ST CATHERINES ORATORY

A medieval lighthouse forming the west tower of an oratory, and the remains of the oratory, set within a medieval enclosure on St Catherines Hill. The lighthouse survives as a stone structure, octagonal on the outside and square within, originally consisting of four stories. The lighthouse, which formed the western tower of the oratory is all that survives of the original building. However, the remains of the walls, are visible as earthworks forming three sides of a square with the lighthouse on the open, west, side. The oratory walls are about 12 metres apart and survive to a height of one metre. Partial excavations in 1891 revealed the building plan. The lighthouse was completed by 1328. It was built by Walter de Godeton, a local landowner, who was condemned by the Church for stealing casks of wine from a shipwreck which had occured in 1314 off Chale Bay. The Church threatened de Godeton with excommunication unless he built a lighthouse above the scene of the shipwreck together with an adjoining oratory. The oratory was to be endowed to maintain a priest to tend the light and to say masses for souls lost at sea. The duties were apparently carried out until the Dissolution of the Monastries. Surrounding the lighthouse and oratory on their north, west and south sides is an bank about 0.5 metres high and 5 metres wide. It is likely that the fourth side of this enclosure has been levelled by cultivation.
earthworks (engineering works) agricultural settlements
Medieval

Metadata

ARIADNE ID
14389373
Original ID
1106669
Language
English
Resource type
Sites and monuments databases or inventories
Subject
earthworks (engineering works)
agricultural settlements
Original Subject
  • EARTHWORK
  • ENCLOSURE
  • EXTANT BUILDING
  • LIGHTHOUSE
  • PRIVATE CHAPEL
  • SUB SURFACE DEPOSIT
Dating
  • 1066 – 1540
  • 1314 – 1328
  • 1066 – 1539 , Medieval
Place
  • ENGLAND
Type
Dataset
Publisher
  • Archaeology Data Service [Organization]
Issued
Modified

Responsible persons and organisations

Contributor
  • Historic England [Organization]
Getty AAT Subjects
  • en
  • agricultural settlements en
  • agrarische nederzettingen nl
  • landwirtschaftliche Siedlung de
  • asentamientos agrícolas es
  • Siedlung, landwirtschaftliche de
  • agricultural villages en
  • asentamiento agrícola es
  • farming villages en
  • agrarische nederzetting nl
  • settlements, agricultural en
  • agricultural settlement en
  • landwirtschaftliche Siedlungen de
  • single built works by location: topographical en
  • t'u fang kung ch'eng zh-latn-wadegile
  • 土方工程 zh-hant
  • tǔ fāng gōng chéng zh-latn-pinyin-x-hanyu
  • terrassements fr
  • aardwerk nl
  • movimientos de tierras es
  • earthworks en
  • tu fang gong cheng zh-latn-pinyin-x-notone
  • movimiento de tierras es
  • 土工 zh-hant
  • aardwerken nl
  • works, earth en
  • earth works en
  • earthwork en
  • terrassement fr
Identifier
http://registry.ariadne-infrastructure.eu/dataset/14389373
Package ID
3425
Provider ID
1104

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