Coverham No. 2 / Chouerham / Coram / Corham / Coueham / Coureham [Domesday] / Covanham / Coveram / Koveram

INFORMATION

FontID: 22393COV
Church/Chapel: Premonstratensian Abbey of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Coverham
Church Patron Saints: The Annunciation to St. Mary
Church Location: Coverham Abbey, Coverham, Leyburn DL8 4RL, UK
Country Name: England
Location: North Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber
Directions to Site: Located 3-4 km SSW of Leyburn, 4 km W of Middleham, 18-20 km W of Bedale and the A1(M), at the NE edge of the Yorskshire Dales Natinal Park
Historical Region: Hundred of Land of Count Alan
Century and Period: 13th century (early?), Early English
There is an entry for Coverham [variant spelling] in the Domesday survey [https://opendomesday.org/place/SE1086/coverham/] [accessed 8 October 2019] but it mentions neither cleric nor church in it. The entry for the Premonstratensian abbey here in the Victoria County History (York, vol. 3, 1974) notes that, after its original founding in Swainby, "Ralph the son of Robert, lord of Middleham, removed the canons to Coverham, [...] and granted them the church of Coverham, and many lands and tenements by fine in the king's court in 14 John (1212-13) [...] The gift of the church of Coverham to the abbey involved the cure of souls in the parish, and among the conventual leases relating to Coverham there is an indenture dated 9 April 1530 (fn. 26) between the Abbot and convent of Coverham and fifty-two persons, mostly heads of families in the parish, as to service in the chapel of Horsehouse." The abbey was closed in 1536. The entry for the abbey compound in Historic England [List Entry Number: 1015725] notes: "The Premonstratensian abbey at Coverham is situated on the north bank of the River Cover four miles west of Middleham. The monument includes the key religious buildings and the majority of the wider monastic complex lying within the medieval abbey precinct. The precinct includes upstanding remains of the gatehouse, the ruins of a mill and a mill race and drain and the earthwork remains of fishponds and other monastic structures. The Church of Holy Trinity and its adjacent redundant graveyard also stands with its precinct, while the medieval bridge over the River Cover lies immediately south west of the precinct. The abbey's main buildings lie on a low river terrace sandwiched between the River Cover and the steeply rising slope to the north and north east. Some of the core buildings survive as upstanding ruins, further remains are incorporated into buildings constructed after the dissolution of the abbey, and other remains will survive below ground. The surviving fabric, combined with a wider understanding of Premonstratensian sites elsewhere, confirms the usual monastic layout of church with cloister to the south. [...] Of the standing remains at Coverham Abbey, the earliest are those of the early 13th century abbey church. These comprise the west wall of the north transept standing to first floor height, a section of the west wall of the south transept and the footings for the east end of the presbytery. The nave and the aisles of the church were substantially rebuilt in the mid-14th century and, of these, a section of the west wall and three piers and two arches of the south arcade survive."

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 54.2732, -1.8387
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 54° 16′ 23.52″ N, 1° 50′ 19.32″ W
UTM: 30U 575622 6014541

REFERENCES

Victoria County History [online], University of London, 1993-. Accessed: 2019-10-08 00:00:00. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk.