Merton Priory

    After the dissolution 3,600 tons of Merton Priory stone was conveyed to the site of Henry VIII's new palace at Nonsuch, four miles away (see ceiling boss 80.64a).  Some of the stone was also used in the construction of local buildings, and fragments remain in the foundation walls of buildings, from the 1500s, on the south side of Merton High Street today. Parts of the original cloister tracery of the early 1300s were transported to Nonsuch, but these fragments remained at the site until archaeologists recovered them during excavations from 1986-1990. The cannons at Merton lived, ate, studied and slept in the buildings around the protected covered cloister which gave easy access to the different buildings within the monastic complex, and probably contained individual study areas or ‘carrels’ with storage facilities for writing materials.

    Further reading:

    D Saxby, Merton Priory, London, 2005

    P.Miller, D Saxby, and J Conheeney,  The Priory of St Mary Merton, Surrey, Museum of London Archaeology Service Monograph Series, London

    A. Heales, The records of Merton Priory, London, 1898

    B. Platt, The abbeys and priories of medieval England, London, 1984
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