St Olave's Priory
St Olave's Priory, also known as Herringfleet Priory, stands in ruins on the east bank of the River Waveney as it works its great loop north, in the northernmost part of Suffolk. The priory was dissolved in 1536 under King Henry VIII.
The remains today consist of the undercroft, two aisles of the Lady Chapel, and the refectory, now a barn.[1]
History
The priory was an Augustinian house of Black Canons and stood in St Olaves, six miles northwest of Herringfleet. Founded in 1239, it was placed near the ancient ferry across the River Waveney.[2] The priory was founded by Sir Roger Fitz Osbert of Somerley in the time of Henry III.
The original dedication was to "St Olave, The Blessed Virgin Mary, and St Edmund, King and Martyr". Saint Olaf was King of Norway. He was born ca. AD 995 and Christianised Norway: it was Suffolk's only dedication to Saint Olaf, though there two in Norfolk, and over fifty in the rest of Britain - six in London.
The Priory was allowed to hold an annual fair on St Olave's Day, 29 July. It was also given the lordship over Herringfleet and Burgh St Peter.
On 20 August 1536, Sir Humphrey Wingfield, the Commissioner for the Dissolution of the Monasteries arrived, and on 16 January 1546 Henry VIII made over the priory site to a local man, Sir Henry Jerningham of Somerleyton.
The site today
Now in ruins, the old priory gives name to St Olave's Bridge, over the Waveney, replacing a very ancient ferry, and also to a modern railway-junction.[3]
The area has been excavated and several burials in the Canons' cemetery discovered. It is now in the guardianship of English Heritage.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St Olave's Priory) |
- St Olave's Priory - English Heritage
References
- ↑ Walcott, Mackenzie Edward Charles (1861). The east coast of England from the Thames to the Tweed: descriptive of natural scenery, historical, archæological, and legendary (Public domain ed.). E. Stanford. pp. 68–. http://books.google.com/books?id=dpoMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA68. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ↑ British Archaeological Association; Royal Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (1884). The Archaeological journal (Public domain ed.). Royal Archaeological Institute.. pp. 394–. http://books.google.com/books?id=N4HQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA394. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ↑ Viking Society for Northern Research (1905). Saga book of the Viking Society for Northern Research (Public domain ed.). Viking Society for Northern Research.. pp. 181–. http://books.google.com/books?id=TCXjAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA181. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
