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.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norton_Priory>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1485:
Lancastrian forces under Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, defeated
Yorkist forces under Richard III of England at the Battle of Bosworth
Field , decisively ending the Wars of the Roses.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field>
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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai>
1791:
A slave rebellion erupted in the French colony of Saint-Domingue,
starting the Haitian Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Dunant>
1910:
Korea 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.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan%E2%80%93Korea_Annexation_Treaty>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
zoochory (n):
(biology) The dispersal of seeds, spores, or fruit by animals
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zoochory>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Works of art make rules but rules do not make works of art.
--Claude Debussy
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Claude_Debussy>
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