Greyfriars Nottingham was a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friary 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 traditi ...

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 ...

. It was founded c. 1224–1230, and dissolved in 1539 as part of

King 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 disag ...

's Dissolution of the Monasteries. The site of the friary is now occupied by the

Broadmarsh Shopping Centre Broadmarsh is a historic area of Nottingham, England. The area was subjected to large scale slum clearance, creating large spaces used for regeneration. A shopping centre, car park, bus station and road complex created in the early 1970s cut-t ...

.Broad Marsh and Narrow Marsh - The Story of a Nottingham Community
Online Exhibition spread across 8 pages.

History

The friary was founded between 1224 and 1230: the Franciscan order first came to England in 1224, and the friary was known to be in existence by 1230. It was located in the Broadmarsh area of Nottingham. The friary's precinct was bordered by the road "Broadmarsh" (now built upon) to the north, and Canal Street to the south. The site is currently occupied by the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre. The friary's first buildings were built of wood, with King Henry III ''(1216–1272)'' making a series of donations of lumber towards the construction. In 1230 Henry donated 20 tiebeams towards the construction of the friary's church. In 1232 and 1234 he donated trees from

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is a royal forest in Nottinghamshire, England, famous because of its historic association with the legend of Robin Hood. The area has been wooded since the end of the Last Glacial Period (as attested by pollen sampling cores ...

to create the church's stalls. In 1247 he donated a total of 11 oaks for the construction of their infirmary and monastic buildings, and in 1261 he donated wood for the dormitory and chapter-house. Between 1326 and 1327, the King also made donations of timber to enable the friars to construct a quay on the river. It is not clear whether this quay was on the

River Leen The River Leen is a 15-mile (24 km) long tributary of the River Trent that flows through Nottinghamshire, and the city of Nottingham in the East Midlands of England. The name Leen developed through various renderings of the Celtic word ...

(which originally flowed near to the friaryMap showing original course of the River Leen
/ref>), or on the

River Trent The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...

. The friary church was quickly rebuilt in stone, with King Henry III also making donations towards the work. In 1256 he gave permission for the monks to use stone from his quarry in Nottingham for the work. The new stone church was not completed until 1303, when it (and the surrounding churchyard) were consecrated. The church's aisles or side-chapels were completed later, as they were not consecrated until 1310. The friary dissolved in 1539 as part of

's Dissolution of the Monasteries.NOTTINGHAM GREYFRIARS
''

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

: PastScape'' It was surrendered on the same day as Nottingham's other friary,

Nottingham Whitefriars Nottingham Whitefriars is a former Carmelite monastery located in Nottingham, England. History The friary was reputedly founded by Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton, and Sir John Shirley around 1276, but this has been found to be incor ...

: 5 February 1539. The friary was surrendered by the Warden (a similar post to a Prior), Thomas Basford, and seven other friars: Robert Alyne, Francis Bryce, John Chester, Robert Hampton, Robert Morton, Thomas Ryppon and Roger Stanley. In 1548 the former friary site was given to Thomas Heneage.

Remains

Nothing remains of the friary as the entire site has been occupied by the Broadmarsh Shopping centre that was built in the 1970s. Excavations in 1937 located the friary's southern boundary wall, and the friary was previously remembered in the local road name "Grey Friars Gate", however both are now lost due to the construction of the shopping centre. A cast of the friary's 15th-century seal is kept at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

References

{{Monasteries in Nottinghamshire , state=expanded Monasteries in Nottinghamshire

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

1224 establishments in England History of Nottingham