Shelford Priory is a former
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
Monastery located in the village of
Shelford, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom. The priory was founded by Ralph Haunselyn around 1160–80 and
dissolved in 1536. Little remains of the original priory. Following dissolution it was granted to Michael Stanhope, and c.1600 Shelford Manor was constructed on the site. The manor was fortified and then partially destroyed during the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
. The house was reconstructed c.1678, however, it was altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is now known as Shelford Manor and is a private residence.
The Priory
Shelford priory was a small monastery founded on the south-bank of the
River Trent
The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...
by Ralph Haunselyn (or Hauselin) during the reign of
King Henry II (1154-1189), and dedicated to the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
.
[
In 1258, the question of who founded the priory was argued. William Bardolf and Adam de Everingham took each other to court to decide who was the hereditary patron of the priory. Bardolf claimed the priory was founded by his ancestor, Ralph Haunselyn; whereas de Everingham claimed it was founded by his ancestor, Robert de Caus. The prior was unable to settle the dispute as both Bardolf and de Everingham "held a ]Moiety
Moiety may refer to:
Chemistry
* Moiety (chemistry), a part or functional group of a molecule
** Moiety conservation, conservation of a subgroup in a chemical species
Anthropology
* Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is ...
of the barony of Shelford", and the prior had one charter stating Haunselyn had founded the priory, a second in which de Caus refers to "his monks of Shelford", and a third which was a joint grant by both Haunselyn and de Caus. The jury in the case found in favour of Bardolf, declaring the founder was Ralph Haunselyn.
The 1291 Taxation Roll records the priory as having an income of £37 18s. 3d.
The priory was visited by King Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to the ...
in 1317 and 1319.[
The 1534 ]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 ...
records the priory as having an income of £151 14s. 1d. (£116 12s. 1¼d. after expenses). The priory controlled the churches of Gedling
Gedling is a village in the Gedling district, in Nottinghamshire, England, four miles northeast of Nottingham city centre. The population at the 2011 census of the ward was 6,817 and 111,787 for the district. Gedling was recorded in the Dome ...
, Burton Joyce
Burton Joyce is a large village and civil parish in the Gedling district of Nottinghamshire, England, 7 miles (11 km) east of Nottingham, between Stoke Bardolph to the south and Bulcote to the north-east. The A612 links it to Carlton an ...
, North Muskham
North Muskham is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England, close to the border with Lincolnshire. It is located between the River Trent and the A1 road, north of Newark-upon-Trent. The parish has a population of 943 (2001 cens ...
, Saxondale
''Saxondale'' is an English television situation comedy programme, starring Steve Coogan and co-written by Coogan and Neil Maclennan. The series is directed by Matt Lipsey and produced by Ted Dowd. Coogan and Henry Normal served as executive pr ...
and Shelford in Nottinghamshire; Elvaston church and Ockbrook chapel, in Derbyshire; Rauceby Rauceby may refer to:
* North Rauceby, in Lincolnshire, England
* South Rauceby, in Lincolnshire, England
{{Geodis ...
and Westborough
Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...
church and half of Dorrington church in Lincolnshire. The priory also owned land in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. Outgoings included £10 a year for "the chantry of Corpus Christi in the church of Newark", and £2 6s. 8d. given in alms in commemoration for the founders Ralph Haunselyn and Robert de Caus.
Shortly before the Dissolution of the Monasteries there were twelve canons in residence.
The priory was dissolved in 1536 and Robert Dyxson, the last prior, was granted a pension of £16 a year.[
]
Relics
During the 1536 inspection of the priory by Richard Layton
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
and Thomas Legh, it was noted that the priory housed the milk and "the girdle of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
and part of a candle which she was said to have carried at her Purification", and oil from both the True Cross
The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...
and Saint Katherine.
Priors of Shelford
* Alexander, occurs 1204
* William, occurs c. 1225
* John de Nottingham, occurs 1271, resigned 1289
* Robert de Tithby, 1289
* Laurence, died c. 1310
* Thomas de Lexinton, c. 1310
* Robert de Mannesfield, 1315
* William de Breton, 1320
* William de Leicester, 1340
* Stephen de Bassyngborn, 1349
* Thomas de Chilwell, 1349
* (Alexander de Insula, elected 1358)
* Roger de Graystock, appointed 1358
* William de Kynalton, 1365
* Robert Lyndby, 1404
* William de Righton, 1408
* Walter Cutwolfe, died 1459
* John Bottesford, 1459
* Richard Stokes, 1479
* Robert Helmsley, 1491
* Henry Sharp, 1498
* Robert Dickson
Shelford Manor
The first manor
On 25 March 1536 Archbishop Cranmer wrote to Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...
asking for "the farm of the priory of Shelford" for his brother-in-law:—'I desire your favor for the bearer, my brother-in-law, who is now clerk of my kitchen, to have the farm of the priory of Shelford, or of some other house in Notts, now suppressed.'[ However, in 1536][ or 1537, the crown granted "nearly all the manors and advowsons" to Sir Michael Stanhope (second son of Sir Edward Stanhope (d.1511) of ]Rampton, Nottinghamshire
Rampton is a village in the civil parish of Rampton and Woodbeck, about east of Retford in the Bassetlaw district, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. The parish is long and thin, extending about east–west but only about north–so ...
), for 60 years at a rental of £20. In November 1537 Stanhope, and his wife Anne, were granted the priory site, including the priory church, belfry and churchyard, and "a good deal of land".[
Michael Stanhope was executed in 1552 and the estate passed from father to son:
*]Sir Thomas Stanhope
Sir Thomas Stanhope (1540 – 3 August 1596) was the son and heir of Sir Michael Stanhope, and a Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire.
Family
Thomas Stanhope was the eldest son of Sir Michael Stanhope and Anne Rawson (c.1515 – 20 Febru ...
(1540–1596)
*Sir John Stanhope
Sir John Stanhope (1559 – 1611) was an English knight and landowner, and father of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield.
Career
John Stanhope was the son of Sir Thomas Stanhope (d. 1596) of Shelford Manor, Nottinghamshire, and Margare ...
(1559–1611)
*Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield (1584 – 12 September 1656) was an English nobleman, aristocrat and royalist, who was created the first Earl of Chesterfield by King Charles I in 1628.
Biography
Stanhope was the only son of Sir John Sta ...
(1584 – 1656).
Shelford Manor was built on the former priory site c.1600. The architect was "probably" Robert Smythson
Robert Smythson (1535 – 15 October 1614) was an English architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing—his first mention in historical records comes in 155 ...
or John Smythson.
Siege and destruction
Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield (1584 – 12 September 1656) was an English nobleman, aristocrat and royalist, who was created the first Earl of Chesterfield by King Charles I in 1628.
Biography
Stanhope was the only son of Sir John Sta ...
was summoned to Parliament in 1640 and took the side of King Charles I in the threatening conflict. When the English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
broke out he and his sons took up arms. From around January 1643,[ Shelford Manor was garrisoned under the command of his son ]Philip Stanhope Philip Stanhope may refer to:
* Philip Stanhope (Royalist officer) (died 1645), English Civil War Royalist colonel
* Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield (1584–1656), English peer
* Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield (1634–1 ...
. The manor was fortified during the war, and "traces of civil war fieldworks" still survive.[ The manor was described as "a fortified house surrounded by a very strong ' bulwark' and a great ditch on the outside of it partly filled with water", with mentions of a drawbridge and defensive "'half moons' within the bulwark".][
The house was surrounded on 1 November 1645 by forces led by Colonel John Hutchinson and Colonel-General ]Sydnam Poyntz
Colonel General Sydnam Poyntz, also ''Sydenham Poynts'', (bap. 3 November 1607) was an English soldier who served in the Thirty Years' War and the English Civil War.
After continental military service, he returned to England in 1644 and became a ...
. The summons to surrender was rejected by Philip Stanhope.
Lucy Hutchinson
Lucy Hutchinson (; 29 January 1620 – October 1681) was an English translator, poet, and biographer, and the first person to translate the complete text of Lucretius's ''De rerum natura'' (''On the Nature of Things'') into English verse, du ...
, the wife of Colonel Hutchinson, described some of the tactics of the defenders:
The house was stormed on 3 November. The attack started at 4 o'clock and lasted just half an hour.[ Stanhope was killed and many defenders (160 Royalists][) were massacred, and 140 were taken prisoner. Shelford House was plundered for valuables and burnt to the ground. On the following day, Colonel-General Poyntz moved to ]Wiverton Hall
Wiverton Hall (sometimes pronounced ) is an English country house near Tithby, Nottinghamshire. By 1510 the former village of Wyverton had become impoverished and reduced to just four houses and a cottage. It was in that year completely depopu ...
in Nottinghamshire which suffered the same fate.
Historian David Appleby has said that a "frenzied massacre", which may have included women and children, followed the battle, and the whole encounter was later covered up, not mentioned by either side. Appleby suggests that the Parliamentarians wanted to forget the savagery, and the defending Royalists to hide the presence of "European Catholics" of the Queen's Regiment, who had a very bad reputation.
Reconstruction
The house was rebuilt after the civil war (c.1678[) by another son of ]Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield (1584 – 12 September 1656) was an English nobleman, aristocrat and royalist, who was created the first Earl of Chesterfield by King Charles I in 1628.
Biography
Stanhope was the only son of Sir John Sta ...
, Arthur Stanhope
Arthur Stanhope (1627 – 26 March 1694) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1660 and 1679.
Life
Stanhope was born at Shelford, Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, the son of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterf ...
(1627–1677). This building still exists, although it has now been vacated by the Stanhopes.
A 2019 aerial study by the University of Nottingham shows the layout of the original Priory and mentions that the current farmhouse was almost certainly the monastic ‘prior’s lodgings’ and retains a considerable amount of the original medieval building.
The site is now a private residence.
Notes
References
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{{Monasteries in Nottinghamshire , state=expanded
Monasteries in Nottinghamshire
Augustinian monasteries in England
1160s establishments in England
1536 disestablishments in England
Christian monasteries established in the 12th century
Grade II* listed buildings in Nottinghamshire
Stanhope family