Broadholme Priory was a convent of canonesses of the Premonstratensian Order located near to the village of

Broadholme Broadholme is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated west from the city and county town of Lincoln, and less than south from the A157 road and the village of Saxilby. Historically, Br ...

. Historically in

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, since boundary changes in 1989, the priory and village has been in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

History

The priory was founded before 1154. It was home to Premonstratensian canonesses and was one of only two female priories of that order in England (the other being

Orford Priory Orford Priory was a priory of Premonstratensian canonesses in Stainton le Vale, Lincolnshire, England. The priory of Orford, in Stainton-le-Vale, was probably built some time during the reign of King Henry II by Ralf d'Albini, in honour of the ...

). When it was founded, however, it was initially home to both canons and canonesses. The priory was dedicated to God and St Mary, and its mother-house was Newsham Abbey in Lincolnshire.
House of Premonstratensian canonesses: The priory of Broadholme
', A History of the County of Nottingham: Volume 2 (1910), pp. 138-140. Date accessed: 28 July 2013

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...

's taxation roll records the priory as having an income of £4 13 s. The priory was also in control of the church at Thorney, Nottinghamshire, which provided an extra £8 annual income. The priory was given a charter of confirmation by

King Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to the ...

in 1318. The charter reveals several of the priory's benefactors, including donations by: *Ralph D'Aubeney – an orchard adjacent to the cemetery of St Botolph's church,

Saxilby Saxilby is a large village in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, about north-west from Lincoln, on the A57 road at the junction of the B1241. It is part of the civil parish of Saxilby and Ingleby, which includes the village of ...

*Hugh de Basset – "rents" in Newark, Nottinghamshire and two quarters of corn *Peter de Campania – land at

Stow, Lincolnshire Stow (or archaically, Stow-in-Lindsey) is a village and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is north-west of the city of Lincoln and south-east of Gainsborough, and lies along the B1241 road. The tota ...

*Richard de Claypole – land in North Collingham *Walter and Agnes de Clifford – Thorney church, land and a mill; *Geoffrey de Crosby – land in Ingleby *Walter Faber – land at

Torksey __NOTOC__ Torksey is a small village in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 875. It is situated on the A156 road, south of Gainsborough and north-west of the city of ...

*Peter and Agnes Goushill (and their children)– large amounts of land and several tenements in

*Simon de Hale – land at Little Hale *Ralph de Muscamp and Isabel (daughter of de Collingham) – "rents" in Collingham *William Newbrid – "rents" in

*Baldwin Wake – "rents" in Skellingthorpe *William Wynok – a "toft" in

Fillingham Fillingham is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north from the city and county town of Lincoln, and just over west from the A15 road. Fillingham Grade II* listed Anglican ch ...

*Aubrea and Ivo ("children of Ralph, son of Lambert") – "lands and rents in the parish of Sir Edward Wigford" (Lincoln) Queen Isabel (consort of

) was a patroness of the canonesses and is known "for the special affection which she bore to them". In 1327 she donated the annual sum of 8 marks to the priory from her lands at

Great Massingham Great Massingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It has a primary school (including a pre-school in the grounds), a village shop, a pub (Dabbling Duck), a village hall and a church (St Mary's). There is also a spor ...

in Norfolk. In 1329 the Sheriff of Norfolk was given responsibility for ensuring the canonesses received their payment. In October 1327 Isabel arranged the transfer of the mortmain of certain lands to the priory, valued as worth £10 per year. In 1478 the priory was visited, and it was recorded that all of the canonesses could read and sing. In 1494 the priory was recorded as home to the prioress and eight canonesses: *Dame Elizabeth Brerworth ''(priorissa)'' *Johanna Stertone ''(suppriorissa)'' *Dame Elizabeth Formane *Agnes Aschby *Johanna Newsome *Margery Robynsone *Johanna Roos *Johanna Steyntone *Johanna Uptone The

Valor Ecclesiasticus The ''Valor Ecclesiasticus'' (Latin: "church valuation") was a survey of the finances of the church in England, Wales and English controlled parts of Ireland made in 1535 on the orders of Henry VIII. It was colloquially called the Kings books, a s ...

of 1534 records the gross annual value of this small priory as £18 11s. 10d. The priory was dissolved in 1536. On 12 December 1536 the last prioress, Joan Aungewen (or Angevin), was assigned a pension of 7 marks. The site was granted by the Crown to Ralph Jackson in 1537.

Remains

The remains of the monastic buildings are thought to have been incorporated into Manor Farm, which was built on the site; there are, however, no visible architectural remains. The priory chapel was located at the back of the current house and the cemetery was to the east in an area occupied by an orchard. The priory's former fishponds were filled in during the 1960s.

Prioresses of Broadholme

* Matilda, occurs 1326 * Joan de Rield, occurs 1354 * Agnes de Belyngham, occurs in 1418Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/629; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/H5/CP40no629/aCP40no629fronts/IMG_0526.htm; 5th entry; appears as defendant in a plea of debt pursued by John Rysby, clerk * Elizabeth de Brerworth, occurs 1496 * Joan Aungewen, occurs 1534 and 1536

References

{{Monasteries in Lincolnshire , state=expanded 1536 disestablishments in England Monasteries in Nottinghamshire Monasteries in Lincolnshire Premonstratensian nunneries Nunneries in England Premonstratensian monasteries in England