Thetford Priory is a

Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...

monastic house in

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24, ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, England. Founded in 1103 by

Roger Bigod of Norfolk Roger Bigod (died 1107) was a Norman knight who travelled to England in the Norman Conquest. He held great power in East Anglia, and five of his descendants were earls of Norfolk. He was also known as Roger Bigot, appearing as such as a witness t ...

, Thetford was one of the most important monasteries of East Anglia. It should not be confused with the Dominican Friary of Blackfriars, Thetford that later became part of

Thetford Grammar School Thetford Grammar School is an independent co-educational school in Thetford, Norfolk, England. The school might date back to the 7th century, which would make it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. History The school website conject ...

History

One of the most important East Anglian monasteries, Thetford Priory was founded in 1103 by Roger Bigod of Norfolk, in lieu of a vow of pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The abandoned cathedral church of the East Anglian bishops, on the Suffolk side of the

River Little Ouse The River Little Ouse is a river in the east of England, a tributary of the River Great Ouse. For much of its length it defines the boundary between Norfolk and Suffolk. It rises east of Thelnetham, close to the source of the River Waveney, ...

, was at first selected as the church of the new priory, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. A cloister or cells of woodwork were erected for the accommodation of the monks, and Benedictines from the

Priory of St Pancras Lewes Priory is a part-demolished medieval Cluniac priory in Lewes, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. The ruins have been designated a Grade I listed building. History The Priory of St Pancras was the first Cluniac house in England and had ...

in Lewes arrived in 1104."Houses of Cluniac monks: The priory of St Mary, Thetford.", ''A History of the County of Norfolk'' Volume 2. (William Page, ed.) London: Victoria County History, 1906. 363-369. British History Online. 2 September 2022
/ref> Three years later, a new prior realized that the monastic site, surrounded by the houses of the burghers, was inconveniently overcrowded, with no room for a guest-house. Bigod then gave them a pleasant and open site on the other side of the river in the county of Norfolk. The monks relocated to their new premises on

St. Martin's Day Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas, sometimes historically called Old Halloween or Old Hallowmas Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, it ...

, 1114. In the 13th century, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

to locals requesting the addition to the site of a

Lady Chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British English, British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church (building), church. The chapels are also known as ...

. During its construction, an old statue of her from their former site was discovered to have a hollow in its head concealing saints' relics, and became a magnet for pilgrims. In a 1390 visitation, visitors from Cluni found that there were then twenty-two monks; six daily masses, three of which were sung; and that tenth part of the bread was reserved for distribution to the poor. The visitors found that all monastic obligations according to the Cluni rule were duly observed. During the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a formal complaint was raised by the Mayors and burgesses of

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...

in 1539, arguing that many of the town's inhabitants would fall into extreme poverty because their livelihoods depended on pilgrims visiting the priory. Henry VIII rejected a plan proposed by

Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (1473 – 25 August 1554) was a prominent English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beheade ...

to convert the priory into a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

. The dean was to be Prior William, and the six prebendaries and eight secular canons were to be the monks of the former house. Thetford Priory was closed down in 1540 and fell into the possession of the Duke of Norfolk.

Description

It housed the tombs of the Howard dynasty, of

Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, (15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536), was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his mistress, Elizabeth Blount, and the only child born out of wedlock whom Henry VIII acknowledged. He was the ...

, and of other early

Tudor Dynasty The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and it ...

officials. Even this could not save the priory from the Dissolution of the Monasteries and, on its closure in 1540 (it was one of the last priories to be dissolved), the Howard tombs were removed to

St Michael the Archangel, Framlingham St Michael's Church in Framlingham, Suffolk is a Church of England church dedicated to Saint Michael. It was the burial site of the Howard family. The church was declared a Grade I listed building in 1966. History The Church of Saint Michael ...

. The Prior’s Lodging was converted into a house which was occupied until the early eighteenth century."Tudors and Jacobeans", Thetford Town Council
/ref> Its ruins (including the lower walls of the church and cloister, along with the impressive shell of the priors' lodging and, reached by a pathway from the main site, an almost complete 14th-century gatehouse) are open to the public as an

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 ...

site. The priory and gatehouse are Grade I listed buildings. The ruins are reputedly haunted and were the subject of an episode of the television series '' Ghosthunters''.

Priors

* Malgod, appointed 1104 * Stephen, appointed 1107 * Constantine, occurs 1131 * Martin, occurs 1189 * Peter Vincent, occurs 1202 * Richard, occurs 1226, died c. 1236 (fn. 59) * Stephen II, occurs 1240, killed 1248 (fn. 61) * William I, occurs 1262 * Vincent, occurs 1279, died c. 1300 (fn. 64) * Reginald de Montargi alias de Eye, elected c. 1300 * Ralph de Frezenfeld, appointed 1302 * Thomas Bigod, appointed 1304 * William de Ventodoro, appointed 1308 * Martin de Rinhiaco, appointed 1311 * Peter de Bosco, appointed 1316 * James de Cusancia, occurs 1336 * Geoffrey de Rochario, occurs 1355 * Roger de Berton, occurs 1370 * John de Fordham, occurs 1372, 1395 * John Ixworth, appointed c. 1400 * Nicholas, appointed 1430 * John Vesey, appointed 1438 * Robert Weting, appointed 1480 * Roger Baldry de Bermingham, appointed 1503 * William Ixworth, appointed 1518, last prior.

Local context

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, another Grade I listed building, and originally part of another medieval monastery, is 300 metres to the south, directly across the

Burials

Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk (1095–1177) was the second son of Roger Bigod (also known as Roger Bigot) (died 1107), sheriff of Norfolk and royal advisor, and Adeliza, daughter of Robert de Todeni. Early years After the death of his eld ...

Roger Bigod, 2nd Earl of Norfolk Roger Bigod ( – 1221) was the son of Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk and his first wife, Juliana de Vere. Although his father died 1176 or 1177, Roger did not succeed to the earldom of Norfolk until 1189 for his claim had been disputed by hi ...

John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk (c. 142522 August 1485), was an English nobleman, soldier, politician, and the first Howard Duke of Norfolk. He was a close friend and loyal supporter of King Richard III, with whom he was slain at the Battl ...

(originally buried here) *

Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk (144321 May 1524), styled Earl of Surrey from 1483 to 1485 and again from 1489 to 1514, was an English nobleman, soldier and statesman who served four monarchs. He was the eldest son of John Howard, 1st Du ...

(originally buried here) * Agnes Howard, Duchess of Norfolk (originally buried here) * Anne of York (daughter of Edward IV) (originally buried here) *

John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal (12 September 14156 November 1461) was a fifteenth-century English magnate who, despite having a relatively short political career, played a significant role in the early years of the Wars of ...

* Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (originally buried here)

References

External links

History of Thetford Priory at English Heritage
{{Authority control Monasteries in Norfolk Cluniac monasteries in England Religious organizations established in the 1100s English Heritage sites in Norfolk Grade I listed buildings in Norfolk Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 1103 establishments in England 1530s disestablishments in England Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation Thetford