Monument record 0072800000 - ST THOMAS' CHAPEL

Summary

Site of a fifteenth century chapel of St Thomas Becket, converted to dwellings in the seventeenth century, demolished during construction of the WWII airfield at Silverstone and remains found during evaluation trial trenching.

Protected Status/Designation

Archaeological Notification Area: Site of late Medieval chapel of St Thomas Becket (DBC9942)
SHINE: Buried remains of Medieval chapel of St Thomas Becket at Becketts Corner, demolished in 1943 and found by trial trenching in 2007 (DBC8195)

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Type and Period (3)

CHAPEL (Demolished 1943, 15th Century to 17th Century - 1400 AD to 1699 AD)
BOUNDARY DITCH (15th Century - 1400 AD? to 1499 AD?)
HOUSE (Demolished 1943, 17th Century to Modern - 1600 AD to 1942 AD)

Description

Dimensions - Length 16m, Width 6m.
Plan Form - Rectangular.
St Thomas Becket's chapel, now a dwelling. Gravestone found 1732 (B1).
Built by Luffield Priory (late C12 charters)(B2,B7).
St Thomas' chapel, 2 storeys, thatched. Probably C15, made into dwellings C17 & north & south walls rebuilt (Illustration)(B3-4).
Demolished for aerodrome. Some stones numbered & stored. (See file)(B5-6).
Evaluation trial trenching in 2007 by Wessex Archaeology at the Porsche Driving Experience at Silverstone uncovered a ditch filled with medieval building rubble, probably from the chapel. Another linear feature was interpreted as either an enclosure ditch or a canalised stream (B9).

(SP 681419) St Thomas a Becket's Chapel (NR) (Site of) (B10).
The Chapel of St Thomas Becket has been turned into a dwelling house (B1).
Built in the 15th century, partly rebuilt and converted into dwellings in the 17th century (B4).
Remains of chapel removed to make way for one of the runways of Silverstone Airfield. The site is now marked by a notice (B11).
NRHE insert 1997, update 2005 (B12).

This record includes National Record of the Historic Environment Information provided by Historic England on 4 June 2025 licensed under the Open Government Licence.

Sources (12)

<1>SBC16730 Bibliographic reference: Browne Willis. 1755. The History and Antiquities of the Town, Hundred and Deanry of Buckingham. p225.
<2>SBC6895 Article in serial: KELKE W H 1852 DESECRATED CHURCHES OF BUCKS IN RECS OF BUCKS 1 P85.
<3>SBC20463 Bibliographic reference: William Page (ed). 1927. A History of Buckinghamshire (Victoria County History) Volume IV. Volume 4. pp187-188.
<4>SBC20467 Bibliographic reference: Royal Commision on Historical Monuments. 1913. Historical Monuments in Buckinghamshire. Volume 2. p170.
<5>SBC9238 Bibliographic reference: MOUNTNEY F H 1955 THE CHURCH IN THE FIELDS: LILLIN GSTONE DAYRELL P20.
<6>SBC4705 Bibliographic reference: EVANS R W (BUCKS C C HISTORIC BUILDINGS OFFICER) M ARCH 1977 (SEE CORRESPONDENCE FILED).
<7>SBC4571 Bibliographic reference: ELVEY G R (ED) 1975 LUFFIELD PRIORY CHARTERS PT 2 IN BUCKSRECORDSOCIETY18PPXVI,72(CHARTER371)".
<8>SBC4406 Graphic material: 1894. MS NOTES & PLAN SHOWING POSITION OF CHAPEL & NOTES ON PRESENT CONDITION, IN DRYDEN COLLECTION.
<9>SBC22978 Unpublished document: Wessex Archaeology. 2007. PDE, Silverstone: Archaeological Evaluation Report.
<10>SBC28494 Map: Ordnance Survey. 1958. OS 6" 1958.
<11>SBC28741 Unpublished document: MHLG. 1960. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, Buckingham RD, Aug 1960. p15.
<12>SBC27441 Digital archive: Historic England. National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE). FL01047.

Location

Grid reference	SP 68170 41850 (point)
Civil Parish	LILLINGSTONE DAYRELL, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire