The Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain & Ireland
Premonstratensian house, former
Premonstratensian house, former
Tupholme Abbey is a ruined Premonstratensian house in the village of Tupholme, East Lindsey, 10 miles E of Lincoln. The remains of the abbey are now in the midst of pastureland. The only standing architectural element is the S wall of the refectory which dates from the first half of the thirteenth century. Within the fenced-in area around the refectory there is no sign of Romanesque sculpture. However, at the time the site was visited, two multi-scalloped capitals were discovered half-buried in the high grass beyond the southern fence boundary. Both capitals are in good condition.
Premonstratensian house, former
The ruins of the Premonstratensian abbey of Beauchief date from the late 12thc to the 15thc. The church had an aisleless nave, transepts with chapels, and a straight-ended chancel. In the 1660s Edward Pegge of Beauchief Hall made alterations to the ruins of the monastic church in order to form a private chapel which extended from the tower eastwards. The W wall of the abbey church, and much of its tower, were thus treated as a W tower for a chapel-like nave (Harman and Pevsner 2017, 601-2).
Surviving work of c. 1200 relates to three arches. A round-headed doorway of c.1200 is attached to the NW angle of the tower and leads to the churchyard. Elements of an arch now over a window in the S wall may once have belonged to a doorway and also be c. 1200. The larger central portal in the W wall shares some features, including the mouldings, with these smaller arches. However, the larger arch is pointed and may date to the early 13thc.
The interior is arranged as it was in Pegge's time, and is still in use as a church. The site of the abbey was given to Sheffield City Council in 1931 and a golf course now occupies the west side of the valley.