Sopwell Nunnery Ruins is a Grade II listed building in the St Albans local planning authority area, England. First listed on 27 August 1971. Ruins.

Sopwell Nunnery Ruins

WRENN ID
dreaming-tallow-curlew
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
St Albans
Constituency
St Albans MP: Daisy Cooper (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
27 August 1971
Type
Ruins
Address
Sopwell Nunnery Ruins, Cottonmill Lane
OS grid reference
TL 151 063
Coordinates
51.74385, -0.3341
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Sopwell Nunnery ruins are the unroofed remains of a large, two-storey mansion built in the mid-16th century by Sir Richard Lee, incorporating parts of the original Sopwell Nunnery. The east face features three-light Perpendicular mullioned windows that have been partly blocked or extended during the rebuilding. The walls are constructed of flint with brick headers and dressings, along with a moulded stone string. There are various other foundations and parts of buildings on the site, which are now much overgrown. To the west, there was a large building in the field that has been modernised and subsequently demolished, but medieval foundations remain visible.

Local climate

Sopwell Nunnery Ruins sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 89% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 87% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 31 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 61% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  5. Hare and Hounds Public House Grade II 482 m
  6. The White Lion Public House Grade II 521 m
  7. 81 and 81a, Sopwell Lane Grade II 550 m
  8. 79, Sopwell Lane Grade II 557 m
  9. 71, Sopwell Lane Grade II 572 m
  10. 53 and 55, Sopwell Lane Grade II 610 m