Avebury Priory was an

alien house Alien priories were religious establishments in England, such as monasteries and convents, which were under the control of another religious house outside England. Usually the mother-house was in France.Coredon ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms'' p. ...

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 ...

monks in Wiltshire, England, between the early 12th century and the Dissolution. William de Tancarville, chamberlain to

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

, granted an

Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in ...

estate (which he had recently received from the King) to the

Abbey of Saint-Georges, Boscherville The Abbey of Saint-Georges, Boscherville, is a former Benedictine abbey located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Boscherville, in Seine-Maritime, France. It was founded in about 1113 on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and ...

, Normandy in 1114, and a priory was established at Avebury soon afterwards. It was one of two such cells in England: William had also donated the church and manor at Edith Weston, Rutland, in or before the same year, leading to the establishment of

Edith Weston Priory Edith Weston Priory was a small alien house of Benedictine monks in Edith Weston, Rutland. The French parent house of Abbey of Saint-Georges, Boscherville was founded by Ralf de Tanquerville, chamberlain to William the Conqueror, about the year 1 ...

. At Avebury the monks did not have control of the parish church which was held by

Cirencester Abbey Cirencester Abbey or St Mary's Abbey, Cirencester in Gloucestershire was founded as an Augustinian monastery in 1117 on the site of an earlier church, the oldest-known Saxon church in England, which had itself been built on the site of a Roman str ...

, causing disputes over

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

in the next century. An inventory made in 1324 found around 600 sheep, two horses and two beds; the abbey typically had three or four monks in England, divided between Avebury and Edith Weston. Most foreign monks were expelled in 1378, and thereafter the land was tenanted by a succession of royal servants who undertook to provide a chaplain to conduct services. In 1411 the lands were granted to the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

at Fotheringhay, Northamptonshire, which held them until the

Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

in the 1530s. The names of priors are recorded sporadically between 1336 and 1377, and are listed in the Victoria County History. The house on the site of the monks'

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

is known as

Avebury Manor Avebury Manor & Garden is a National Trust property consisting of a Grade I listed early-16th-century manor house and its surrounding garden. It is in Avebury, near Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, in the centre of the village next to St James ...

and since 1991 has been owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. Parts of the Grade I listed house date from c.1557.

References

Monasteries in Wiltshire Grade II listed buildings in Wiltshire Benedictine monasteries in England 12th-century establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century {{UK-Christian-monastery-stub