Monastery information | |
---|---|
Order | Canons Regular |
Established | 1353 |
Disestablished | 1560 |
Controlled churches | Christian |
Site | |
Location | Oronsay, Inner Hebrides, Argyll |
Coordinates | 56°01′00″N6°16′00″W / 56.016673°N 6.266667°W |
Oronsay Priory was a monastery of canons regular on the island of Oronsay, Inner Hebrides, Argyll, off the coast of Scotland. [1] It was in existence by 1353 under the patronage of John of Islay, Lord of the Isles. [2] It was dedicated to St. Columba, and perhaps was a continuation or a re-activation of an older foundation. Very little is known about it because of the absence of records and its remoteness from the Scottish Lowlands, but on occasions some of the Priors of Oronsay come into the records.
The priory continued in operation until at least 1560, the year of the Scottish Reformation, with the last known prior, Robert Lamont, having been elected in 1555. The lands and property of the priory were given in commendam to Maol Choluim MacDubhthaich in 1561. They were later given to the Bishop of the Isles by King James VI of Scotland after his ascendancy to the throne in 1583. Restoration work and excavation and recording were carried out in 1883 by the architect William de B M Galloway and again in 1927 by the Ministry of Works and are visible today, together with the High Cross, as a scheduled ancient monument. [3] [4]
Additional burial enclosures were added as late as the 19th century.
The High Cross stands about four metres east of the ruins of the monastery church and rises from a four-tiered foundation. From the inscription it can be seen that the cross recalls the death of the prior Colin, who presided over the Oronsay monastery and probably dates from the year 1510, Colin's dying year. On the westward side of the cross are scenes of the crucifixion of Jesus and on the east side are foliage motifs.
Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important centre of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan, Cuthbert, Eadfrith, and Eadberht of Lindisfarne. The island was originally home to a monastery, which was destroyed during the Viking invasions but re-established as a priory following the Norman Conquest of England. Other notable sites built on the island are St Mary the Virgin parish church, Lindisfarne Castle, several lighthouses and other navigational markers, and a complex network of lime kilns. In the present day, the island is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a hotspot for historical tourism and bird watching. As of February 2020, the island had three pubs, a hotel and a post office as well as a museum.
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.
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The Prior of Oronsay was the Religious Superior of Oronsay Priory, a community of canons regular on the island of Oronsay, Inner Hebrides, off the coast of Scotland. It was in existence by 1353, perhaps founded by John of Islay, Lord of the Isles.
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