St Olave's Priory in St Olaves - geograph

Herringfleet Priory (also St Olave's Priory) was an

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 ...

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

of Black Canons located in St Olaves, north-west of Lowestoft in eastern England. The site is in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, although prior to 1974 it was part of the former Suffolk parish of

Herringfleet Herringfleet is a place and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is located north-west of Lowestoft in the East Suffolk district. The parish was combined with Somerleyton and Ashby to create the parish of Somerl ...

. Founded in 1239, the priory was situated near the ancient ferry across the

River Waveney The River Waveney is a river which forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads. The "ey" part of the name means "river" thus the name is tautological. Course The source of the River Wavene ...

. The priory of SS. Mary and Olave was founded by Sir Roger Fitz Osbert of

Somerley Somerley is a large Georgian Grade II* listed English country house that is situated in the civil parish of Ellingham and Harbridge with Ibsley in the New Forest district in Hampshire, England. It is 2 miles (3 km) west of the New Fores ...

in the time of Henry III. The remains consist of the

undercroft An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...

, two aisles of the Lady Chapel, and the

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

, now a barn. The original dedication was to "St Olave, The Blessed Virgin Mary, and St Edmund, King and Martyr".

Saint Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title '' Rex Per ...

was King of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. He was born ca. 995 AD and Christianised

. In Suffolk, there was no other dedication to Saint Olaf, but two in Norfolk, and over fifty in the rest of England, with six in London. On 20 August 1536, Sir Humphrey Wingfield, the Commissioner for the Dissolution of the Monasteries arrived, and on 16 January 1546 Henry VIII made over the priory site to a local man, Sir Henry Jerningham of

Somerleyton Somerleyton is a village and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north-west of Lowestoft and south-west of Great Yarmouth in the East Suffolk district. The village is closely associated with Somerleyto ...

. Now in ruins, it gives its name to St. Olave's Bridge, over the Waveney, replacing a very ancient ferry, and also to a modern railway-junction. The Priory was allowed to hold an annual fair on St Olave's Day, 29 July. It was also given the lordship over

and Burgh St Peter. The area has been excavated and several burials in the Canons'

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

discovered. It is now in the guardianship of

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 ...

Priors

St Olaves Priory 13th Century Undercroft - geograph

*1273 William *1300 Bennedict *1303 Thomas of Norwich *1309 William Dale *1329 John de Tybenham *1341 Philip of Herlingland *1354 John of Surlingham *1370 Roger of Haddiscoe *1391 John of Hanewell *1401 John of Wylughy *1430 John Wells *1460 William Bugal *1468 William Beverley *1480 Thomas Baget *1541 William Dale

References

External links

St Olaves Priory
at

{{coord, 52.5385, 1.6243, type:landmark_scale:3000_region:GB, display=inline,title 1239 establishments in England Monasteries in Suffolk Augustinian monasteries in England Christian monasteries established in the 13th century 1536 disestablishments in England