Ossington Preceptory was a preceptory of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

, near to the village of

Ossington Ossington is a village in the county of Nottinghamshire, England 7 miles north of Newark-on-Trent. It is in the civil parish of Ossington, but for census purposes its population count is included with the civil parishes of Ompton and Laxton a ...

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.

History

Foundation and endowment

The preceptory was founded in the mid-12th century. At, or shortly after foundation, "Archbishop William" (probably Saint William FitzHerbert, Archbishop of York; 1143-54) granted the preceptory the church at Ossington. At sometime before 1199 the churches at

Averham Averham is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 187, increasing to 294 at the 2011 census. The village is just west of Newark-on-Trent. ...

and

Winkburn Winkburn is a small village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district, in Nottinghamshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Caunton Caunton is a village and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire o ...

, both in Nottinghamshire, were donated by Henry Hosatus. Towards the end of the 12th century, the village of

was granted to the preceptory by Roger de Buron. However, later in his life Roger joined the

Cluniac Order 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 ...

, and bestowed the village on

Lenton Priory Lenton Priory was a Cluniac monastic house in Nottinghamshire, founded by William Peverel ''circa 1102-8''. The priory was granted a large endowment of property in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire by its founder, which became the cause of violent di ...

. This caused "considerable litigation" between the two monasteries. In 1204 Roger's son, Walter Smallet, confirmed the grant of Ossington to the preceptory, but Lenton did not drop their claim until 1208. By 1230 the preceptory had also gained the churches at Marnham and

Sibthorpe Sibthorpe is a village and civil parish in the borough of Rushcliffe, in Nottinghamshire, England. There is no parish council, only a parish meeting. Toponymy The place-name Sibthorpe seems to contain an Old Norse personal name, ''Sibba'', + ...

, as their right to them was confirmed in that year by

Walter de Gray, Archbishop of York Walter de Gray (died 1 May 1255) was an English prelate and statesman who was Archbishop of York from 1215 to 1255 and Lord Chancellor from 1205 to 1214. His uncle was John de Gray, who was a bishop and royal servant to King John of England. A ...

Later history

In 1338 the preceptory is recorded as having an annual income of £85 8s. 8d. and outgoings of £77 7s. At the time there were only two knights in residence (one of whom was

Preceptor A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a ''precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddhi ...

). Ossington controlled Winkburn Camera. A camera is ''"A residence used during short visits by an official and attendants of the Knights Hospitallers for administrative purposes on their estates."'' In 1382 Ossington Preceptory was merged with the larger Newland Preceptory in Yorkshire.

Dissolution

In the

Valor Ecclesiasticus The ''Valor Ecclesiasticus'' (Latin: "church valuation") was a survey of the finances of the church in England, Wales and English controlled parts of Ireland made in 1535 on the orders of Henry VIII. It was colloquially called the Kings books, a s ...

of 1534 "Ossington Bailiwick" is listed as generating £20 annually for Newland; Winkburn generated £19.'House of Knights Hospitallers: The preceptory of Ossington'
A History of the County of Nottingham: Volume 2 (1910), pp. 142-144. The preceptory was dissolved in 1534 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.

After Dissolution

In 1782

Holy Rood Church, Ossington Holy Rood Church, Ossington is a parish church in the Church of England in Ossington, Nottinghamshire. The church is Grade I listed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as a building of outstanding architectural or histo ...

was built. It is thought to stand on, or very near to, the original site of the Preceptory church.

References

{{Monasteries in Nottinghamshire , state=expanded Monasteries in Nottinghamshire Preceptories of the Knights Hospitaller in England