THE
P RTAL
June 2017
Page 7
Boxgrove Priory
Eliza Trebelcock has this suggests you visit if you are
anywhere near Chichester in Sussex this summer
A
t the end of a track, well just gravel really, you will discover the Priory. It is well signed and not
difficult to find. The ruins are in beautiful countryside and when I visited, there were lambs gambolling
in the adjacent field. The ruins, the field, the lambs, the ewes, all made for the perfect setting; a real piece of
old England.
There I go, becoming all romantic, but it is a lovely
spot, and well worth a visit. The village of Boxgrove
itself is beautiful, nestling at the foot of the South
Downs. The main ruin still standing is the lodging
house of Boxgrove Priory.
Boxgrove was a Benedictine priory dedicated to
St Mary the Virgin and St Blaise. It was founded in
about 1117 by Robert de la Haye, Lord of Halnaker.
As a priory, it was really a cell of the abbey at Lessay,
Normandy, in France. When Boxgrove was founded, storage. The support for the vault of the undercroft can
it had just three monks! Roger St John increased this be seen clearly at the north end of the building.
number in 1149, but Boxgrove remained a cell of the
The west part of the monastic church was demolished
French abbey.
in the 18th century but the chancel, central tower,
Edward III seized foreign monastic properties transepts and easternmost bay of the nave survive.
in 1339. This act led to Boxgrove becoming an Today they serve as the impressive CofE Parish Church.
independent House. However, it was never a large Inside, there is a model of the monastic buildings as
House. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries they would have been prior to the Dissolution.
in 1537/8, the buildings and land at Boxgrove were
The Church is also worth a visit. It is beautiful and
granted to Sir Thomas West, Baron de la Warr. Today
all that is left of the monastic buildings is the lodging contains some interesting features. In the transepts, the
house and part of the church and chapter house. They ceilings date from the 1530s. There is a superb late 12 th
are grouped around a small field, which is the site of century Choir of the old monastic church, while nearby
is the Chantry. It was going to be the last resting place
the cloister of the monastery.
of Thomas and Elizabeth de La Warr, but the Priory
The 14th century lodging house stands alone. It is was dissolved, rendering their wishes obsolete. Do not
roofless, but the north and south gable ends still stand miss the Boxgrove Labyrinth. There is a helpful leaflet
to their full height. The building originally had two to tell you all about it. For more information visit www.
storeys, with an undercroft, or vaulted cellar, used for bit.ly/visit-boxgrove. You will not regret your visit.