ENN104400 - Sewardsley Priory, 2007 (Resistivity Survey)

The results from Sewardsley produced a range of high and low resistance anomalies that clearly reflect the complex make-up of the lawn; past landscaping and consolidation of the ground, modern services, former garden features and the buried archaeology are all responsible for these variations in resistance. The easiest anomalies to interpret are the high resistance responses which clearly correspond to the chapel of the former priory; there are hints of subdivisions that may reflect differing floors. At the eastern end of the chapel the extension to the nave is clearly visible. There may be a side chapel to the north but the results are not totally clear, and a possible southern side chapel. To the south of the chapel, excavation showed a probable range of buildings but many of the walls had been totally robbed out; this explains why the resistance results are again not particularly clear. The area of the cloisters also produced what might be termed disappointing results in that the resistance readings do not show a clear outline. Modern services are known to cross this part of the site, leading to a septic tank; while not immediately apparent in the results the cutting of the pipe trench will have added to the disturbed nature of the ground and hence the results. To the south and east of the cloisters are further high resistance readings which are presumably related to a range of priory buildings. In the south-western corner of the survey area there are a number of high resistance readings that have a hint of rectilinearity about them. An adjacent excavation trench identified a series of walls, and the location of the anomaly corresponds with the position of domestic buildings such as the kitchens or brew house or potentially lodgings as identified on other excavated religious houses.