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Bartlemas

Oxford Arts Week at Bartlemas Chapel

        Oxford Arts Week at Bartlemas Chapel

Photo: Russell Weston

The full report on the 2011 excavations at Bartlemas Chapel is now available

St Bartholomew’s Chapel (Bartlemas) lies within a small secluded fragment of medieval England, tucked away behind the busy Cowley Road.  The chapel, hospital building and chaplain or wardens house were founded in the early 12th century by Henry I to accommodate 12 lepers (known as brethren) and a chaplain. The site lay on a plateau within Cowley Marsh and had its own gardens, springs and holy well, and was surrounded by cultivated land, meadows for grazing animals, and woodland.

 
For two centuries the foundation suffered from mismanagement and corrupt administration and the buildings and land fell into disrepair. In 1316 Edward II intervened and imposed tighter restrictions, but it was not until ten years later in 1326 that the wardenship of the estate was granted to Adam de Brome, the Rector of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. De Brome was also granted authorisation to found a new college, Oriel, and St Bartholomew’s was transferred to the college in 1329 and remained part of the college estate until the early 20th century.
 
Shortly after this transfer Oriel rebuilt the original chapel, which was believed to have been constructed from timber, with a stone chapel, part of which survives today. During the English Civil War it suffered at the hands of Cromwell’s soldiers who occupied the site and used the chapel as a stable for their horses. They stripped the lead from the roof to use as shot, stopped the well, and stole the chapel bell. They also destroyed the hospital. A grove of 500 elms that surrounded the site was later destroyed to prevent the rebels from hiding out.
 
Following the Civil War Oriel built four tenements on the site of the former hospital, and in 1651 restored the chapel with a pitched roof and oak chancel which remains to the present day.  
 
Bartlemas and the East Oxford Project
Bartlemas has become a key focus for the East Oxford Project.  The full report on the 2011 excavations at Bartlemas Chapel is now available.

 

Digs and surveys

Title Investigation type Period of study Area Date added
Test pit 72: Bartlemas Chapel Reburial Excavation, Test pit Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas 14 Jan 2014
Test Pit 31 Bartlemas Close Allotments Test pit Medieval, Post-medieval, Modern Bartlemas, Cowley 12 Jan 2012
Test Pit 30 - Links Allotments (Bartlemas) Test pit Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 12 Feb 2012
Test Pit 19 - Bartlemas Farmhouse Test pit Post-medieval, Modern Bartlemas, Cowley 11 Nov 2011
Test Pit 18 - Bartlemas Farmhouse Grounds. Test pit Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 12 Feb 2012
Test Pit 17 - Bartlemas Farmhouse Test pit Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 12 Jan 2012
Test Pit 04 - Bartlemas Farmhouse Test pit Post-medieval Bartlemas 11 Nov 2011
Small finds from Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011 Excavation, Specialist report Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Research articles and volunteer reflections on the excavations at Bartlemas Chapel Background research, Excavation Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Radiocarbon dates from Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011 Excavation, Specialist report Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 14 Apr 2014
Pottery finds from Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011 Excavation, Specialist report Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Lithic finds from Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011 Excavation, Specialist report Prehistoric Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Lithic artefacts from test pits in East Oxford Specialist report, Test pit Prehistoric, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley, Headington and Marston, Iffley and Rosehill, The Leys and Littlemore 15 Jan 2015
Images of Archeox volunteers at work at Bartlemas Chapel autumn 2011 Excavation Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Human bone from Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chaple in autumn 2011 Excavation, Specialist report Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Excavations at Bartlemas Chapel 2011: an introduction Background research, Excavation Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Bulk finds from Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011 Excavation, Specialist report Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Bartlemas Chapel Background research Medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 11 Apr 2011
Bartlemas Blog Background research Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 11 Dec 2011
Art work: two watercolours from the Bartlemas Excavations by local artist Helen Ganly Art Project Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 12 Feb 2012
Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011: trench 3 Excavation Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011: trench 2 Excavation Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011: trench 1 Excavation Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Archeox Excavations at Bartlemas Chapel and Leper Hospital site, Autumn 2011 Background research, Excavation, Specialist report Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Jun 2013
Animal bone from Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011 Excavation, Specialist report Medieval, Post-medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Apr 2013
Animal Bone from Archeox excavations at Bartlemas Chapel, autumn 2011 Specialist report Medieval Bartlemas, Cowley 13 Jun 2013