Modbury Priory was a

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 ...

priory in the parish of

Modbury Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...

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 ...

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 ...

, established before 1129 which was one of the longest surviving

alien priories Alien priories were religious establishments in England, such as monasteries and convents, which were under the control of another religious house outside England. Usually the mother-house was in France.Coredon ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms'' p. ...

in England, most of which were suppressed in 1414. It was located close to the present parish church of St George in the town of Modbury, but its exact location is unclear.

History

Foundation

It was founded at some time before 1129 by Ralph de Vautort and his brother Reginald I de Vautort (died about 1123), 1st feudal baron of Trematon in Cornwall ( Latinised to ''de Valletorta''), an Anglo-Norman follower of

Robert, Count of Mortain Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastin ...

, half-brother of King

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

. Reginald I de Vautort held 55 manors in Devon and Cornwall from Robert, one of which was Modbury. The Vautort family is believed to have originated at the manor of Torteval in

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

, Normandy. The priory was a dependency of the Abbey of

Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives (, literally ''Saint-Pierre on Dives'') is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Saint-Pierre-en-Auge.

in Calvados. The right to appoint a new prior continued to be held by the

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

of Modbury, for many generations in the 15th and 16th centuries the Champernowne family ( Latinised to ''de Campo Arnulphi''), with the approval of the

Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.

. Thus this right was exercised in 1361/2 by Thomas Champernowne and in 1429/30 by Hugh Champernowne.

Donated to Eton College

It survived King Henry V's Suppression of Alien Priories of 1414, but in 1441, under the priorship of William Benselyn, it was finally dissolved by King Henry VI, who gave its possessions to his new foundation of

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

Donated to Tavistock Abbey

King Edward IV, having deposed Henry VI in 1461, reassigned Modbury's lands in 1466 to

Tavistock Abbey Tavistock Abbey, also known as the Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Rumon, is a ruined Benedictine abbey in Tavistock, Devon. Nothing remains of the abbey except the refectory, two gateways and a porch. The abbey church, dedicated to Our Lady and S ...

in Devon, much favoured by him, but these were soon after restored to Eton, which continued to hold many of them until the 19th centuryOliver, p.298 and beyond.

Sources

Religious buildings and life in early Modbury
The History of Modbury, Devon
Modbury Priory
Pastscape, English Heritage

References