Sele Priory was a medieval monastic house in

Upper Beeding Upper Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the northern end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, four miles (6.4 km) north of Shoreham-by-Sea and has a land area of 187 ...

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 ar ...

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 a

Benedictine Order , 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 founded before 1126 and was dedicated to

St Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupation ...

. It was a dependent priory of the abbey of St Florent in

Saumur Saumur () is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc.. Saumur statio ...

, France, and was thus considered an

alien priory 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. ...

.Knowles, et al. ''Heads of Religious Houses'' p. 108 The house was associated with the Braose family from its foundation, and continued to receive gifts from members of the family, including the founder of the family, William de Braose, his son

Philip de Braose Philip de Braose, 2nd Lord of Bramber ( 1070 – c. 1134) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Marcher Lord. Origins Philip was born about 1070 to 1073, the son of William de Braose, 1st Lord of Bramber (d. 1093/96) by his wife Eve de Boissey or A ...

, and their descendants

John de Braose John de Braose (born 1197 or 1198 – 18 July 1232), known as ''Tadody'' to the Welsh, was the Lord of Bramber and Gower. Re-establishment of the de Braose dynasty John re-established the senior branch of the de Braose dynasty. His father w ...

and

William de Braose, 1st Baron Braose William de Braose, (''alias'' Breuse, Brewes, Brehuse, Briouze, Brewose etc.; –1291) was the first Baron Braose, as well as Lord of Gower and Lord of Bramber.Cokayne ''Complete Peerage'' Volume II p. 302 Family and early life Braose ...

.Page
Houses of Benedictine monks: Priory of Sele
''A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 2'' In 1396 the priory was allowed to become a native religious house, losing all ties to Saumur except an annual payment of 11

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

. In 1459

William Waynflete William Waynflete (11 August 1486), born William Patten, was Provost of Eton College (1442–1447), Bishop of Winchester (1447–1486) and Lord Chancellor of England (1456–1460). He founded Magdalen College, Oxford and three subsidiary scho ...

, the

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

acquired the patronage of the priory. He then incorporated the priory into his new foundation of

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, although the actual dissolution of the priory did not take place until 1480, when the last monk was pensioned. A Grade II

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

house called The Priory now stands on the site of the original Priory of Sele. It probably contains material from the medieval building, but most of it dates from 1792.

Burials

Citations

References

* * Monasteries in West Sussex {{England-hist-stub