Alvecote Priory is a ruined

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

Alvecote Alvecote is a hamlet in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England, situated on the county border with Staffordshire. Other settlements nearby are Shuttington (where population details can be found), Polesworth and the Tamworth di ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, England. The site has been scheduled as an

ancient monument In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The '' Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 197 ...

. Now very little remains of the priory, most of the walls have been eroded but a fairly high wall remains on one side. The main entrance arch is the most impressive feature, still standing at around high. The attached

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

also survives, however both the ruined priory and dovecot are on the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for actio ...

due to vandalism and water damage.

History

It was founded 1159 by William Burdett as a dependency of

Great Malvern Priory Great Malvern Priory in Malvern, Worcestershire, England, was a Benedictine monastery (c. 1075 – 1540) and is now an Anglican parish church. In 1949 it was designated a Grade I listed building. It is a dominant building in the Great Malvern ...

. After returning from a

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

, Burdett accused his wife of being unfaithful and stabbed her, and as penance founded the monastery. Little is known of the history of this small priory, which was a dependency of

. We only know the names of five of its priors. The first prior of whom any record survives was William de Wikwane who resigned in 1282. The last priors of this small house occurred in rapid succession. William Sutton was recorded as prior in 1535 but by the following year he had been succeeded by William Umberleye. It was probably he who finally surrendered the house to the King's commissioners when the mother house of Great Malvern was finally dissolved in 1540. Dugdale stated that the tomb of the founder was located in an arch of the wall on the north side of the church and was covered by “a plain free stone curiously embossed with the sculpture of a large cross”. The priory was not richly endowed and the taxation of 1291 gave its property a value of £7 9s 2d. After two centuries the priory buildings were in poor repair and the monks gained the favour of Edward III. Protection was granted to the monks and their attorneys to collect alms in churches for the restoration of the church and cloister. The priory was suppress in 1543 and the priory and its lands were granted to Chancellor Audley. In June it was alienated to Joan Robynson, the widow of the mercer George Robynson of London. The priory remains are now included in Pooley Country Park. The priory house (ruin in 1965) was built from the stone of the old Benedictine Priory.

Incomplete List of Priors

William de Wikwane resigned 1282 William de Beaulis appointed 1315 Richard de Malverne occurs 1341 William Sutton occurs 1535 William Umberleye occurs 1536

References

External links

VCH article on history of priory
* {{coord, 52.63408, N, 1.63056, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SK251041), display=title Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Warwickshire Benedictine monasteries in England Monasteries in Warwickshire 1159 establishments in England Religious organizations established in the 1150s Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Scheduled monuments in Warwickshire

History

Incomplete List of Priors

See also

References

External links