COMMUNITY ARCHAEOLOGY

SITE INSPECTIONS ON GROUNDWORKS AT

RUFFORD ABBEY, 2009 AND 2010

NCA-048
Ursilla Spence and Emily Gillott
June 2015
i

Contents

1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0

Introduction
Site Location
Site Background
Description of Works
Site Inspections
Conclusions

Page no.
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2
3
5
5

Acknowledgements
Thanks to Linda Hardy, Gareth Broome and John Clegg for updating us on progress of works.

1.0 Introduction
In 2009 a series of alterations to the modern landscape of Rufford Country Park
were proposed, some of which involved work within the scheduled area. The works
were relatively minimal and it was therefore decided to roll them together into one
application for Scheduled Monument Consent, with the actual groundworks to be
undertaken under NCC supervision. The most significant piece of work was the
provision of a new fence around an ancient cedar tree on the Abbey Lawn for health
and safety purposes. The remainder of the works involved fencing on the Abbey
meadow and the provision of a new hedge to the Arboretum. The works and an
assessment of their archaeological potential were described in a document provided
by Ursilla Spence in support of the proposal for SMC and dated 2/11/09. This was
accompanied by a plan of the works.
2.0 Site Location
Rufford Abbey Country Park is located approximately 1.6 miles to the south of
Ollerton village (see Fig 1) in the parish of Rufford, and formerly in the Liberty of
Rufford.
The private estate of Rufford Abbey and Park was bought by
Nottinghamshire County Council in 1952, and the Abbey ruins transferred to the care
of the Ministry of Works in 1956.
The site is now jointly managed by
Nottinghamshire County Council and English Heritage, with the abbey remains in
English Heritage guardianship. The Scheduled Ancient Monument covers 10.3
hectares of the Country Park, and encompasses the areas known as the Abbey
Meadow, Abbey Lawn and Long Meadow.
The underlying geology is the Nottingham Castle Sandstone Formation. To the east
is a valley formed by the Rainworth Water where superficial alluvial deposits make
the soil more fertile. Most of the Scheduled Ancient Monument area is covered by
either grassed lawn or wildflower meadow, including an area of rare acid grassland.
The whole site occupies a gentle slope downwards from east to west, to the valley of
the Rainworth Water. The Abbey Lawn is a level area to the north of the standing
ruins. This area formerly contained the north wing of the house, the abbey church,
and extensive gardens to the later house. The area where the cedar is located is
away from the known building foundations in an area of former formal garden. The
Arboretum lies to the east of the Abbey Buildings, adjacent to the modern formal
gardens, while the sheep or Abbey meadow is the piece of grassland north east of
the Abbey buildings, adjacent to the main path to Rufford Mill.

Fig 1: The location of Rufford Country park within the wider landscape. (Image from
www.openstreetmap.org)

3.0 Site Background

Little is known about the area of the Country Park prior to the foundation of the
abbey in 1146. There is known to have been a village in the vicinity which is
mentioned in the Domesday Book as a manor in its own right, but the precise
location of this village is not known for certain. The abbey was founded by Gilbert de
Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln, and completed in 1170. It was a Cistercian foundation, a
daughter house of Rieuvaulx and was dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. After the
monastery had become established the village of Rufford (and several others in the
area) were abandoned.
Rufford was a fairly small abbey, but moderately wealthy, and one of the first to be
affected by the Dissolution in 1536. It passed firstly into the hands of the Talbot
family and then to the Saviles who built their country estate around the medieval
ruins. Part of the medieval fabric survives where it was incorporated into the grand
house built by the Sixth Earl of Shrewsbury. This includes the West Cloister range,
described by English Heritage as the best preserved among all the Cistercian
abbeys in England (www.english-heritage.org.uk). The later country house boasted
extensive gardens, and many pictures and photographs survive of the 19th and early

20th century phase of gardens in particular. The estate was auctioned off in 1938,
and partial demolition carried out in 1956.

Building Phase

Period

Cistercian Abbey

12th Century

West Range

14th and 16th Century

North and South Gables

Early 17th Century

North and East Wings

Late 17th Century

Clock Tower, Grand Staircase, Porch, Causeway

19th Century

Table 1: Showing the main chronological building phases.

4.0 Description of works

The areas proposed for works were in or adjacent to the scheduled area, but away
from the core of the Medieval and later Country House building ranges. The works
are described in the table below, and shown on the accompanying extract from
Magic (Fig 2.)
1. Provision of a new fence around the dying cedar tree on the Abbey Lawnrequired for health and safety reasons to protect public from potential tree
failure.
2. Removal of the post and rail fence to the sheep meadow, replacing the
northern section with knee rail fencing.
3. Provide new hedge boundary to the Arboretum.
4. Provide new palisade fence around shed and storage area within the sheep
meadow.
5. Provision of new specimen trees in the Arboretum

Table 2: Description of works.

Fig 2: The location of works, itemised numbers refer to Table 2.

The biggest single area of excavation was for tree pits on land adjacent to the
Scheduled area; the remainder of the works involved planting saplings and
excavating holes for fence posts. The depth and diameter of the excavations
proposed meant that it was unlikely that archaeological remains would be identified
unless they were significantly different from the topsoil, e.g. solid wall foundations.
The archaeological impact of the works was therefore generally assessed as
minimal. Nevertheless, because of the limited understanding of the potential of the
surrounding area to contain archaeology, it was thought best to ensure
archaeological supervision of works, basically to ensure that in fact no buried
remains were encountered.

5.0 Site Inspections

The works took place at intervals starting in autumn 2009 and continuing through the
spring and summer of 2010. Ursilla Spence, David Budge and Emily Gillott
supervised the excavations, according to availability. For each element of work
decisions were made as to whether to supervise works continually or intermittently,
and where supervision was undertaken intermittently the site staff were given contact
details to inform the archaeologists of any unusual features or finds uncovered in
their absence. No archaeological features were identified. Across all areas of work
only topsoil was encountered; a brown sandy humic soil with occasional small
pebbles and occasional fragments of tile, brick and other ceramic material.

6.0 Conclusions
The site inspections identified no archaeological features, probably because of the
limited size of the excavations. Only topsoil was encountered in the supervised
excavations, with varying degrees of anthropogenic inclusions such as ceramic
building material fragments.