Bordesley Abbey, Redditch, Hereford-Worcestershire: First report on excavations 1969-1973

This report describes the excavation of the South Transept of the church of the Cistercian Abbey of Bordesley, Redditch, Worcestershire, in the parish of Tardebigge (Dickins 1931, Price 1971). The stratigraphical and structural sequence of the transept is discussed fro m the builders' levels of the years following c. 1140 to the dissolution of the Abbey in 1538. Three main periods of building have been de monstrated, of c.1140, c.1200 and c.1300. After this there Is evidence of declining standards of flooring and building, including the repeated raising of floor levels, apparently in response to severe flooding. Graves were found in the transept and in the central side-chapel; wood and stone coffins were found, the for mer in good preservation. Other finds include pottery, glass, metal, and floor and roof tiles, as well as carved stone.