Visit-a-Church
Key Image St Botolph’s Priory
St Botolph's Church Walk
CO2 7EE Colchester
United Kingdom
Denomination: (in ruins)
Geogr. Coordinates: 51.88735° N, 0.90427° E
Geo Location
Reference year: 1177
Architectural style: Romanesque
Description: Ruined priory church with three entrances and flanking towers to the north and south
Name derivation: From St Botolph (patron saint of travellers)
Building material
  • Flint rubble, limestone and reused Roman bricks
Outside facilities
  • Exterior area used as a graveyard during the 18th and 19th centuries
Noteworthy
  • Main portal, the so-called “Pardon Door”; here pardons were granted on the feast of St Denis (Oct 9th)
History:
About 1093:   Start of conversion of the Anglo-Saxon predecessor church into an Augustine monastery, headed by a prior; first Augustine institution in England
Aug 1116:   First documented record
1177:   Consecration of the Norman-style priory church
21/02/1421:   Relaxation of penance granted for the conservation and repair of the priory
26/05/1536:   Transfer of the dissolved monastery to Thomas Audley
About 1537:   Continued use of the nave as parish church; demolition of choir and remaining priory buildings
1648:   Destruction of the church in the course of a siege during the 2nd English Civil War
2012:   Completion of a two-year restoration period aiming at providing better access to the ruin
Important persons:
Patron:  Botolph (d. c. 680, first abbot of Icanhoe (today probably Boston < “Botulfstown”), Lincolnshire, England)
Saint:  Denis of Paris (d. after 250 in Paris, first bishop of Paris, martyr, one of the 14 Holy Helpers)
Dimensions:
Width [m]:  16.75
Nave Height [m]:  13.7
Length [m]:  53.7
Sources
English Heritage: History of St Botolph’s Priory, Colchester , https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/colchester-st-botolphs-priory/history/, retrieved 07/04/2021
Wikipedia: St. Botolph's Priory, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Botolph's_Priory, retrieved 07/04/2021
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