Fieldwork project: Monastic granges
For this fieldwork project we are looking at not one but two sites. Beaureparie (Bearkpark, near Durham) was the country seat of the Priors of Durham in the medieval period. There was space for monks to escape the bustle of the city and spend time in the countryside. The site, which still survives in a ruined state, included a manor house, a chapel and other buildings. Although partly excavated in the 1970s there is still much to discover at this important but neglected site.
Further south, on Teesside, Low Grange (Billingham) was a rural estate centre owned by Durham Priory. In the medieval period it was the site of a substantial house and associated farm buildings. Sadly, the site was demolished in the 1960s and little survives above the surface today except some poorly understood earthworks.
Further south, on Teesside, Low Grange (Billingham) was a rural estate centre owned by Durham Priory. In the medieval period it was the site of a substantial house and associated farm buildings. Sadly, the site was demolished in the 1960s and little survives above the surface today except some poorly understood earthworks.