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Foundations of the monastic buildings and the back of the museum

Norton Priory is an historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, North West England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house. The remains are a scheduled ancient monument and have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. They are considered to be the most important monastic remains in Cheshire. In 1966 the site was given in trust for the use of the general public. Excavation of the site began in 1971, and became the largest to be carried out by modern methods on any European monastic site. It revealed the foundations and lower parts of the walls of the monastery buildings and the abbey church. Important finds included: a Norman doorway; a finely carved arcade; a floor of mosaic tiles, the largest floor area of this type to be found in any modern excavation; the remains of the kiln where the tiles were fired; a bell pit used for casting the bell; and a large medieval statue of Saint Christopher. The site, including a museum, the excavated ruins, and the surrounding garden and woodland, was opened to the public in the 1970s. In 1984, a redesigned walled garden was also opened. Norton Priory is now a visitor attraction, and the museum trust organises a programme of events, exhibitions, educational courses, and outreach projects. (more...)

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From Wikipedia's newest articles:

Old Library, Bristol, UK

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  • In the news

  • A federal election is held in Australia, with results indicating a hung parliament with neither the incumbent Labor Party (leader, Julia Gillard, pictured) nor the Liberal/National Coalition able to form a majority government.
  • Iran begins loading fuel into its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr, preparing it to begin producing electricity.
  • Bolivia declares a state of emergency as forest fires rage across 15,000 square kilometers (5,800 sq mi).
  • At least seven people are killed and fourteen others wounded in a bomb attack in Aksu, Xinjiang, north-western China.
  • Elon Lindenstrauss, Ngô Bảo Châu, Stanislav Smirnov, and Cédric Villani are awarded the Fields Medal for their work in mathematics.
  • A bombing outside an Iraqi Army recruitment centre in Baghdad kills more than sixty people.
  • On this day...

  • 1485Lancastrian forces under Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, defeated Yorkist forces under Richard III of England at the Battle of Bosworth Field (pictured), decisively ending the Wars of the Roses.
  • 1639 – The British East India Company bought a small strip of land on what is today Chennai, the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, from the King of the Vijayanagara Empire, Peda Venkata Raya.
  • 1791 – A slave rebellion erupted in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, starting the Haitian Revolution.
  • 1864 – The Red Cross movement led by Henry Dunant officially began when twelve European nations signed the First Geneva Convention, establishing the International Committee of the Red Cross.
  • 1910Korea was annexed by Japan with the signing of the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, beginning a period of Japanese rule of Korea that lasted until the end of World War II.
  • More anniversaries: August 21August 22August 23

    Quirky corner...

    William Windsor was a lance corporal in the 1st Battalion of the the Royal Welsh infantry battalion of the British Army, that happens to be a Cashmere goat!

    Today's featured picture

    Rub' al Khali, Arabian Peninsula

    A view of sand dunes in Rub' al Khali, a vast desert encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. The image, acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) aboard NASA's Terra satellite, shows dunes as brown with gray regions being the underlying gravel plains. The distance between parallel dunes, which can reach 330 metres (1,080 ft) tall, is roughly 1.5 to 2.5 km (0.9 to 1.6 mi). The area is neither inhabited nor traversed by humans, although plants, arachnids, and rodents live in the region.

    Photo: NASA

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