Blackfriars, Bristol
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Blackfriars, Bristol was a Dominican
priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...
in
Broadmead Broadmead is a street in Bristol city centre in England, which has given its name to the principal shopping district of the city. It is part of Bristol Shopping Quarter. History The name of the street was first recorded in 1383 as ''Brodem ...
,
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It was founded by Maurice de Gaunt in 1227 or 1228.
Llywelyn ap Dafydd Llywelyn ap Dafydd (c.1267–1287), potential claimant to the title Prince of Gwynedd, was the eldest son of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last free ruler of Gwynedd, and his wife Elizabeth Ferrers. Nothing is known of his early life, though it ...
, son of
Dafydd ap Gruffydd Dafydd ap Gruffudd, also known as ''Dafydd III'' (11 July 1238 – 3 October 1283), was a Prince of Gwynedd until after the death of his brother, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, when he proclaimed himself as the Prince of Wales from 11 December 1282. H ...
, the last native
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
, was buried in the cemetery of the priory. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, surviving parts of the priory became a guildhall for the Smiths and Cutlers Company, the Bakers Company, a workhouse and then Bristol Quaker meeting house. In the 20th century, it has housed the local
register office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration of births, deaths, marri ...
, a theatre company, and a restaurant.


History

Blackfriars was founded as a Dominican priory by Maurice de Gaunt circa 1227. The site in Broadmead was just north of the town walls. The name "Blackfriars" comes from the black hooded cloak that the friars wore over their white habits. Henry III supported the building of the church and priory, which took over forty years. Oak was supplied from the
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...
and the king granted the friars charitable gifts and a
moiety Moiety may refer to: __NOTOC__ Anthropology * Moiety (kinship), either of two groups into which a society is divided ** A division of society in the Iroquois societal structure in North America ** An Australian Aboriginal kinship group ** Native Ha ...
of fish landed in the port. In 1232, a royal grant gave the friars the right to build a conduit to supply fresh water from Peniwell, now known as Pennywell. This conduit was later given to the Mayor and town council in exchange for a feather, a branch pipe, supplying fresh water from
Baptist Mills Baptist Mills is an area of the city of Bristol, England. The name derives from the former mills which stood in that area. The area is centred on the River Frome at Junction 3 of the M32 Motorway. Construction of the motorway divided the neighbou ...
. In 1287,
Llywelyn ap Dafydd Llywelyn ap Dafydd (c.1267–1287), potential claimant to the title Prince of Gwynedd, was the eldest son of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last free ruler of Gwynedd, and his wife Elizabeth Ferrers. Nothing is known of his early life, though it ...
, ''de jure'' Prince of Gwynedd, died in captivity in Bristol Castle and was buried in the Blackfriars graveyard.
John Hilsey John Hilsey (a.k.a. Hildesley or Hildesleigh; died 4 August 1539) was an English Dominican, prior provincial of his order, then an agent of Henry VIII and the English Reformation, and Bishop of Rochester. Life According to Anthony Wood, Hilse ...
,
prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...
of Blackfriars became
provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Canad ...
of the Dominican order in England in 1534.
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
appointed him as one of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
's visitors, charged with inspecting monastic houses and administering the oath of allegiance, under the
Act of Supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the E ...
. In 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, four remaining friars surrendered the buildings and contents. In 1540 the site was purchased from the king by William Chester, who had just finished a term of office as Mayor of Bristol. The area comprised some During the reign of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
parts of the premises were acquired by the Smiths and Cutlers Company and they in turn leased parts of it to the Corporation in 1654 for use as a workhouse for poor girls. Eventually the Smith's Hall and the adjacent Baker's Hall were acquired by the
Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
and the premises became popularly known as
Quakers Friars Quakers Friars () is a Grade 1 Listed building in Broadmead, Bristol. Part of the former Blackfriars, Bristol, Blackfriars Priory site, it was used as a Friends Meeting House, Quaker meeting house for nearly three hundred years, more recently se ...
. In 1681 a mob led by John Hellier attacked the Quakers' meeting hall during persecutions following the
Conventicles Act 1670 The Conventicles Act 1670 ( 22 Cha. 2. c. 1) is an act of the Parliament of England with the long title "An Act to prevent and suppress Seditious Conventicles". The act imposed a fine on any person who attended a conventicle (any religious a ...
.


Today

Some of the original structures, much altered by subsequent use, survive and have been recorded by English Heritage. In the late 20th century the buildings housed Bristol Register Office and for a short time
Show of Strength Theatre Company Show of Strength Theatre Company is a Bristol-based theatre company which has produced new and forgotten works since 1986 in a range of venues in Bristol and the South West. The company is funded by Arts Council England and Bristol City Council ...
. Since 2008, following the redevelopment of Broadmead, a restaurant is located there.


References


Works cited

* * {{coord, 51.457296, -2.58772, type:landmark_region:GB_source:Wikimapia_scale:2000, name=Black Friary, Bristol (site), display=title Friaries in Bristol 1227 establishments in England 1538 disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 1220s