Buildings of secular and religious lordship : Anglo-Saxon tower-nave churches
Tower-nave churches are essentially free-standing towers which incorporated chapels, and are characteristically Anglo-Saxon in date and construction. Due to their elaborate form and limited capacity they have been suggested as having a dual ecclesiastical and secular high-status function. This study has identified thirty-five examples, dating mainly to the 10th and 11th centuries, both standing and known from documentary sources and excavation. A thorough study of each site has been undertaken: a review of previous work on the site, extant fabric drawn and described, documentary sources investigated, and each site placed in its settlement and landscape contexts. All but two tower-naves were constructed at the behest of powerful secular or ecclesiastical lords, either at their residences or at major early medieval monasteries. The monastic tower-naves are more heterogeneous in size and form than the lordly examples, which are almost uniformly small and square. Both monastic and lordly tower-naves can be related to the highest ranks of early medieval society. Monastic tower-naves functioned as funerary structures, gateways, high-status private chapels or burial-chapels. Lordly tower-naves were private chapels
Shapland, M.
Buildings of secular and religious lordship : Anglo-Saxon tower-nave churches. Tower-nave churches are essentially free-standing towers which incorporated chapels, and are characteristically Anglo-Saxon in date and construction. Due to their elaborate form and limited capacity they have been suggested as having a dual ecclesiastical and secular high-status function. This study has identified thirty-five examples, dating mainly to the 10th and 11th centuries, both standing and known from documentary sources and excavation. A thorough study of each site has been undertaken: a review of previous work on the site, extant fabric drawn and described, documentary sources investigated, and each site placed in its settlement and landscape contexts. All but two tower-naves were constructed at the behest of powerful secular or ecclesiastical lords, either at their residences or at major early medieval monasteries. The monastic tower-naves are more heterogeneous in size and form than the lordly examples, which are almost uniformly small and square. Both monastic and lordly tower-naves can be related to the highest ranks of early medieval society. Monastic tower-naves functioned as funerary structures, gateways, high-status private chapels or burial-chapels. Lordly tower-naves were private chapels
buildings secular religious lordship anglo_saxon tower church tower church essentially free_standing tower incorporate chapel characteristically anglo_saxon date construction due elaborate form limit capacity suggest dual ecclesiastical secular high_status function study identify thirty example date mainly stand know documentary_source excavation thorough_study site undertaken review_previous work site extant fabric drawn describe documentary_source investigate site place settlement_landscape context tower construct powerful secular_ecclesiastical lord either major early_medieval monastery monastic tower heterogeneous size form examples almost uniformly small square monastic tower related high rank early_medieval society monastic tower function funerary structure gateway high_status private chapel burial tower private chapel