Canterbury College, Oxford (1311–1540), was a

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

college, owned and run by

Christ Church Priory Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the Ch ...

, Canterbury. Shortly after the dissolution of the monasteries, the college's hall, chapel and other buildings were surrendered on 10 April 1540 and acquired by Christ Church.

Background

The Priory first sent 4 monks to study in Oxford in 1311, in a hall it had bought there near the church of

St Peter-in-the-East St Peter-in-the-East is a 12th-century church on Queen's Lane, north of the High Street in central Oxford, England. It is now deconsecrated and houses the college library of St Edmund Hall. The churchyard to the north is laid out as a garden and ...

, but the actual college was founded in 1361 by

Simon Islip Simon Islip (died 1366) was an English prelate. He served as Archbishop of Canterbury between 1349 and 1366. Early life Islip was the uncle of William Whittlesey. He was a cousin of Walter de Islip, Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer:Ball, F. ...

, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, in the parish of St Edward, opposite

Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, w ...

. The Royal Licence was granted by the King Edward III for the foundation of College and advowson of Pagham on the 20th of October 1361. It was to consist of twelve students (initially 4 monks and 8 " secular clerks" – i.e. ordained clergy who were not monks), under a warden, who would be a monk chosen by the Priory's prior and admitted by the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

. Its endowment was granted in 1363, and included the church of

Pagham Pagham is a coastal village and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England, with a population of around 6,100. It lies about two miles to the west of Bognor Regis. Governance Pagham is part of the electoral ward called Pagham a ...

, Sussex, along with (initially) eight Oxford houses' rents and a portion of the rents from

Woodford, Northamptonshire Woodford is a large village and civil parish located in North Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2011 census, the parish's population (including Woodwell) was 1,461 people. The village's name means 'wooded ford', referring to woo ...

and

Worminghall Worminghall is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is beside a brook that forms most of the eastern boundary of the parish. The brook joins the River Thame ...

, Buckinghamshire, where the Priory had manors. Other endowments came in 1373, 1380, and 1392, eventually coming to about £86 a year, although these all gradually disappeared. The licence to acquire land for building was only given in 1364–1365. Islip pulled out the monks and appointed as warden a secular clerk named,

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of ...

. Then in 1366 Islip's successor as archbishop,

Simon Langham Simon de Langham (1310 – 22 July 1376) was an English clergyman who was Archbishop of Canterbury and a cardinal. Life Langham was born at Langham in Rutland. The manor of Langham was a property of Westminster Abbey, and he had become a ...

, wished to put the monks back in place and litigation at the Roman Curia ensued. In 1368 Langham was appointed Cardinal and his influence induced the Curia to give judgment in favour of the monks in 1370.Knowles, David. ''The Religious Orders in England, Volume II''. Cambridge University Press, 1955, p. 21. One more monk was added in 1383, with the Priory paying for all 5 monks' maintenance at 10 pennies per week per monk. One of its students from Canterbury Priory was

Thomas Chillenden Thomas Chillenden (died 15 August 1411) was Prior of Christ Church Priory, Canterbury from 1391 to 1410. Under him, from 1391 to 1400, the Cathedral-Priory church's nave was rebuilt in the Perpendicular style of English Gothic architecture. Lif ...

, later Prior of the monastery. Rooms were rented to other Benedictine monasteries' members, including

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

Battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

, and

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Eves ...

, though all inmates were to a greater or lesser extent subject to

Gloucester College Gloucester College, Oxford, was a Benedictine institution of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, from the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It was never a typical college of the Univer ...

's 'prior studentium'. Lay students were occasionally admitted to the college to make up numbers and provide some income. In 1426 the 'prior studentium' complained that Canterbury College's students were breaking Benedictine rules on eating meat. Shortly after the dissolution of the monasteries by

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 ...

, the college's hall, chapel and other buildings were surrendered on 10 April 1540 and acquired by Christ Church.

Sources

'Houses of Benedictine monks: Canterbury College, Oxford', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 2 (1907), pp. 68.
Date accessed: 31 October 2007.
Map of Oxford, c.1375

References

{{authority control Former colleges and halls of the University of Oxford Former buildings and structures in Oxford Christ Church, Oxford 1362 establishments in England

Background

See also

Sources

References