The Cluniac Priory of Wangford was a small religious house in

Wangford Wangford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Wangford with Henham, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England, just off the A12 trunk road on the edge of the Henham Park estate just outside Southwold ...

in the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. It was founded before 1159 as a dependency of

Thetford Priory Thetford Priory is a Cluniac monastic house in Thetford, Norfolk, England. Founded in 1103 by Roger Bigod of Norfolk, Thetford was one of the most important monasteries of East Anglia. It should not be confused with the Dominican Friary of Blackf ...

. In 1376, it was naturalised before being dissolved in 1540.'Houses of Cluniac monks: Priory of Wangford', in W. Page (ed.), ''A History of the County of Suffolk'', Vol. 2 (V.C.H., London 1975)
pp. 88-89
(British History Online).

Facility and inhabitants

The

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 mon ...

buildings adjoined the south side of the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. It is recorded within the church that the last remaining portions of the Priory were demolished in the late 19th century. At any given time, its complement of monks ranged from three to five men. By 1537 they had been withdrawn and the house leased as a farm.

Priors

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 ...

of Wangford was appointed in 1226 by

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...

to be joint Papal Commissioner along with the

Abbot of Westminster The Abbot of Westminster was the head (abbot) of Westminster Abbey. List Notes ReferencesTudorplace.com.ar{Unreliable source?, certain=y, reason=self published website; and Jorge H. Castelli is not an expert, date=January 2015 * Westminster ...

and the

Archdeacon of Sudbury The Archdeacon of Sudbury is a senior cleric in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. The archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy in its five rural deaneries; Clare, Ixworth, Lavenham, Sudbury and Thingoe. ...

. Together, these three men resolved important disputes over the tithes due to the church, making the prior an important figure in English Roman Catholicism.

Dissolution

The final dispossession of Wangford and the mother house of Thetford was effected in 1540 with the Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by

Henry VIII of England 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 disa ...

References

Cluniac monasteries in England Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation 1540 disestablishments in England 1159 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Monasteries in Suffolk Wangford, East Suffolk {{UK-Christian-monastery-stub

Facility and inhabitants

Priors

Dissolution

See also

References