Bradenstoke Priory

Having been mostly homebound for the last week or so it was good to take off in the car this afternoon and revisit a few familiar haunts. I stopped off at Charlcutt Hill in Spirthill, the scene of a previous series of blips, and at the previously featured Canal Cottages at Dauntsey Lock - both of these will have to await another day to be blipped again, though, for today my destination was Bradenstoke.

I was unaware of the existence of this ruin until yesterday evening, when it featured briefly in a programme on South Wraxall Manor in a series on country homes. This former Augustinian priory was founded in 1142, but is now a ruin primarily because it was ransacked in 1929 by William Randolf Hearst so that its stone could be used to make a castle for him in Wales. A magnificent 15th century tithe barn was dismantled at the same time and shipped to his castle in San Simeon CA whereupon he lost interest in the enterprise.  The stones have recently been re-discovered, still in their original shipping crates. Of the priory, two 14th century undercrofts and a tower are all that remain, with some grazing sheep for company.

Lens: Pentax 12-24mm

Alternatives:
Bradenstoke Sheep (Sigma 70-300mm)
Priory Ruins

Charlcutt Hill series
Canal Cottages, 15 November 2010

More about Bradenstoke Priory

Day #412
Blip #410
Consecutive Blip #407

One Year Ago: Kellaways