown’ or ‘clappergate’ stile shown in this old postcard was situated in the Abbey’s Tantara Gatehouse to prevent cattle straying out of the fields. A larger field gate was situated in the main archway. In June 1973 it was destroyed by… Read More ‘Clappergate’ Stile – Then & Now
Today there is comparatively little to see above ground of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in the Abbey Fields. Following the Abbey Excavations in 1840, in the 1880s and in the 1920s, in which the ruins were steadily uncovered for the first time since their destruction following the Reformation, the ruins have long since… Read More Abbey Ruins 1960s – Then & Now
This shot from 1963 shows the Abbey building known as the ‘barn’, clad in ivy and bathed in the July sun. There appears to be a rickety fence and style between the barn and the stone wall opposite. Other than that, and the loss of a stone cross grave stone head, the scene is relatively… Read More The Abbey ‘Barn’ – Then & Now
Kenilworth Abbey ‘Barn’ Museum & Heritage Centre open both Saturday and Sunday 10th & 11th September 2.30 to 4.30 pm. On Saturday 10th there will also be a free guided walk of the Abbey ruins at 3pm. If you have ever wondered who built Kenilworth Abbey, why it is sometimes called a Priory, what it… Read More Heritage Open Days 2016
Appeal for Information These carved stone mediaeval heads were discovered during excavations at Kenilworth Priory. They were housed in the ‘Barn’ museum in the Abbey Fields, Kenilworth, from which they were stolen in December 1992. At the time of writing they are still missing. Leamington Spa Police (+44 1926 451111) would be pleased to hear… Read More Appeal: Stolen Mediaeval Stone Heads from Kenilworth Priory