Binham Priory Access and Conservation Project

Binham Priory monastic ruins
Binham Priory monastic ruins

Heritage Grants

Date awarded
Location
Priory
Local Authority
North Norfolk
Applicant
Binham Priory Trust
Award Given
£665046
Binham Priory, one of Norfolk’s most impressive monastic ruins, has been conserved and repaired, with increased access for the public.

Binham Priory was founded in 1091 as a Benedictine Priory. The site includes a working parish church and extensive ruins, which demonstrate the monastery’s original size.

This project refurbished and conserved a Benedictine gatehouse, the medieval precinct wall and historic buttresses. As a result, rare species such as the lesser wall bedstraw have had their precious natural habitats maintained.

The project also included the construction of an extension to the priory with toilets, a refreshment area and display and exhibition space. The priory and its heritage are therefore more accessible to visitors, including families and disabled people.

Tour guides have received training to improve their knowledge of the priory’s heritage, to ensure they can deliver high-quality tours to greater numbers of visitors.

Finally, the project allowed the purchase of artefacts discovered on the priory site by amateur archaeologists during the 1930s. These objects have been conserved and returned to the priory for public display.

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