Ashridge Priory was a medieval college of Austin canons [1] called variously the "Brothers of Penitence" or the "Boni Homines". It was founded by Edmund of Almain in 1283 who donated, among other things, a phial of Christ's blood to the abbey. It was granted to Mary Tudor, Queen of France and later became the private residence of the future queen Elizabeth I. It was acquired by Sir Thomas Egerton in 1604 and then passed down to the Duke of Bridgewater before being demolished.
In 1283 Edmund, son of Richard, Earl of Cornwall holders of Berkhamsted Castle (two and half miles away) founded a monastery at Ashridge, Hertfordshire. [2] The monastery was built for a rector and twenty canons who formed, according to the sixteenth-century historian Polydore Vergil, "a new order not before seen in England, and called the Boni homines". [2]
At the foundation of the abbey Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall donated, among other things, a phial of Christ's blood. This relic was perhaps not so well known as the Holy Blood which the Earl of Cornwall donated to Hailes Abbey in Gloucestershire, but it proved fruitful for the abbey. Pilgrims from all over Europe flocked to see the phial and the abbey grew quite wealthy as a result of their donations. [3]
One such visitor was King Edward I. In 1290 he held parliament at the abbey while he spent Christmas in Pitstone. [3] The Black Prince, a later lord of Berkhampstead castle, became interested in the College around the time of the Black Death around 1350. A second house of the Order was established at the prince's suggestion at Edington, Wiltshire around 1358 by William Edington. [4]
The last rector was Thomas Waterhouse, who surrendered the house to Henry VIII. The building ceased to be used for religious purposes shortly afterwards. [3]
At the Dissolution of the Monasteries the priory was surrendered to the crown and King Henry VIII used it to house his children, namely Prince Edward and the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. [5] Eventually he bequeathed the property to his daughter Elizabeth. It was here that she was arrested in 1554, under suspicion of treason during Wyatt's rebellion. [6]
In 1604 the priory was acquired by Sir Thomas Egerton. A descendant of his, the Duke of Bridgewater, demolished the old buildings in the 1760s. [7]
There has been speculation that the order was in some way associated with the Albigensian heresy of southern France whose perfecti called themselves bonhommes. [3] [8] Edmund's mother had been married by proxy to Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, a protector of the heretical sect. [9] Wall paintings in the college cloisters, now lost, were described in the eighteenth century as favouring the Albigensians. Wall paintings in a cottage at Piccotts End, near Ashridge, have been similarly described. These paintings were discovered in the 1950s and have been preserved. [10]
Hailes Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, in the small village of Hailes, two miles northeast of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in 1246 as a daughter establishment of Beaulieu Abbey. The abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539. Little remains of the abbey. It is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.
Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater,, known as Francis Egerton until 1823, was a noted British eccentric from the Egerton family and supporter of natural theology.
Ashridge is a country estate and stately home in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Berkhamsted and 23 miles (37 km) north west of London. The estate comprises 5,000 acres (20 km2) of woodlands, commons and chalk downland which supports a rich variety of wildlife.
Edington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 4 miles (6 km) east-northeast of Westbury. The village lies under the north slope of Salisbury Plain and the parish extends south onto the Plain. Its Grade I listed parish church was built for Edington Priory in the 14th century.
St Germans Priory is a large Norman church in the village of St Germans in south-east Cornwall, England, UK.
Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley,, known as 1st Baron Ellesmere from 1603 to 1616, was an English nobleman, judge and statesman from the Egerton family who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor for twenty-one years.
Edington Priory in Wiltshire, England, was founded by William Edington, the bishop of Winchester, in 1351 in his home village of Edington, about 3+3⁄4 miles (6 km) east of the town of Westbury. The priory church was consecrated in 1361 and continues in use as the parish church of Saint Mary, Saint Katharine and All Saints.
Little Gaddesden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Berkhamsted. As well as Little Gaddesden village, the parish contains the settlements of Ashridge, Hudnall, and part of Ringshall. The total population at the 2011 Census was 1,125. Little Gaddesden is an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) and a conservation area protected by the National Trust.
Burnham Abbey was a house of Augustinian canonesses regular near Burnham in Buckinghamshire, England. It was founded in 1266 by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall. The abbey of St Mary consisted of around twenty nuns at the outset, but was never wealthy and by the time of its dissolution in 1539 there were only ten.
Canonsleigh Abbey was an Augustinian priory in the parish of Burlescombe, Devon.
Edmund of Almain was the second Earl of Cornwall of the fourth creation from 1272. He joined the Ninth Crusade in 1271, but never made it to the Holy Land. He was the regent of the Kingdom of England from 1286 to 1289 and the High Sheriff of Cornwall from 1289 to 1300.
Hatfield Broad Oak Priory, or Hatfield Regis Priory, is a former Benedictine priory in Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex, England. Founded by 1139, it was dissolved in 1536 as part of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.
St Petroc's Church, Bodmin, also known as Bodmin Parish Church, was a Roman Catholic Church until the reformation and is currently an Anglican parish church in the town of Bodmin, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
St Margaret's Convent was a convent of the Benedictine order near Great Gaddesden in Hertfordshire, England. Founded in 1160, it was abolished as a consequence of King Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s. It was also known as The Priory of Ivinghoe, St. Margaret's, in the Wood and Muresley Priory.
Lammana Priory was a priory on Looe Island in Cornwall, UK, consisting of two Benedictine monks until 1289. It was owned by Glastonbury Abbey and the property was sold in 1289 to a local landowner.
William Devereux was an Anglo-Norman nobleman living during the reigns of kings William I, William II, and Henry I of England. The Devereux, along with the Baskervilles and Pichards, were prominent knightly families along the Welsh marches at the beginning of the twelfth century, and linked to the Braose and Lacy lordships of the region. William Devereux's descendants would later give rise to the Devereux family of Hereford, and the Devereux Viscounts of Hereford and Earls of Essex.
Charlotte Catherine Anne, Countess of Bridgewater, née Charlotte Haynes, was a British noblewoman. She was known for her philanthropic and charitable acts, and supported numerous educational and religious causes. She was responsible for the laying out of the ornamental gardens around her family home at Ashridge in Hertfordshire.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Boni Homines". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.