Carthusian monastery founded by Nicholas de Cantelupe of Greasley, 1343. In 1535 the prior of Beauvale, Robert Laurence, was executed with two other priors at Tyburn for refusing to accept the oath of supremacy. The last prior was Thomas Woodcock, and he and his brethren gave up the house and its possessions to the Royal Commissioners on 24/07/1540. (1)

The priory of Beauvale or Bella Vale, so called from the fair vale in which it was built. A large square building, together with several old walls, yet remain. (3)

The valley is a gem amidst an urban sprawl of coal mining and ancillary industries. The scheduled areas are only within the embanked/walled enclosure but should be extended to include the fishponds to the SE. The most prominent structure is the ashlar "priors" cell. Large stout timbers once supporting the remains are now rotted at their bases and offer no support to the structures. Present masonry likely to collapse unless works are undertaken soon. A fine and rare case of good preservation of a Carthusian Priory. (4)

The principal architectural survivals from the priory comprise; parts of the priory church and a building described as the prior's lodging , the remains of a gatehouse, a length of wall usually taken to be the boundary wall and at it [sic] S end a door with late medieval mouldings. Other architectural fragments are incorporated into the garden wall surrounding the farmhouse and to its S. Surrounding the buildings are the relatively well preserved earthworks of the monastic house. Other earthworks may represent monastic fish ponds. A relatively undisturbed example of a small Carthusian house and exhibits a plan form that is mirrored in at least one other Carthusian house later in C14. (6)

The resistance survey data correlate well with the earthwork survey and has broadened the known archaeological content of the site. The cells, leat and other associated features have been clearly defined. (7)

Excavations in 2015 included the removal of the backfill soils in the first area which revealed well preserved walls of the church and the later chapel. In the second area, the walls were less well preserved having been robbed for building stone. (8)

See M18330 for C16 House.

(9) NRHE Record…

[SK 4923 4904] Beauvale Priory [GT] Remains of. (1)

The Carthusian Priory of Beauvale was founded by "Nicholas de Cantilupo, 17 Edward III, … in honour of the Blessed Trinity, for a prior and twelve monks, … the Charter of Foundation being dated 9th December, 1343." The Priory "stands upon an artificially levelled site, …. All that now remains above ground, - the gatehouse and the eastern precinct wall, parts of the north and south walls of the church, and a square building three storeys in height and attached to the south-west angle of the church, … is incorporated in modern farm buildings."

The site was excavated by the Thoroton Society in 1908 and from their findings a ground plan has been made. C14 floor tiles and fragments of C15 pottery have been found. A0/59/215/4, 5 6 and 7. - plan. (2)

History of the Carthusian Priory of Beauvale founded 1343; dedicated to the Virgin & All Saints. (3)

Air photo and notes on Beauvale Charterhouse. (4)

Carthusian Priory Beauvale, founded 1343. Dissolved 1539. (5)

Scheduled ancient monument. (6)

Detailed history and description. Encaustic floor-tiles found; fragments of pillars from the church used in nearby cottages. Beauvale Manor Farm [SK 44 NE 9] is said to be built from the ruins of the Priory. (7)

Altar-stone, formerly at Beauvale Manor Farm, now in R.C. church - Our Lady of Good Counsel - Eastwood, claimed to be from Priory. History of priory and description. (8)

The remains of the Priory buildings occupy the centre of a well preserved series of earthworks. The southern side of the area is formed by two large dry fishponds, dug into the slight southern slope with a large bank on their southern side. The present approach road to the farm is probably placed on an ancient earthern pond bay which held back a large pond on its eastern side. The existence of this pond appears to be confirmed by traces of the scarping of the slope formed by its southern edge.
The west and north sides of the former precinct are defined by a large bank followed by the modern hedgerow. Within this bank is a wide flat-bottomed depression of unknown purpose.
The eastern side of the immediate area of the priory seems to have been formed by a substantial wall. At its southern end are the remains of a small gate indicated by its jambs. At the east of this wall and north of the easternmost fish ponds is an enclosure formed by a slight bank containing disturbed ground - possibly indicating building sites. The outstanding feature visible on the ground is the clear evidence of the ranges of separate cells occupied by this order. They can be seen as low banks and depressions on the south and west sides of the former cloister. The northern range, excavated in 1908, is visible only as a series of old trenches. For comment on the surviving walling and buildings see the 25" AM survey. (9)

For altar-stone refd. To by authority 8 please see SK 44 NE 9. (10)

The Priory remains are much as previously described. The church walls have been shored up by the N.C.B. as a precaution against subsidence, but appear undisturbed. The perimeter bank on the N & W is much stronger than appears on the published plan, and the N group of the cells are quite clear on the ground. Pubished 25" survey (1962 & 9) revised. (11)

(SK 4923 4904) Remains of (NAT) Beauvale Priory (NR)
(Carthusian founded 1343). (12)

Remains of Beauvale Priory, Grade II (full account in Listed Buildings volume). (13)

Additional reference. (14)

Carthusian Monastery (SK 4923 4904 GCE). The carthusian monastery at Beauvale was founded in 1343 by Nicholas de Cantiloup, lord of Ilkeston, it was dissolved in 1539. The remains incorporate part of the nave of the monastic church and attached to this is a three storey building identified as the prior's lodgings. To the east of the church is a sandstone wall with a single doorway with late medieval mouldings, that may represent part of the precinct wall. At the southeast corner of the site is a building identified as the gatehouse which is incorporated into later farm buildings. To the west of the church some of the monastic cells have been revealed by excavation. The present farmhouse Beauvale Abbey Farm sits on the line of the eastern cloistral range but appears from cursory inspection to be of post-medieval date. Surrounding the standing buildings are the well preserved earthwork remains of the monastic house. To the south of the monastery are two perched ponds. Enclosing the western and northern sides of the site is a large L-shaped earthwork bank, which is probably a garden feature postdating the monastery. To the west of the church the line of the cloister is represented by the modern orchard hedge. The line of the monastic cells along the north side of the cloister may be clearly traced as earthworks as may a few cells along the west side. The southern side of the cloister has been disturbed by the passage of farm traffic and the cell divisions are less easy to trace. In the field to the east of the church a low bank probably marks the former limit of the precinct enclosure. In the fields surrounding the monastery are the remains of ridge and furrow cultivation. Subsequent to the dissolution the priory was converted into a private residence with gardens and later into a farmhouse, this phase of activity is recorded as a separate record SK 44 NE 18. The above description is summarised from a detailed RCHME level 3 survey of Beauvale Priory carried out during December 1991 and January 1992. It was surveyed at scale of 1:1000 and the results of the survey are deposited in the NMR. (15)

Listed. (16)

History of the priory and description of the remains. (17)

1 Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)
Default value used to record large numbers of archive items which are not separately catalogued. See Monument Recording Guidelines for details of use. OS 6" 1913-38
2 Transactions of the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire
Index to the Transactions, Record Series and Excavation Section, 1897-1997 69-71,87,89 12, 1908 Rev. A. Du Boulay Hill and H. Gill
3 The Victoria history of the county of Nottingham : volume two 1910 edited by William Page 105-9
4 VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION `Monastic Sites from the Air', 1952, pp. 236-7, photo. (D. Knowles & J. K. St. Joseph)
5 Medieval religious houses : England and Wales
2 copies 1953 by David Knowles and R Neville Hadcock 122
6 VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION A.M. England & Wales, 1958, p.60 (M.o.W.)
7 VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION History of Greasley, 1901, pp. 98 ff. (Rudolph, Baron von Hube), illusts
8 VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION The Breaking of the Storm, (Cath. Truth Soc. Pamphlet) (o.d.) (Rev. M J. Finneran)
9 Field Investigators Comments F1 WW 04-NOV-59
10 Field Investigators Comments F2 FDC 13-NOV-59
11 Field Investigators Comments F3 BHS 13-JAN-75
12 Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)
Default value used to record large numbers of archive items which are not separately catalogued. See Monument Recording Guidelines for details of use. OS 10:000 1977
13 List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest
Default value used to record large numbers of archive items which are not separately catalogued. See Monument Recording Guidelines for details of use. DOE (Listed Buildings), Dist of Broxtowe, Notts, 9-9-87, 24
14 Nottinghamshire 1979 by Nikolaus Pevsner ; revised by Elizabeth Williamson 66-7
15 VIRTUAL CATALOGUE ENTRY TO SUPPORT NAR MIGRATION Wayne Cocroft/08-FEB-1995/RCHME: Beauvale Priory Survey.
16 Medieval religious houses in England and Wales 1971 by David Knowles and R Neville Hadcock 134
17 Sanctity and Scandal. The Medieval Religious Houses of Nottinghamshire 1998 Marcombe D and Hamilton J, (eds) 73-6

Data Held (Document). SNT2647.

OS cards, Parish File

Data Held (Document). SNT2647.

Photo of plan, SMR

Data Held: Aerial Photograph (Aerial photograph). SNT2645.

CUCAP PR46

Data Held: Ground Photograph (Ground photograph). SNT2646.

3 colour print (from slides), SMR

<1> Thoroton Society, 1907, TTS, pp 35-40 (Published document). SNT334.

<2> Thoroton Society, 1908, TTS, pp 69 - 94 (Published document). SNT335.

<3> MOW, 819 (Published document). SNT929.

<4> Hart CR, 1984, AM107 (Unpublished document). SNT754.

<5> Thoroton Society, 1975, TTS, pp 50 - 7 (Published document). SNT388.

<6> RCHME, 1996, Beauvale Priory, Nottinghamshire Archaeological Report. NMR no: SK 44 NE 7, p 1 (Unpublished document). SNT2190.

<7> Geophysical Surveys Bradford, Mar 1995, Report on Geophysical Survey. Beauvale Priory, Nottinghamshire (Unpublished document). SNT2189.

<8> Carol Simmonds, 2015, Archaeological Recording at Beauvale Priory, Nottinghamshire. (Unpublished document). SNT4995.

<9> Historic England, 2021, National Record of Historic Environment (Digital archive). SNT5271.