Wilmington Priory was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

priory in the civil parish of

Long Man __NOTOC__ Long Man is a civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, which includes the villages of Wilmington, Milton Street and Folkington. The parish is named after the Long Man of Wilmington, a chalk figure in the parish. ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

, England. The surviving building is now owned by the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...

and let as holiday accommodation. It is both a Grade I

listed building 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 ...

and a

scheduled 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 ...

History

Wilmington Priory was founded in the mid 11th century as a small

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

cell of St Mary by Herluin de Conteville. It was enlarged in 1243 to create a priory, but primarily run as a

grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austr ...

to maintain the lands held in the area by the Benedictine monks of Grestain Abbey in Normandy. The building was fortified in the 14th century with a

portcullis A portcullis (from Old French ''porte coleice'', "sliding gate") is a heavy vertically-closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications, consisting of a latticed grille made of wood, metal, or a combination of the two, which slides down ...

and a three-storey drum tower, which was demolished in the 18th century. The grange was suppressed along with other alien cells in 1414, and given to the Dean and Chapter of

Chichester Cathedral Chichester Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Chichester. It is located in Chichester, in West Sussex, England. It was founded as a cathedral in 1075, when the seat of ...

, who in 1565 granted it to Sir Richard Sackville. About 1700 the estate passed to the Compton family, later Earls of Wilmington. It passed by marriage from them to the

Cavendish Cavendish may refer to: People * The House of Cavendish, a British aristocratic family * Margaret Cavendish (1623–1673), British poet, philosopher, and scientist * Cavendish (author) (1831–1899), pen name of Henry Jones, English au ...

family, and in 1925 the ninth Duke of Devonshire conveyed the priory to the Sussex Archaeological Trust, who repaired the building and set up a small museum of farm implements. The priory was open daily in the 1960s. Subsequently, it passed to the

. On the site today stands a 14th-century two-storey L-shaped house, incorporating part of a 13th-century building, which was modified in the 18th century and is Grade I listed. To the north and south of the house are the ruins of other buildings, under one of which is a 14th-century vaulted

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 ...

. The priory church is used today as the parish church St Mary and St Peter's Church, Wilmington.

References

Monasteries in East Sussex Grade I listed buildings in East Sussex Scheduled monuments in East Sussex {{England-hist-stub

History

See also

References