Llanthony Secunda

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Llanthony Secunda Priory

Llanthony Secunda Priory is a restored former Augustinian priory in Hempsted, Gloucester, England. Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, founded the priory for the monks of Llanthony Priory, Vale of Ewyas, in what is now Monmouthshire, Wales, in 1136. [1]

Priory religious house governed by a prior or prioress

A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns, or monasteries of monks or nuns. Houses of canons regular and canonesses regular also use this term, the alternative being "canonry".

Hempsted suburban village in Gloucester

Hempsted is a suburban village and part of the City of Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England.

Gloucester City and Non-metropolitan district in England

Gloucester is a city and district in Gloucestershire, in the South West of England, of which it is the county town. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, 19 miles (31 km) east of Monmouth, 17.5 miles (28.2 km) east of Wales. It has the first traditional crossing point across the longest river in the country, modernised into multiple lanes, connecting Over, a place over the water hence the name of that village — southern counties of England for many decades have been linked by three very long, lower Severn crossings in the very south-west corner of Gloucestershire, quite close to Bristol and Avonmouth on the far side of which is the River Wye being the border of South Wales for several miles.

Contents

History

In 1135, after persistent attacks from the local population, the monks of Llanthony Priory in the Black Mountains, Wales retreated to Gloucester where they founded a daughter cell, Llanthony Secunda. [2] [3]

Monk member of a monastic religious order

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicate his life to serving all other living beings, or to be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live his or her life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy.

Llanthony Priory Grade I listed priory in the United Kingdom

Llanthony Priory is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It lies seven miles north of Abergavenny on an old road to Hay-on-Wye at Llanthony. The priory ruins lie to the west of the prominent Hatterrall Ridge, a limb of the Black mountains. The main ruins are under the care of Cadw and entrance is free.

Black Mountains, Wales mountain range

The Black Mountains are a group of hills spread across parts of Powys and Monmouthshire in southeast Wales, and extending across the England–Wales border into Herefordshire. They are the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise the Brecon Beacons National Park, and are frequently confused with the westernmost, which is known as the Black Mountain. The Black Mountains may be roughly defined as those hills contained within a triangle defined by the towns of Abergavenny in the southeast, Hay-on-Wye in the north and the village of Llangors in the west. Other gateway towns to the Black Mountains include Talgarth and Crickhowell. The range of hills is well known to walkers and ramblers for the ease of access and views from the many ridge trails, such as that on the Black Hill (Herefordshire) at the eastern edge of the massif.

In 1530 the prior of Llanthony at Gloucester sent "cheise carp and baked lampreys" to Henry VIII at Windsor. It was also customary at the commencement of the fishing season to send the sovereign the first lamprey caught in the river. The intermittent custom of the city of Gloucester to present the sovereign at Christmas with a lamprey pie with a raised crust may have originated in the time of Henry I of England, who was inordinately fond of lamprey and who frequently held his court at Gloucester during the Christmas season. [4] Shortly afterwards the Dissolution of the Monasteries occurred, and the priory with its lands near Gloucester was granted by the Crown to Arthur Porter. [5]

Carp species of fish

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia.

Lamprey order of vertebrates, the lampreys

Lampreys are an ancient extant lineage of jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes, placed in the superclass Cyclostomata. The adult lamprey may be characterized by a toothed, funnel-like sucking mouth. The common name "lamprey" is probably derived from Latin lampetra, which may mean "stone licker", though the etymology is uncertain. The plural form lamprey is sometimes seen.

Windsor, Berkshire town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England

Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family.

Humpty Dumpty

During the Siege of Gloucester a Royalist cannon, shipped in from Holland to Bristol and from there to Gloucester, was placed on the walls of Llanthony Secunda and directed at Gloucester's City Wall. It was hoped by the besieging monarch, Charles I, that this cannon would break the siege and win him control of the city. The cannon misfired and exploded on the first shot. Some believe this to be the origin of the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme; but this is disputed. The true origins of Humpty Dumpty are unknown but the idea that it refers to the Royalist cannon during the Siege of Gloucester is often cited as fact. [6]

The Siege of Gloucester was an engagement in the First English Civil War. It took place between 10 August and 5 September 1643, between the defending Parliamentarian garrison of Gloucester and the besieging army of King Charles I. The siege ended with the arrival of a relieving Parliamentarian army under the Earl of Essex. The Royalist forces withdrew, having sustained heavy casualties and had several cannons disabled as a result of sallies made by the defenders.

Charles I of England King of England and Ireland

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.

Humpty Dumpty Nursery rhyme character

Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. The first recorded versions of the rhyme date from late nineteenth-century England and the tune from 1870 in James William Elliott's National Nursery Rhymes and Nursery Songs. Its origins are obscure, and several theories have been advanced to suggest original meanings.

Today

The remains of the priory were designated as Grade I listed in 1952 [7] and the wider site is a scheduled ancient monument. [8] In 2013 the Llanthony Secunda Priory Trust received funds for restoration work. [9] The work was completed, and the priory re-opened to the public, in August 2018. [10]

Listed building Protected historic structure in the United Kingdom

A listed building, or listed structure, is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, Cadw in Wales, and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland.

Llanthony Weir and Lock

Llanthony has given its name to a weir on the River Severn, which is the normal tidal limit on the East Channel of the river, and the disused Llanthony Lock, both built about 1870. [11] Llanthony Lock was purchased by the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust in 2008 [12] to restore the link between that canal and Gloucester Docks.

Weir barrier across a river designed to alter its flow characteristics

A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. There are many designs of weir, but commonly water flows freely over the top of the weir crest before cascading down to a lower level.

River Severn River in the United Kingdom

The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain at a length of 220 miles (354 km),. With an average discharge of 107 m3/s (3,800 cu ft/s) at Apperley, Gloucestershire, it has by far the greatest water flow in England and Wales.

Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal

The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal is a canal in the west of England, which ran from Hereford to Gloucester, where it linked to the River Severn. It was opened in two phases in 1798 and 1845, and closed in 1881, when the southern section was used for the course of the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway. It is the subject of an active restoration scheme.

Burials at Llanthony Secunda Priory

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Newent town in Gloucestershire, England

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Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford English nobleman

Humphrey (IV) de Bohun was 2nd Earl of Hereford and 1st Earl of Essex, as well as Constable of England. He was the son of Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford, and Maud FitzGeoffrey.

Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock was High Sheriff of Gloucester and Constable of England.

Siege of Colchester

The Siege of Colchester occurred in the summer of 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain. Colchester found itself in the thick of the unrest when a Royalist army on its way through East Anglia to raise support for the King, was attacked by Lord-General Thomas Fairfax at the head of a Parliamentary force. The Parliamentarians' initial attack forced the Royalist army to retreat behind the town's walls, but they were unable to bring about victory, so settled down to a siege. Despite the horrors of the siege, the Royalists resisted for eleven weeks and only surrendered following the defeat of the Royalist army in the North of England at the Battle of Preston (1648).

Henry FitzMiles, Baron Abergavenny was a Norman baron and a Marcher Lord in the Welsh Marches.

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Mahel de Hereford was a holder of the feudal lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid 12th century.

Sibyl de Neufmarché, Countess of Hereford, suo jure Lady of Brecknock, was a Cambro-Norman noblewoman, heiress to one of the most substantial fiefs in the Welsh Marches. The great-granddaughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, king of Wales, Sibyl was also connected to the nobility of England and Normandy. Sibyl inherited the titles and lands of her father, Bernard de Neufmarché, Lord of Brecon, after her mother, Nest ferch Osbern, had declared her brother Mahel to have been illegitimate. Most of these estates passed to Sibyl's husband, Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, as her dowry. Their marriage had been arranged personally by King Henry I of England in the spring of 1121. Sibyl, with her extensive lands, was central to the King's plans of consolidating Anglo-Norman power in south-east Wales by the merging of her estates with those of Miles, his loyal subject on whom he relied to implement Crown policy.

Margaret of Hereford was an English noblewoman and the eldest daughter of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford by his wife, the wealthy Cambro-Norman heiress Sibyl de Neufmarché. Margaret married Humphrey II de Bohun, by whom she had five children. Margaret held the office of Constable of England and as a widow, exercised lordship of Herefordshire until her own death. She was the benefactress of several religious institutions.

Clement of Llanthony was an Anglo-Norman monk and theologian who became prior of Llanthony Priory.

Court Farmhouse, Llanthony farmhouse in Llanthony, Monmouthshire, Wales

Court Farmhouse, Llanthony, Monmouthshire is a farmhouse of late medieval origins. It may have originally been lodgings for the Prior of Llanthony. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the building became a farmhouse. In the 19th century, the Llanthony Estate was bought by Walter Savage Landor who undertook remodelling. The farmhouse is Grade II* listed, with the adjacent barn, Court Farm Barn, having a separate Grade I listing.

High Orchard

High Orchard was an industrial area of the city of Gloucester in England that was developed in the 19th century on the former orchard of the Priory of Llanthony Secunda (1136). The area was closely associated with Gloucester Docks immediately to the north, and served by the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal and railway transport. It was the site of Fielding & Platt's Atlas Works and a number of other significant local employers.

References

  1. ↑ Ward, Jennifer C (1995). Women of the English nobility and gentry, 1066-1500. Manchester medieval sources series. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 107. ISBN   0-7190-4115-5 . Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  2. ↑ Wade, George Wöosung; Wade, Joseph Henry (1930). Monmouthshire. Little Guides (2nd ed.). London: Cambridge University Press. p. 101. Retrieved 30 October 2010. … during the disturbances of Stephen's reign they suffered so much from the raids of the Welshmen, that under the patronage of Milo of Gloucester, Constable of England, and in 1140 Earl of Hereford, they migrated to Gloucester where a new Llanthony was founded for them in 1136.
  3. ↑ de Bari, Gerrald (Giraldus Cambrensis) (1191–94). Originally: Itinerarium Cambriae ("Journey through Wales", 1191), Descriptio Cambriae ("Description of Wales", 1194), This edition: The itinerary through Wales, Description of Wales. Everyman's Library (5th (1935) ed.). London: J.M. Dent & Sons. p. 36. Retrieved 30 October 2010. William of Wycumb, the fourth prior of Llanthoni, succeeded to Robert de Braci, who was obliged to quit the monastery on account of the hostile molestation it received from the Welsh.
  4. ↑ William Walsh's Curiosities of Popular Customs, 1897
  5. ↑ "Gloucester - Outlying hamlets | A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 4 (pp. 382-410)". british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  6. ↑ A. Jack, Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes (London: Allen Lane, 2008).
  7. ↑ Historic England. "Llanthony Priory, Remains of Range on south side of Inner Court (1271697)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Historic England. "Llanthony Secunda Priory (1002091)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  9. ↑ "Llanthony Secunda Priory gets £311,400 lottery funding". BBC News - Gloucestershire. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "You can step inside a Gloucester medieval building that's been hidden to the public for years this weekend". Gloucestershire Live. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  11. ↑ Victoria County History of Gloucestershire: Gloucester Quays and Docks
  12. ↑ Canal Restoration at Llanthony Lock Gloucester Archived 2009-09-12 at the Wayback Machine

Coordinates: 51°51′36″N2°15′25″W / 51.860°N 2.257°W / 51.860; -2.257

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