Brightley Priory was founded in 1133 as a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. It was built in 1136 and was situated about two miles north of

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based i ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

and was abandoned by the monks after only 5 years on their removal to a nearby site which became Forde Abbey.

History

Between 1133 and 1136, Richard FitzBaldwin (d. 1137) ( Latinised to ''de Brioniis/Brionis/Bryonis''), feudal baron of Okehampton, built a priory on his land at Brightley, on the bank of the West Okement River, near his ''

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