Launceston Priory

Last updated

Launceston Priory was a priory at Newport, Launceston, Cornwall, England, UK.

The priory was founded 1127 by William Warelwast, Bishop of Exeter as a house of Augustinian canons. Its charter replaced an earlier foundation of secular canons at St Stephens, a collegiate church dating back to c. 830. [1] In c. 1155 the priory completed a move from its original site at St. Stephens to Newport in the valley of the River Kensey.

Although the priory was dissolved in 1539, it was one of three earlier Cornish monastic sites (the others being at Bodmin and St Germans) to appear in King Henry VIII's 1540 proposals to establish a new cathedral for Cornwall. None of these proposals succeeded, [2] and the buildings at Launceston were gradually robbed of stone and materials and levelled with extra soil until nothing was visible..

The site was re-discovered in 1886 and 1888 (during the construction of the railway and a gas holder) and excavated by O. B. Peter, thus allowing the plan to be reconstructed.

In the late 20th century the ruins fell into disrepair, but in recent years they have been consolidated, the grounds tidied up, access improved and interpretation boards set up. The Friends of Launceston Priory in partnership with Launceston Town Council now care for the ruins, which are to be found at:
1 Riverside, Newtown, Launceston PL15 8DH
to the rear of the (Anglican) church of St Thomas the Apostle.

Related Research Articles

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

Boxgrove Priory is a ruined priory in the village of Boxgrove in Sussex, England. It was founded in the 12th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gisborough Priory</span> Ruined Augustinian priory in Guisborough, North Yorkshire, England

Gisborough Priory is a ruined Augustinian priory in Guisborough in the current borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1119 as the Priory of St Mary by the Norman feudal magnate Robert de Brus, also an ancestor of the Scottish king, Robert the Bruce. It became one of the richest monastic foundations in England with grants from the crown and bequests from de Brus, other nobles and gentry and local people of more modest means. Much of the Romanesque Norman priory was destroyed in a fire in 1289. It was rebuilt in the Gothic style on a grander scale over the following century. Its remains are regarded as among the finest surviving examples of early Gothic architecture in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St German's Priory</span> Church in St Germans, Cornwall

St German's Priory is a large Norman church in the village of St Germans in south-east Cornwall, England, UK.

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

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">Osney Abbey</span> Church

Osney Abbey or Oseney Abbey, later Osney Cathedral, was a house of Augustinian canons at Osney in Oxfordshire. The site is south of the modern Botley Road, down Mill Street by Osney Cemetery, next to the railway line just south of Oxford station. It was founded as a priory in 1129, becoming an abbey around 1154. It was dissolved in 1539 but was created a cathedral, the last abbot Robert King becoming the first Bishop of Oxford. The see was transferred to the new foundation of Christ Church in 1545 and the building fell into ruin. It was one of the four renowned monastic houses of medieval Oxford, along with St Frideswide's Priory, Rewley and Godstow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Botolph's Priory</span>

St. Botolph's Priory was a medieval house of Augustinian canons in Colchester, Essex, founded c. 1093. The priory had the distinction of being the first and leading Augustinian convent in England until its dissolution in 1536.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werrington, Cornwall</span>

Werrington is a civil parish and former manor now in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Prior to boundary changes it straddled the Tamar and lay within the county of Devon. The portion on the west side was transferred to Cornwall in 1966. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of the Tamar, the traditional boundary between Devon and Cornwall, and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Launceston.

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

Durham Priory was a Benedictine priory associated with Durham Cathedral, in Durham in the north-east of England. Its head was the Prior of Durham. It was founded in 1083 as a Roman Catholic monastery, but after Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540 the priory was dissolved and the cathedral was taken over by the Church of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Stephens by Launceston Rural</span>

St Stephens by Launceston Rural is a civil parish in the east of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the Registration district of Launceston. The population of the parish in the 2001 census was 312, increasing to 360 and including Dutson at the 2011 census. The former parish of St Stephens by Launceston was abolished in 1894: St Stephens by Launceston Urban became part of the town of Launceston, while St Stephens by Launceston Rural became part of Launceston Rural District.

St Thomas the Apostle Rural, also known as St Thomas-by-Launceston is a civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is centred on the village of Tregadillett and is in the Registration District of Launceston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Martin-by-Looe</span> Parish in Cornwall, UK

St Martin-by-Looe is a coastal civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is immediately east of the town and parish of Looe, seven miles (11 km) south of Liskeard. The parish is in the Liskeard Registration District and the population in the 2001 census was 321, which had increased to 429 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Petroc's Church, Bodmin</span> Church

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Cornwall</span> History of Christianity

Christianity in Cornwall began in the 4th or 5th century AD when Western Christianity was introduced as in the rest of Roman Britain. Over time it became the official religion, superseding previous Celtic and Roman practices. Early Christianity in Cornwall was spread largely by the saints, including Saint Piran, the patron of the county. Cornwall, like other parts of Britain, is sometimes associated with the distinct collection of practices known as Celtic Christianity but was always in communion with the wider Catholic Church. The Cornish saints are commemorated in legends, churches and placenames.

The Parish Church of St Mary and St Petroc is a congregation of the Roman Catholic Church in Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The parish church is the former monastic church of the Abbey of St Mary, a community of canons regular, whose origins on the site date back to the Middle Ages.

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exeter monastery</span> Collection of religious buildings in England

Various monasteries and other religious houses have existed at various times during the Middle Ages in the city of Exeter, Devon, England.

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

Nocton Park Priory was an Augustinian priory in Nocton, Lincolnshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Launceston, Cornwall</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Launceston is a town, ancient borough, and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the middle stage of the River Tamar, which constitutes almost the entire border between Cornwall and Devon. The landscape of the town is generally steep particularly at a sharp south-western knoll topped by Launceston Castle. These gradients fall down to the River Kensey and smaller tributaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Giles on the Heath</span> Village and civil parish in west Devon, England

St Giles on the Heath, sometimes hyphenated as St Giles-on-the-Heath, is a village and civil parish in the far west of Devon, England. It forms part of the local government district of Torridge. The village is in the east of the parish and lies on the A388 road about eight miles south of the town of Holsworthy.

References

  1. Midmer, Roy (1979) English Mediaeval Monasteries 1066–1540. London: Heinemann, p. 191.
  2. Jeffery, Paul (2012) England's Other Cathedrals. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN   978-0-7524-5347-7, p. 71.

Coordinates: 50°38′11″N4°21′19″W / 50.636425°N 4.355307°W / 50.636425; -4.355307 (Launceston Priory)