Sinking Stones: Haverfordwest's Subsided Priory

Founded c.1200, Haverfordwest Priory was an Augustinian Canons Regular house located on the banks of the Western Cleddau. To create a flat building site, the steep bank was cut away and the excavated material was deposited onto the marsh area beneath the priory. This poor foundation meant the structure was always going to be slowly subsiding, while the remaining steep bank ensured that rainwater continually drained into and around the Priory.

At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-1541), the land was acquired by Roger and Thomas Barlow. Much of the site was robbed of its stone after the dissolution, and the main ruin remaining today is that of the Priory church.

From 1983 to 1996, the site was excavated and the outlines of the buildings are still visible. A unique medieval garden with raised beds was also unearthed, which is listed at Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. As the only surviving monastic garden in the country, it has since been renovated and replanted with examples of plants used at the time.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons