Montacute Priory was a

Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...

priory of the

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 ...

order in

Montacute Montacute is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Yeovil. The village has a population of 831 (2011 census). The name Montacute is thought by some to derive from the Latin "Mons Acutus", referrin ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England.

History

It was founded between 1078 and 1102 by

William, Count of Mortain William of Mortain (bef. 1084–aft. 1140) was Count of Mortain and the 3rd Earl of Cornwall. Life William was the son of Robert, Count of Mortain, the half-brother of William I of England and Maud de Montgomery, daughter of Roger de Montgomeri ...

, in face of a threat that if he did not do so, the King would take the land from him. It was the only Somerset dependency of

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...

until 1407, when it gained independence from France. It was dissolved in 1539, though there was a short restoration under the Catholic Queen Mary. At its height in 1262 there were 25 monks. In 1539 there were a Prior and 16 monks. At the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

in 1086 there were five manors in

Mudford Mudford is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated from Yeovil in the South Somerset district on the River Yeo. The village has a population of 696. The parish includes the hamlets of Mudford Sock, West Mudford and Up Mudford. Th ...

. The largest of them, which was given with the church to Montacute Priory in 1192, became Mudford Monachorum (Mudford ''of the monks'') and was centred on the present hamlet of Up Mudford. The Church of St Mary in the village was granted by Montacute Priory to the

Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...

in 1339. The Church of St Michael in

Creech St Michael Creech St Michael is a village and civil parish in Somerset, three miles east of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish straddles the M5 motorway and includes several scattered settlements. The village of Creech St Michael ...

came into the ownership of Montacute Priory in 1362. At one time Tintinhull Court was amongst the possessions of the Priory, along with land in the village. The priory had a dependent cell at

Kerswell Priory Kerswell Priory (''alias'' Carswell) was a small Cluniac priory in the parish of Broadhembury in Devon, England. History According to the Ecclesiastical historian George Oliver (d.1861), the priory was founded between 1119 and 1129 as a cell ...

near

Cullompton Cullompton () is a town and civil parish in the district of Mid Devon and the county of Devon, England. It is north-east of Exeter and lies on the River Culm. In 2011 the parish as a whole had a population of 8,499 while the built-up area of ...

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 ...

, with land and property in Sampford Peverell and Holcombe Rogus

Remains

All that remains is the Abbey Farmhouse which incorporates the gateway of Montacute Priory. It was built in the 16th century and has been designated as a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. After the dissolution of the monasteries the property became a farmhouse, but by 1633 it was 'almost desolate'. By 1782 it was a revitalised farm, remaining part of the Phelips estate until 1918. The only other surviving building remains are the earthworks, about 90 metres east south east of Abbey Farmhouse. These may be the claustral range, and include the fishpond.

References

{{reflist

External links

*Maxwell Lyte, C.H. (ed.). Two Cartularies of the Augustine Priory of Bruton and the Cluniac Priory of Montacute in the County of Somerset, 1894. https://archive.org/details/twocartulariesa00priogoog
Somerset County Council Survey results
Benedictine monasteries in England Cluniac monasteries in England Monasteries in Somerset Christian monasteries established in the 11th century Scheduled monuments in South Somerset South Somerset 1070s establishments in England 1539 disestablishments in England

History

Remains

See also

References

External links