Croxden Abbey Remains

Croxden Abbey Remains

Cistercian abbey remains, founded in 1176 by Bertram de Verdun and colonised by monks from Aunay in Normandy. The community initially settled at Colton before relocating to Croxden in 1179. The surviving structures date from circa 1179 to circa 1280, with the addition of the Abbot's Lodging in 1335–6. The buildings are constructed of sandstone ashlar.

The abbey comprises the remains of a cruciform plan church with nave, aisles, transepts, and a choir of chevet type, together with the principal monastic buildings arranged around the cloister: sacristy, chapter house, parlour, slype, dormitory undercroft, reredorter, day stair, warming house, Abbot's lodging, and infirmary. A road currently divides the church and site into two parts.

Church

The west end retains a pointed west doorway of four roll and hollow moulded orders with hood mould. The bases and capitals indicate the former positions of nook shafts. Three tall lancets survive, with the central lancet positioned above the west doorway but not extending as low as the others. The lancets and doorway are flanked by two buttresses. A small pointed and moulded doorway provides access to the south aisle.

Two surviving bays of south aisle wall arcading (the second and third bays from the west) display keel moulded engaged columns with moulded capitals, from which spring simple chamfered vaulting ribs. The easternmost bay contains a small door that originally communicated with the cloisters. The exterior features three moulded orders with stiff leaf capitals.

The south transept contains two tall lancets in the south wall, one at the south end of the west wall, and the south jamb of a second lancet. A ground floor round-headed doorway in the centre of the south wall leads to the sacristy. A first floor segmental pointed arch doorway on the west side of the south wall opens to the former dormitory and was originally flanked by nook shafts, of which the capitals remain. Capitals and corbels throughout the south transept display palmette decoration, and the vaulting ribs are roll moulded. A keeled central column flanked by nook shafts leads to the east aisle, with a moulded capital.

The east end originally consisted of an apse ambulatory and radiating chapels forming a chevet, the outline of which is displayed on the ground. Only a portion of the north-west chapel remains standing. This chapel features a keel moulded column with moulded base and a heavily weathered corbel, from which spring roll and fillet moulded vaulting ribs bearing heavily weathered stiff leaf decoration. The exterior retains a palmette capital from a former nook shaft that flanked the west side of the north window. Four medieval coffins and the remains of a fifth are laid out in the ambulatory.

East Range of Cloister

The east range comprises, from north to south, the chapter house, parlour, slype, and dormitory undercroft, with the dormitory situated above.

The chapter house measures five bays by three bays, aligned east to west. The west wall and the two western bays of the north wall survive. The west wall features a central pointed doorway to the cloister, flanked by pointed windows with moulded jambs. Stiff leaf capitals mark the positions of former nook shafts flanking the door and windows. Moulded bases indicate the former positions of piers comprising eight shafts. Two bays of wall arcading survive on the north side.

The parlour consists of two bays with roll and fillet and keel moulded vaulting ribs. A pointed doorway in the west wall, opening to the cloister, is decorated with lobed relief work over the arch.

The slype comprises four bays with transverse chamfered rib vaulting.

The dormitory undercroft measures four bays by two bays, aligned north to south. The north wall, west wall, the north half of the east wall, and the stubs of the south wall survive. One complete lancet and the remains of another are visible in the east wall; one lancet appears in the west wall, and the jambs of two lancets survive in the south wall. A blocked segmental pointed door arch appears in the south bay of the west wall, with a corresponding former doorway on the east wall. A doorway opens from the west bay of the north wall. Vaulting ribs spring from moulded corbels.

South Range and Associated Buildings

The south range contains, from east to west, a spiral day stair providing access to the dormitory, a warming house with a large fireplace and two square-headed windows, and a further room with a fireplace flanked by two blind panels with roll and fillet moulded nook shafts.

The reredorter is located south-east of the east range, with an exposed drainage channel to the south, a door in the east wall, and a corbel and springing of vaulting ribs in the north-west corner.

The Abbot's Lodging, built in 1335–6, stands east of the reredorter. It comprises four bays with three central piers. The three eastern bays were rib vaulted, whilst the west bay, which rises two storeys, was divided off by a wall. A spiral stair is located in the north-west corner.

The infirmary stands north of the Abbot's Lodging and originally comprised seven bays with rib vaulting, the ribs springing from internal buttresses. A drainage channel from the infirmary reredorter extends to the south. A two-bay rib vaulted chapel originally projected to the east.

Precinct

Remains of a possible precinct wall survive to the south of the abbey.