2017

TF9839 : Remains of Binham Priory, Norfolk

taken 7 years ago, near to Binham, Norfolk, England

Remains of Binham Priory, Norfolk
Remains of Binham Priory, Norfolk
Binham Priory was the home to a community of Benedictine Monks (up to 14) for over 400 years and was founded in about 1091 by the Norman baron Peter de Valognes on land given to him by his uncle William the Conqueror. Work started in the 1090’s and was completed shortly before 1244.
The priory was closed by Henry VIII and sold to Sir Thomas Paston who dismantled most of the buildings. The nave continued in use as Binham’s parish church. The west front of the priory is Early English and was probably built between 1227 and 1244 by Prior Richard de Parco.
The church is built of local flint and Barnack limestone from Northamptonshire. The change from the Norman building to the Early English style can be seen running diagonally upwards along the church walls.

The church contains oak benches with poppy heads and the two benches near the altar are 16th century and have misericords.

To the side of the present church are the remains of the priory cloisters and the buildings which surrounded them. At the far end of the ruins are the central tower and transepts and the original east end, all of which were pulled down after the priory was closed in 1539.

Box pews were introduced in 1809 when the floor was raised and were removed again in the 1930’s when the floor was lowered. The rood screen is in various positions around the church.
The organ was built for East Harling church by Mack of Yarmouth in 1880 and was brought here and re-built by David Miller MBE in 1982.

The Rood Screen
The surviving painted dado panels of the rood screen are part of what would have been a large spectacular structure. The screen was a gift from two monks of Binham and the inclusion of a painting of Henry VI on the screen shows it must have been painted after 1471 (the date of his death), probably around 1500. During the Reformation the screen was whitewashed and overwritten with text from Cranmer’s Bible of 1539. The whitewash has flaked off over the years and the original painted figures have begun to show through.

See other images of Binham Priory

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Christine Matthews and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Village, Rural settlement Religious sites Primary Subject: Priory other tags: Ruin Tree Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Remains of St [55] · Norfolk [45] Title Clusters: · Remains of Binham Priory, Norfolk [9] ·
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TF9839, 256 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Christine Matthews   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Thursday, 27 April, 2017   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 8 May, 2017
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 982 399 [100m precision]
WGS84: 52:55.2005N 0:56.8389E
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 982 399
View Direction
Southeast (about 135 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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