Bruton Abbey in Bruton, Somerset was founded as a house of Augustinian canons in about 1127, and became an abbey in 1511, shortly before its dissolution in 1539. It was endowed with manors, churches and other properties in the area and also in Normandy in France.
According to the sixteenth century antiquary John Leland, Bruton was founded in about 1005 as a Benedictine monastery by Æthelmær the Stout, [1] but it is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It was founded as an Augustinian priory in about 1127. [2] In 1260 the priory exchanged its French possessions for land held by the Abbey of Troarn (nr Caen) at Runcton in Sussex and in Gloucestershire. There were many problems reported in the 15th century. John Schoyle became prior in 1419 and was accused in 1423 of having committed serious offences. In 1428 Bishop Stafford seems to have removed Schoyle from office, and in 1429, the latter was sent to live at the house of Augustinian Canons at Poughley in Berkshire. His successor, Richard of Glastonbury, proved to be equally troublesome: in 1430 and again in 1444, inquiries were conducted into charges of immorality against the prior and the whole community. Under a later reforming prior various rules were introduced bans on the canons were sleeping away from the house without permission, on hunting and dice playing, and on women in the monastery.
Bruton became an abbey in 1511. There were problems both inside and outside the monastery leading up to its dissolution in 1539. The abbot, Ely, was the subject of criminal accusations and even plots against his life, and later in the year became a prisoner in the Tower of London.
The Dovecote which overlooks Bruton was built in the 16th century. It was at one time used as a house, possibly as a watchtower and as a dovecote. It is a Grade II* listed building [3] and ancient monument. [2] [4] It is managed by the National Trust. The building was once within the deerpark of the Abbey and was adapted by the monks from a gabled Tudor tower. [5] The conversion to be a dovecote took place around 1780. [6] It has over 200 pigeon holes. [7]
On dissolution, the abbey was granted to a John Drew of Bristol, but later transferred to Sir Maurice Berkeley, who had risen rapidly as a member of the royal household. The latter built a house on the site incorporating some of the buildings, but this was demolished in 1786. Sir Maurice's impressive Renaissance tomb in the parish church, shared with his two wives, is retained in the later chancel. His Bruton branch of the Berkeley family produced a number of notable figures until the 18th century, including five Barons Berkeley of Stratton, and four Viscount Fitzhardinges. The present parish church, the Church of St Mary, Bruton, is mainly a 14th-15th century structure, within the grounds of the abbey so strictly a chapel of it, but always in effect the parish church of the town; there was a church on the site since Anglo-Saxon times, long before the priory was founded. [8] An unusual feature is that the chancel was rebuilt in 1743 in a light, airy Rococo style, which contrasts with the medieval remainder.
Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale, North Yorkshire, England, takes its name from the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian monastery now known as Bolton Priory. The priory, closed in the 1539 Dissolution of the Monasteries ordered by King Henry VIII, is in the Yorkshire Dales, next to the village of Bolton Abbey.
Stowe is a civil parish and former village about 2 miles (3 km) northwest of Buckingham in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Boycott, Dadford and Lamport.
Woodspring Priory is a former Augustinian priory. It is near the scenic limestone promontory of Sand Point and Middle Hope, owned by the National Trust, beside the Severn Estuary about 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Weston-super-Mare, within the English unitary authority of North Somerset. Many of the buildings are Grade I listed, and the whole site is scheduled as an ancient monument.
Bruton is a town, electoral ward, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and on the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is 7 miles south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, 10 miles north-west of Gillingham and 12 miles south-west of Frome in South Somerset district. The town and ward have a population of 2,907. The parish includes the hamlets of Wyke Champflower and Redlynch. Bruton has a museum of items from its past from the Jurassic onwards. It includes a table used by the author John Steinbeck on a six-month stay. The River Brue has a history of flooding. In 1768 it destroyed a stone bridge. On 28 June 1917, 242.8 mm of rain fell in 24 hours, leaving a watermark on a pub 20 feet above mean level. In 1984 a protective dam was built 1 km upstream.
Charlton Musgrove is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated 1 mile (1.6 km) north east of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 398. The parish includes the hamlets of Barrow, Holbrook, Southmarsh, and part of Shalford.
Cirencester Abbey or St Mary's Abbey, Cirencester in Gloucestershire was founded as an Augustinian monastery in 1117 on the site of an earlier church, the oldest-known Saxon church in England, which had itself been built on the site of a Roman structure. The church was greatly enlarged in the 14th century with addition of an ambulatory to the east end. The abbot became mitred 1416. The monastery was suppressed in 1539 and presented to Roger Bassinge.
East Chinnock is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the A30 road 4 miles (6.4 km) south west of Yeovil in the South Somerset district. The parish has a population of 479.
The Church of St Mary in Bruton, Somerset, England was largely built in the 14th century. Like many Somerset churches, it has a very fine tower; less usually it has a second one as well. It has been designated a Grade I listed building.
The Dovecote in Dunster, Somerset, England was probably built in the late 16th century. It has been designated as a Grade II* listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Stavordale Priory in Charlton Musgrove, Somerset, England was built as a priory of Augustinian canons in the 13th century and was converted into a private residence after the suppression of the monastery in 1538. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.
Montacute Priory was a Cluniac priory of the Benedictine order in Montacute, Somerset, England.
Dunster Priory was established as a Benedictine monastery around 1100 in Dunster, Somerset, England.
The Church of St Mary in Seavington St Mary, Somerset, England, dates from the 15th century and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.
Gresley Priory was a monastery of Augustinian Canons regular in Church Gresley, Derbyshire, England, founded in the 12th century.
Horsley Priory was a medieval, monastic house in Gloucestershire, England.
The Bruton Dovecote is a limestone tower that was built between the 15th and 17th century in Bruton in the English county of Somerset. The structure was once used as a dovecote, and may have been a watchtower or prospect tower prior to this. It is a Grade II* listed building and scheduled monument.
The Anglican Church of St Mary at Templecombe, within the English county of Somerset, was built in the 12th century and is a Grade II* listed building.
Coordinates: 51°06′40″N2°27′07″W / 51.111°N 2.452°W
