Blackfriars, Bristol was a Dominican

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 ...

Broadmead Broadmead is a street in the Bristol city centre, central area of Bristol, England, which has given its name to the principal shopping district of the city. It is part of Bristol Shopping Quarter. History The name of the street was first rec ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was founded by Maurice de Gaunt in 1227 or 1228.

Llywelyn ap Dafydd Llywelyn ap Dafydd (c.1267–1287), potential claimant to the title Prince of Gwynedd, was the eldest son of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last free ruler of Gwynedd, and his wife Elizabeth Ferrers. Nothing is known of his early life, though it ...

, son of

Dafydd ap Gruffydd Dafydd ap Gruffydd (11 July 1238 – 3 October 1283) was Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282 until his execution on 3 October 1283 on the orders of King Edward I of England. He was the last native Prince of Wales before the conquest of Wa ...

, the last native

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, was buried in the cemetery of the priory. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, surviving parts of the priory became a guildhall for the Smiths and Cutlers Company, the Bakers Company, a workhouse and then a meeting house for the Quakers. In the 20th century, it has housed the local

register office A register office or The General Register Office, much more commonly but erroneously registry office (except in official use), is a British government office where births, deaths, marriages, civil partnership, stillbirths and adoptions in England, ...

, a theatre company, and a restaurant.

History

Blackfriars was founded as a Dominican priory by Maurice de Gaunt circa 1227. The site in Broadmead was just north of the town walls. The name "Blackfriars" comes from the black hooded cloak that the friars wore over their white habits. Henry III supported the building of the church and priory, which took over forty years. Oak was supplied from the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...

and the king granted the friars charitable gifts and a

moiety Moiety may refer to: Chemistry * Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule ** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...

of fish landed in the port. In 1232, a royal grant gave the friars the right to build a conduit to supply fresh water from Peniwell, now known as Pennywell. This conduit was later given to the Mayor and town council in exchange for a feather, a branch pipe, supplying fresh water from

Baptist Mills Baptist Mills an area of the city of Bristol, England. The name derives from the former mills which stood in that area. Geology The solid geology of Baptist Mills comprises Triassic Redcliffe Sandstone, which is overlain by superficial deposits ...

. In 1287,

, ''de jure'' Prince of Gwynedd, died in captivity in Bristol Castle and was buried in the Blackfriars graveyard.

John Hilsey John Hilsey (a.k.a. Hildesley or Hildesleigh; died 4 August 1539) was an English Dominican, prior provincial of his order, then an agent of Henry VIII and the English Reformation, and Bishop of Rochester. Life According to Anthony Wood, Hil ...

prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...

of Blackfriars became

provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

of the Dominican order in England in 1534.

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

appointed him as one of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

's visitors, charged with inspecting monastic houses and administering the oath of allegiance, under the Act of Supremacy. In 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, four remaining friars surrendered the buildings and contents. In 1540 the site was purchased from the king by William Chester, who had just finished a term of office as Mayor of Bristol. The area comprised some During the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

parts of the premises were acquired by the Smiths and Cutlers Company and they in turn leased parts of it to the Corporation in 1654 for use as a workhouse for poor girls. Eventually the Smith's Hall and the adjacent Baker's Hall were acquired by the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

and the premises became popularly known as

Quakers Friars Quakers Friars () is a historic building in Broadmead, Bristol, England. The site is the remains of a Dominican friary, Blackfriars that was established by Maurice de Gaunt, c. 1227. Llywelyn ap Dafydd the eldest son and heir of Dafydd ap Gruf ...

. In 1681 a mob led by John Hellier attacked the Quakers' meeting hall during persecutions following the Conventicles Act 1670.

Today

Some of the original structures, much altered by subsequent use, survive and have been recorded by English Heritage. In the late 20th century the buildings housed Bristol Register Office and for a short time

Show of Strength Theatre Company Show of Strength Theatre Company is a Bristol-based theatre company which has produced new and forgotten works since 1986 in a range of venues in Bristol and the South West. The company is funded by Arts Council England and Bristol City Council b ...

. Since 2008, following the redevelopment of Broadmead, a restaurant is located there.

References

Works cited

* * {{coord, 51.457296, -2.58772, type:landmark_region:GB_source:Wikimapia_scale:2000, name=Black Friary, Bristol (site), display=title Friaries in Bristol 1227 establishments in England 1538 disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 13th century