St. Catherine's Priory, Lincoln
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St. Katherine's Priory also known as The Priory of Saint Katherine without Lincoln was a
Gilbertine The Gilbertine Order of Canons Regular was founded around 1130 by Saint Gilbert in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, where Gilbert was the parish priest. It was the only completely English religious order and came to an end in the 16th century at the ...
priory of
Canons Regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
on the
Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...
just outside the walls of Lincoln,
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 ...
. The Priory ran the Hospital of St Sepulchre, probably the first hospital in the city.


History

The community which followed the
Rule of Saint Augustine The Rule of Saint Augustine, written about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church. The rule, developed b ...
was founded not long after the approval of St Gilbert's order in 1148 when Robert de Chesney invited them to minister in the city. The Priory and Church came with The Hospital of Saint Sepulchre which had been established by Bishop of Lincoln
Robert Bloet Robert Bloet (sometimes Robert Bloett;Knowles ''Monastic Order'' p. 132 died 1123) was Bishop of Lincoln 1093–1123 and Chancellor of England. Born into a noble Norman family, he became a royal clerk under King William I. Under William I's s ...
sometime between 1093 and 1123. The community was chiefly male, made up of around 16 Canons, but there is evidence of a number of female lay sisters living alongside to help with medical care in the hospital. The community was under the patronage of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, a fourth century Egyptian missionary, philosopher and martyr, the patron saint of learning and the dying. The key figures were the
prior Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
, the sub-prior, the
cellarer A cellarium (from the Latin ''cella'', "pantry"), also known as an ''undercroft'', was a storehouse or storeroom, usually in a medieval monastery or castle. In English monasteries, it was usually located in or under the buildings on the west range ...
, the precentor, and the
sacrist A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretals ...
. In addition to the duties of singing the eight daily Liturgies of the Hours and the
Conventual Mass As currently used, the terms Chapter Mass (for chapters of canons) and Conventual Mass (for most other houses of religious) refer to the Mass celebrated by and for a community of priests or for a community of priests and brothers or sisters. Such ...
in the priory church the Canons also had responsibility for the care of numerous other parishes. These included the prebendary of Canwick, the Parish of
St Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...
,
Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...
, and the chapel in Newark Castle, as well as the parishes or Rectories of Alford with Rigsby Chapel, Bracebridge, Hackthorn, Harmston,
Friskney Friskney is a village and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map: Skegness, Alford & Spilsby: (1:25 000): The parish includes the settlement of Friskney Eaudyke. The 2011 Census recorded a pari ...
, Marton,
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,
Newton on Trent Newton on Trent is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 389. The village is situated east of the River Trent, and approximately south from Ga ...
,
North Hykeham North Hykeham is a town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district, in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It forms part of the Lincoln Urban Area. The population of the town at the 2011 census was 13,884. History North Hykeham was ori ...
Norton Disney, Saxby and Stapleford. Ministry in these parishes would largely have been left to hire secular clergy, but some of the closer villages like Bracebridge may have been under the direct auspicies of the Canons. A large part of their time would have been spent hearing the Confessions of the sick, ministering Last Rites to the dying, and praying for the needs of the community at large. In 1291 Pope Nicholas IV granted a spiritual Indulgence to anyone who made pilgrimage to the Priory on St Catherine's, St Gilbert's, and St James's feast days. As well as the prime focus of medical, pastoral, and spiritual care the community had a number of agricultural land endowments. In 1285 a windmill was constructed next to the main priory site and in 1306 an aqueduct. By 1535, a few years before the dissolution, these included the granges or manors of
Belchford Belchford is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated approximately north of Horncastle and just to the east of the A153. At the 2011 Census, the population of the parish was ...
,
Cherry Willingham Cherry Willingham is a large village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 3,506. It is situated approximately east from the city and county town of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, ...
, Harmston,
Long Bennington Long Bennington is a linear village and civil parish in South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, just off the A1 road, north of Grantham and south of Newark-on-Trent. It had a population of 2,100 in 2014 and 2,018 at the 2011 Census. ...
, North Hykeham, Stapleford, Saxby, and
Wellingore Wellingore is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 356. It is situated on the A607 road, approximately south from Lincoln. It conjoins the ...
; in Nottinghamshire,
Coddington Coddington may refer to: Places * Coddington, Cheshire, United Kingdom * Coddington, Derbyshire, United Kingdom * Coddington, Herefordshire, United Kingdom * Coddington, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom * Coddington, Wisconsin, United States * Co ...
, and Yorkshire
Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
. St Katherine's also held other lands and rents in Lincolnshire, as well as gaining income from the parish churches listed above. The main product of their estates was wool with an average output of 35 sacks per year in the 14th century. In spite of the community, fairly large income compared to other Gilbertine houses, the costs of the hospital continually threatened to overwhelm income. For this reason the community had the right to send out collectors and Bishop
John Dalderby John Dalderby (or Aldberry or d'Aldreby; died 1320) was a medieval Bishop of Lincoln. Life Dalderby was rector of Dalderby in LincolnshireGreenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300: Volume 3: Lincoln: Bishops of Lincoln'' before holding t ...
granted an Indulgence for all donations to Saint Sepulchre's Hospital. The house was dissolved on 14 July 1538, two months before the other Gilbertine houses in the county. The thirteen canons were pensioned, but the lay sisters got nothing. The site of the priory church is now home to the parish church for the St Catherine's area of Lincoln.


Queen Eleanor and the Priory

On the night of 2 December 1290 the body of Queen
Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November 1290) was Queen of England as the first wife of Edward I, whom she married as part of a political deal to affirm English sovereignty over Gascony. The marriage was known to be particularly close, and ...
, wife of King Edward the First, rested at the Priory of Saint Katherine on the first of twelve days journey to
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
. The following year, the King had Commemorative Crosses built at each location on the journey including outside the gatehouse of St Katherine's. Eleanor's viscera were entombed at
Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Constructio ...
, so it is likely that the embalming process happened at the Priory given the expertise available due to St Sepulchre's medical practice.


List of Priors of Saint Katherine without Lincoln

Adam, occurs 1164 Gilbert, 1202-1218 William, 1218-1225 Vivian, 1225-1232 Hugh, 1232-1236 Roger, 1236-1245 Ralph, 1245-1269 Henry, 1269- Gilbert, occurs 1323 William, 1333-1334 Richard de Stretton, 1334-1334 Walter de Shireburn, 1334-1340 Robert de Navenby, 1340-1344 William, 1344-1348 Roger de Houton, 1348-1390 Hamo, 1390- Walter Iklyngham, occurs 1428 and 1435 Richard Misyn, 1435-1447 John Busseby, 1447- Robert, occurs 1511 John Jonson, occurs 1522
Robert Holgate Robert Holgate (1481/1482 – 1555) was Bishop of Llandaff from 1537 and then Archbishop of York (from 1545 to 1554). He recognised Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. Although a protege of Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, Holga ...
, occurs 1529 William Griffiths, occurs 1538


References

{{Reflist https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lincs/vol2/pp188-191 12th-century establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 1538 disestablishments in England Monasteries in Lincolnshire History of Lincoln, England Eleanor of Castile Gilbertine monasteries Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation