Ulverscroft Priory
Ulverscroft Priory is a former hermitage and priory in Ulverscroft, Leicestershire.
History
The priory was founded by Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, in 1134, as a hermitage for eremites of the Order of St Augustine. Before 1174, following a papal order, it became an Augustinian priory.[1]
The priory gained the advowson of the church at Stanford on Soar in Nottinghamshire before 1174, however the priory lost it by 1280, following a dispute. In 1323 William de Ferrers donated "70 acres of waste land at Groby" and the advowson of Syston Church, both in Leicestershire. Thomas de Ferrers donated the advowson of Bunny church, in Nottinghamshire, in 1345.[2]
The first 12th-century priory was probably built of wood. The 13th and 14th-century buildings are built of Charnwood Forest Stone.[2]
Around 1220[3] there were only three canons at the priory. In 1438 this had risen to eight and in 1532 the priory was home to 9 canons and the prior.[2]
Around 1465 the small, nearby Charley Priory was merged with Ulverscroft.[2]
In 1535 Ulverscroft was recorded as having an annual income of £83 and thus was scheduled to be dissolved with the other smaller priories. However, due to the priory's good reputation, and upon payment of a fine of £166. 13s. 4d., the priory was allowed to continue functioning until finally dissolved in September 1539. The last Prior, Geoffrey Whalley, was granted a pension of £20.[2]
In 1543 the former priory was granted to Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland.[2]
Ruins of the priory church and tower remain. The prior's lodging and refectory are incorporated into a farmhouse constructed on the site. The priory's door was reused at Thornton Church has the Priory door.[4] The site was purchased in 1927 by Sir William Lindsay Everard, preserving the decaying ruins from total destruction.[5] The priory ruins are on private land and are not open to the public.
Outside links
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References
- ↑ National Monuments Record: No. 919968 – Ulverscroft Priory
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Houses of Augustinian canons: The priory of Ulverscroft - A History of the County of Leicester: Volume 2 (1954), pp. 19-21
- ↑ Rot. Hugonis de Welles, ed. W. P. W. Phillimore,i, 255.
- ↑ Edward Shardlow A Guide to Leicester and District. British Association for the Advancement of Science, Leicester, 1907
- ↑ Leicestershire Villages