Bromholm Priory

Last updated

Bromholm Priory, with its disguised World War Two pillbox front centre. Broomholm Priory - geograph.org.uk - 775704.jpg
Bromholm Priory, with its disguised World War Two pillbox front centre.
Bromholm Priory Bromholm Priory.JPG
Bromholm Priory

Bromholm Priory was a Cluniac priory, situated in a coastal location near the village of Bacton, Norfolk, England

History

Bromholm Priory, also known as Bacton Abbey, [1] was founded in 1113 by William de Glanville, Lord of Bacton, and was originally subordinate to Castle Acre Priory until 1195 when it was exempted by Pope Celestine III. King Henry III visited the priory in 1223 to take the holy waters and dedicate to the relics; lands nearby at Cawston, Beeston, Burgh and Aylsham were controlled by the all-powerful Chief Justiciar Hubert de Burgh until his death on 12 May 1243. [2] From this priory we have the Bromholm Psalter dated to the early fourteenth century. The priory was suppressed in 1536. All that now remains are the ruins of the gatehouse, Chapter House, and the northern transept of the Priory Church.

It was an important object of pilgrimage as it claimed to possess a piece of the True Cross, mentioned as the 'holy cross of Bromeholme' [3] in Chaucer's The Reeve's Tale and William Langland's Vision of Piers Plowman . This piece of the True Cross was brought from Constantinople, after the Fourth Crusade, by an anonymous English Monk.

It was a benefice of the Paston family and is featured in their letters.

In 1940 the base of the central tower of the priory church was modified to act as a pillbox in case of German invasion. A similarly disguised gun emplacement can be seen created in the medieval masonry of Pevensey Castle in East Sussex, also close to the sea.

Considerable graphic visualisations of what the priory and its lands looked like throughout its history were produced in 2019 and 2020 by members of the Paston Portal. [4]

"A Short History of Bromholm Priory" published 1911.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey</span> Monastery under an abbot or an abbess

An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent</span> Chief Justiciar of England and Ireland

Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent was an English nobleman who served as Chief Justiciar of England (1215–1232) and Justiciar of Ireland (1232) during the reigns of King John and his son and successor King Henry III and, as Regent of England (1219–1227) during Henry's minority, was one of the most influential and powerful men in English politics in the thirteenth century.

William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Lord of Lewes, Seigneur de Varennes, was a Norman nobleman created Earl of Surrey under William II Rufus. He is among the few known from documents to have fought under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. At the time of Domesday Book in 1086 he held extensive lands in 13 counties, including the Rape of Lewes, a tract now divided between the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Acre Priory</span> Priory in Castle Acre, Norfolk, England (1089–1537)

Castle Acre Priory was a Cluniac priory in the village of Castle Acre, Norfolk, England, dedicated to St Mary, St Peter, and St Paul. It is thought to have been founded in 1089 by William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey. The order originated from Burgundy. Originally the priory was sited within the walls of Castle Acre Castle, but this proved too small and inconvenient for the monks; hence, the priory was relocated to the present site in the castle grounds about one year later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bacton, Norfolk</span> Human settlement in England

Bacton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is on the Norfolk coast, some 12 miles (20 km) south-east of Cromer, 25 miles (40 km) north-west of Great Yarmouth and 19 miles (30 km) north of Norwich. Besides the village of Bacton, the parish includes the nearby settlements of Bacton Green, Broomholm, Keswick and Pollard Street. It also includes Edingthorpe, which was added to Bacton civil parish under the County of Norfolk Review Order, 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cluny Abbey</span> Abbey in Saône-et-Loire, France

Cluny Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thetford Priory</span> Monastic house in Norfolk, England

Thetford Priory is a Cluniac monastic house in Thetford, Norfolk, England. Founded in 1103 by Roger Bigod of Norfolk, Thetford was one of the most important monasteries of East Anglia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binham Priory</span> Priory in Binham, Norfolk

St Mary's Priory, Binham, or Binham Priory, is a ruined Benedictine priory located in the village of Binham in the English county of Norfolk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenton Priory</span> Cluniac monastic house in England

Lenton Priory was a Cluniac monastic house in Nottinghamshire, founded by William Peverel circa 1102-8. The priory was granted a large endowment of property in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire by its founder, which became the cause of violent disagreement following its seizure by the crown and its reassignment to Lichfield Cathedral. The priory was home mostly to French monks until the late 14th century when the priory was freed from the control of its foreign mother-house. From the 13th-century the priory struggled financially and was noted for "its poverty and indebtedness". The priory was dissolved as part of King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewes Priory</span> Grade I listed ruins in the United Kingdom

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cluniac priories in Great Britain</span> List of cluniac order religious houses

In the Middle Ages, from the 11th century, the Cluniac order established a number of religious houses in England, Wales, and Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoke-by-Clare</span> Village in Suffolk, England

Stoke-by-Clare is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk located in the valley of the River Stour, about two miles west of Clare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paston, Norfolk</span> Human settlement in England

Paston is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of North Walsham and 9.1 miles (14.6 km) south-east of Cromer. It is 19.2 miles (30.9 km) north-east of the city of Norwich. The village sits astride the coast road between Mundesley and Bacton. The nearest railway station is at North Walsham for the Bittern Line which runs between Sheringham, Cromer and Norwich. The nearest airport is Norwich International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dudley Priory</span>

Dudley Priory is a dissolved priory in Dudley, West Midlands, England. The ruins of the priory are located within Priory Park, alongside the Priory Estate, and is both a scheduled monument and Grade I listed. The ruins received this status on 14 September 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldeby Priory</span> Priory in Norfolk, England

Aldeby Priory was a 12th-century Benedictine monastic house in Aldeby, Norfolk, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Sepulchre Priory, Thetford</span> Monastery in Thetford, Norfolk, England

Holy Sepulchre Church was a medieval monastic house in Thetford, Norfolk. The ruined nave of this 14th-century church are the only surviving remains in England of a priory of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, who followed the Rule of Saint Augustine and aided pilgrims to Christ's tomb. It was later used as a barn, and is a Grade I listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. James Priory, Derby</span>

St. James Priory, also known as Derby Cluniac Priory, was a Benedictine monastery, formerly located in what is now Derby City Centre. It existed until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Stoke-by-Clare Priory was a Benedictine monastery in Stoke-by-Clare, in Suffolk, an alien priory, dependent on Bec Abbey, in Normandy. Reinstituted in 1124, the Priory was suppressed in 1415.

References

  1. A Pictorial and Descriptive Guide to Cromer, Sheringham, Norwich, and North Norfolk, Ward Lock and Co, London P48
  2. Ellis, C(1952) Hubert de Burgh London: Phoenix
  3. 'Houses of Cluniac monks: The priory of Bromholm', A History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 2 (1906), pp. 359-363. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38275 Date accessed: 16 March 2010
  4. Paston Portal URL: https://www.thisispaston.co.uk/bromholm01.html Date accessed: 14 February 2022

52°50′40″N1°29′15″E / 52.844479°N 1.487463°E / 52.844479; 1.487463

Cockerell, Sydney Carlyle, Sir. Two East Anglian psalters at the Bodleian library. Oxford: Printed for the Roxburghe Club by J. Johnson, 1926. (Facsimile of Bolmholm Psalter)