Easebourne Priory was a

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 ...

Easebourne Easebourne () is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is half a mile (0.8 km) north of Midhurst, across the River Rother on the A272 and A286 roads. The parish includes the ham ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

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 ...

. The Nativity of the Blessed

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

was built as an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

nunnery for a prioress and ten nuns. It was founded before 1238 by the de Bohun family of St. Ann's Hill in nearby

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

, probably by John de Bohun who fought at Crecy. It may have been refounded in the 15th century and became

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 ...

. In 1536, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Easebourne Priory was granted to William FitzWilliam, 1st Earl of Southampton, along with other properties, Claustral remains are now incorporated into a Grade I listed house built on the south side of St Mary's church. The restored

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

is now in parochial use. Easebourne Priory Refectory DSC 2056

Elizabeth I at Easebourne

Elizabeth I of England 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". Eli ...

came to the Priory on 17 August 1591 from

Cowdray House Cowdray House consists of the ruins of one of England's great Tudor houses, architecturally comparable to many of the great palaces and country houses of that time. It is situated in the Parish of Easebourne, just east of Midhurst, West Sussex s ...

, as the guest of Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu, "where my lord himselfe kept house", and left on 20 August. An actor playing the part of a pilgrim led her to an oak tree where the heraldry of all the county was displayed, and a "wild man" dressed in ivy explained their loyalty to her. The next day, at a fishpond an actor dressed as an angler spoke with a "fisherman", then addressed the queen on the subject of loyalty The speeches and entertainments were printed later in the year.''The Speeches and Honourable Entertainment Given to the Queenes Majestie in Progresse, at Cowdrey in Sussex, by the Right Honourable the Lord Montacute, 1591'' (London, 1591).

References

Grade I listed buildings in West Sussex Monasteries in West Sussex {{England-hist-stub