244 THE GROUND-PLAN OF BURTON ABBEY. 
is hard to understand unless you know something of the 
monastic plan, for it is, in part a ground plan, and, in part 
a first floor plan; it proves however, that Burton followed 
the normal Benedictine plan. This plan must have been made 
after the dissolution, for note ‘‘these chambers were the 
Abbot’s.” I should be inclined to think it was made either 
directly after the first surrender to the King, or just before 
the surrender of the Collegiate Church, the latter date being 
the more likely, and I have no doubt the plan would be 
found to apply to this surrender, which is also said to be 
Beaudesert, and of which there is no other copy known. 
The Benedictine church was divided into two, the Upper 
and lower church. The upper being the Choir of the 
Monks, the Lower the Parochial church. At Burton the 
Upper church was built first, as we shall see later on. 
Round the Upper church were grouped many small chapels, 
and of these we have numerous notices in an extract 
preserved in The Monasticon, the original of which was at 
Beaudesert in 1640. Shaw gives a translation which, how- 
ever, contains some rather startling inaccuracies. My 
extracts are taken from Dugdale’s ‘“‘ Monasticon.” 
The work is called ‘“‘ Chronicle of the Abbey of Burton ;”’ 
this must not be confused with the ‘“‘ Annales of Burton,” 
sometimes called ‘The Burton Book,” this latter containing 
only two entries of use to us, namely, the founding of the 
Abbey, given as 1004, and the commencement of the Church, 
given as 1114, this was the lower church. 
Now let us see what we can learn from the Chronicle 
about the Church. Lawrence, 3rd Abbot, spoiled the fere- 
trum of St. Modwene; this would be at the back of the 
High Altar. Nigell, 5th Abbot, 1104-1114, began the new 
work at the west part of the Church; this shows that at 
Burton the monks had stopped short at their choir, as 
shewn by the dotted line on plan, and gone on with the, to 
them, more important parts of the monastic buildings; now 
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