Greyfriars, Stamford was a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friary in

Stamford, Lincolnshire Stamford is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 19,701 and estimated at 20,645 in 2019. The town has 17th- and 18th-century stone buildings, older timber ...

, England. It was one of many religious houses suppressed and closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. The site is now part of the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

Stamford and Rutland Hospital.

History

Records show that a friary had been established prior to 1230 because on 13 January 1229-30, Henry III made a grant of fuel to the religious community. Several notable people were buried at Greyfriars these include

Joan of Kent Joan, Countess of Kent suo jure ( – August 1385),Barber, R. (2004, 23 September). Joan, suo jure countess of Kent, and princess of Wales and of Aquitaine alled the Fair Maid of Kent(c. 1328–1385). ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biog ...

, wife of the

Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne instead. Edward n ...

, who was buried in 1385 at the Greyfriars beside her first husband,

Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent Thomas Holland, 2nd Baron Holand, and ''jure uxoris'' 1st Earl of Kent, Order of the Garter, KG (26 December 1360) was an Kingdom of England, English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. By the time of the Crécy campai ...

, as requested in her will.

Blanche of Lancaster, Baroness Wake of Liddell Blanche of Lancaster, Baroness Wake of Liddell () was an English noblewoman. She was the eldest daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth. Blanche was named after her grandmother, Blanche of Artois, who had ruled Navarre as reg ...

, the wife of the powerful Lincolnshire Lord

Thomas Wake, 2nd Baron Wake of Liddell Thomas Wake, 2nd Baron Wake of Liddell (129731 May 1349), English baron, belonged to a Lincolnshire family which had lands also in Cumberland, being the son of John Wake, 1st Baron Wake of Liddell (died 1300), who was summoned to parliament as a ...

was buried in the friary church 1380. After

Richard, Duke of York Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (21 September 1411 – 30 December 1460), also named Richard Plantagenet, was a leading English magnate and claimant to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. He was a member of the ruling House of Plantag ...

was killed at the

Battle of Wakefield The Battle of Wakefield took place in Sandal Magna near Wakefield in northern England, on 30 December 1460. It was a major battle of the Wars of the Roses. The opposing forces were an army led by nobles loyal to the captive King Henry VI o ...

in 1460 during the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

, his body was exhumed in 1476 by his son,

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

. The elaborate funeral cortège travelled from

Pontefract Castle Pontefract (or Pomfret) Castle is a castle ruin in the town of Pontefract, in West Yorkshire, England. King Richard II of England, Richard II is thought to have died there. It was the site of a series of famous sieges during the 17th-cent ...

to a new tomb at

Fotheringhay Fotheringhay is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. It is north-east of Oundle and around west of Peterborough. It is most noted for being the site of Fotheringhay (or Fotheringay) Castle which was razed in 1627. ...

. En route the hearse spent two nights at the Greyfriars church.

Demise

During the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

, the Friary was suppressed as part of the Dissolution of the monasteries in 1534. It was surrendered in 1538.

Later use

In 1828 Stamford and Rutland Infirmary was built on the site of the Friary. It is now Stamford and Rutland Hospital. The only surviving structure from the medieval friary is the 14th-century gateway known as the "Whitefriars gatehouse"; however academic research now suggests it was a Franciscan friary not one of the

Carmelite Order The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

. It was built of Barnack limestone in the second quarter of the 14th century. The gateway is on 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 ...

; repairs have been carried out but there are no current plans for the building.

History

Demise

Later use

See also

References

Further reading