An interesting archaeological dig at Abbey House, next to Abbey Field at King's Bruton

The Bruton Abbey Project - A site evaluation in Abbey House garden.

The abbey project starts this year with archaeologists from Pre-Construct Archaeology who carried out a small excavation in the garden of Abbey House (built in 1822) which lies within the boundary of the Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM). Although remote from the former monastic buildings and St Mary’s Church, it was equally important as part of the claustral complex and its daily life.

The results of the excavation will be contained in a report to Historic England identifying the finds and their significance including a piece of dressed stone from the Abbey or Berkeley Mansion. The report is likely to pose more questions, than give us answers, as to what lies beneath the ground behind the wall, increased in height by Lady Berkeley to 6 metres.

It is possible that the area contained the carpenter’s workshops, stores, the mason’s yard and the smithy, always busy during the construction and maintenance of the abbey and mansion. It is also possible that the wall is all that remains of a great tithe barn with dimensions and buttresses similar to the barns at Tisbury, Bradford on Avon, Pilton, and the more distant Augustinian one at Frocester Court in Gloucestershire

Roger Gallannaugh -  Retired Architect, Ex-Governor and Old Brutonian

Flickr album: Archaeological Dig at Abbey House - March 2025 | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default Skin

Roger has written a book about The Bruton Abbey Project, and there was an interesting article in The Dolphin 2024.

Read more about The Bruton Abbey Project here

#KSBArchives #KSBCommunity