Monument record MDO7736 - Wilkswood Priory, Langton Matravers

"According to Coker the Priory at Wilkswood (SY 995795 - cf. Wilkswood Farm) was founded in 1373 by Roger, grandson of Ingram le Walleys, but it was, as Hutchins says of more ancient foundation ..... in the several records which refer to the community it is variously styled a priory, a chantry or a free chapel or a house of St Leonard. It is possible that there was never a chapel in the Priory itself". <7>

Wilkswood Priory was probably a small community of monks, for which the parish church of St George, Langton Matravers (see SY 97 NE 48) served as a chapel. <3>

A religious house of St. Leonard but of unknown order existed at Wilkswood or Wilcheswood before 1316-17 and is recorded as having a prior and brothers. In 1373 there was a chaplain and two fellows; it was apparently dissolved in 1536. <5>

SY 995795. Wilkswood. There was a priory here referred to as `Domus Beati Leonardi de Wilchuwode' circa 1190 (Middleton Mss) but was probably founded circa 1154 by Cluniac Benedictines (a). The priory had a chantry or free chapel in St George's Church, Langton Matravers. <6>

There are distinct remains of the priory, and the area is not recommended for scheduling. <10>

<1> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1861, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 1, 641 (Monograph). SWX4496.

<2> Page, W (Ed), 1908, The Victoria History of the County of Dorset 3 (Monograph). SWX3.

<3> British Archaeological Association, 1963, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 1 (Serial). SDO18166.

<4> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England), 1970, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume II (South East) Part 1, 141-142 (Monograph). SDO148.

‘These monuments, unless otherwise described below, are small houses and cottages, generally of two storeys with rubble walls and stone-slated roofs, and of the late 18th or early 19th century. Some have a central entrance with a window to each side, but several of those in the village street are built on a narrow frontage with one ground-floor front window only. Buildings numbered on the village maps but for which there is no individual entry below are covered by this general description. … (6) Wilkswood Farm (995795) is an interesting complex of buildings, including two separate early 17th-century houses originally of much the same size and probably similar in plan, grouped round one farmyard (see Sectional Preface, p. xxxvii). In the 17th century it was the home of the Havelland family (Dorset Procs. LII (1930), 20).
The Farmhouse is largely of the mid 19th century, but it incorporates in the western half the walls of a 17th-century house of hall and inner room type. The original hall fireplace, with chamfered stone jambs and four-centred head, and a small window in the W. end wall remain. The lower part of the W. wall projects to the S. into a later addition and may originally have been continued to form a small enclosure in front of the house.
A few yards from the E. end of the farmhouse and at right angles to it is another small 17th-century House of one storey and attic. At the S. end is a chimney-stack, now capped with brick. In the late 17th or early 18th century a Dairy House, also of one storey and attic, was built on the W. side parallel with the farmhouse, forming a small courtyard. The dairy house is divided into two by a stone cross wall; the W. room has a fireplace, two chamfered ceiling beams and a stone staircase. The E. part has a window closed by wooden slats and has probably been used as a cheese room.’

<5> Knowles, D and Neville Hadcock, R, 1971, Medieval religious houses in England and Wales, 462 (Monograph). SDO11249.

<6> Mills, A D, 1977, The place-names of Dorset, Part 1, 36-37 (Monograph). SWX2852.

<7> Saville, R J, The Parish Church of St George Langton Matravers, 4-5 (Monograph). SDO18998.

<8> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1990, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1989, 114 (Serial). SDO89.

‘WILKSWOOD FARM, LANGTON MATRAVERS
Mr Louden of Wilkswood Farm has uncovered a large well 2 m in diameter which is lined with dry-stone Purbeck marble (SY 9863 7957). The well was filed with oil drums to a depth of 5 m.
After examining this feature the writer was shown a window in the west wall of the farmhouse which has recently been unblocked from the inside. Externally it appears to be a small 16th or 17th century window which was later blocked. Internally the splay for a medieval single light window is now evident. This window splay is part of the original construction of the wall.
The wall is almost certainly part of Wilkswood Priory which is frequently mentioned in documents of the 14th-16th centuries (Mills 1986. P. 36).’

<9> Papworth M, 1994, Eastington, Acton, Westwood, Wilkswood, New Barn, Corfe Castle Estate, Wessex Region, 48 (Unpublished document). SWX1388.

This site is variously described in historical documents as a priory, a chantry or a free chapel. It’s history is obscure. It was probably founded as a cell of Cluniac Benedictines in the 12th and a chantry chapel had been established here by the early 14th century. It was a house of St Leonard in 1373 a saint often associated with leper hospitals. As a chantry it would have been founded for a group of brethren under the leadership of a chaplain/warden (Victoria County History, 1908 p98). Chantrys were usually established so that prayers were offered to God for the souls of the founders (Wallis) and their family. The site of the priory buildings probably lies under the present farm. The west gable of the farm is medieval and was probably part of the priory. The footings of a building are visible 40m north-west of the farmhouse where the dirt track has been worn down by vehicles. This site coincides with the position of a second building shown on Treswell’s map of 1585 and may be associated with the priory. Wilkswood Priory was closed as part of the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s.

<10> English Heritage, English Heritage Alternative Action Report, MPPA, 04-Feb-1999 (Scheduling record). SDO18279.

<11> Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, Externally held archive: RCH01/093 RCHME Inventory: Dorset II (South-East) (Unpublished document). SDO17434.

<12> Historic England, Historic England Archive, OS52/F59/1 (Index). SDO14738.

WINDOW IN WEST WALL OF WILKSWOOD FARM? REMAINS OF PRIORY.

<13> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456378 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 8 2022 4:05PM