Hinton Priory was a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...

monastery in northeast

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, England, from 1232 until 1539.

History

The priory was one of the ten medieval Carthusian houses ( charterhouses) in England. It was first established at

Hatherop Hatherop is a village and civil parish in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about north of Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. The River Coln forms part of the western boundary of the parish. History Barrow Elm, which is ab ...

, Gloucestershire in 1222 by William Longspee,

Earl of Salisbury Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history, and is now a subsidiary title to the marquessate of Salisbury. Background The title was first created for Patrick de S ...

. The monks disliked the location, and on Longspee's death in 1226 they petitioned his countess for a new site to achieve greater solitude. She gave them her manors of Hinton and Norton St Philip in

, and the new house was consecrated at a site about northeast of the village of Hinton (later called Hinton Charterhouse) in May 1232. It was called Locus Dei meaning 'God's Place'. A "lower house" for

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...

s was established near Freshford, close to the River Frome, about to the east (). This ceased to be used, probably in the 14th century, and the lay brothers were accommodated with the main community. Hinton gained the land and property of the small Longleat Priory in 1529. The house was suppressed as part of the dissolution of the monasteries on 31 March 1539; at that time it housed the Prior, sixteen monks and six lay brothers. The property was then bought by Matthew Colthurst. Hinton Priory Chapel

Today

The

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole commun ...

, with library and

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

above, survives and was designated as

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

in 1956. Also standing is the refectory (also Grade I) which is part of a former stable yard (Grade II) incorporating other early work. All now belong to the sixteenth century country house, also known as Hinton Priory, on the northern part of the site and itself a Grade I listed building. Surviving earthworks from the great cloister are visible in an orchard and paddocks. The site is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. It is included in the

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

produced by

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 ...

; the entry for 2012 states that its condition is "Poor" and that some parts are in need of condition assessment. The Priory is in private ownership and there is no public access. The site of the lower house on the River Frome is also a scheduled monument. A small current settlement there preserves the name of its predecessor in its name of "Friary". Earthworks and buried material remain, and a later cottage incorporates fragments of 14th century masonry; an interpretation board was erected by the Cotswolds Conservation Board in 2017 and indicates the layout of the mediaeval buildings.

History

Today

References

Further reading