Bridlington Priory
Encyclopedia
Priory Church of St. Mary, Bridlington, , commonly known as Bridlington Priory Church is a parish church in Bridlington
, East Riding of Yorkshire
, England
, in the Diocese of York
. It is on the site of an Augustinian priory founded in 1113 which was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
, with an adjoining convent
. Its foundation was confirmed in charters by King Henry I of England
The site had formerly been a Saxon
church and nunnery. When complete, the building was over 400 ft (121.9 m) and 75 ft (22.9 m), with a transept which was 150 ft (45.7 m). The first prior
is though to have been called Guicheman or Wickeman.
. The Canons from the priory established Newburgh Priory
in 1145. King Stephen
granted the priory should have right to have the property of felons and fugitives
within the town and proceeds from the harbour and later King John
gave the priory the right to hold a yearly fair in the town in 1200. During the conflict between Stephen and Matilda
, William le Gros, Earl of Albemarle (a Manor
in Holderness
which is now ‘lost’) advanced on the priory and expelled the canons in his campaign against Gilbert de Gant of Hunmanby
. He fortified the priory and later gave the priory six parcels of land, one at Boynton
and the rest in Holderness. Henry IV
appropriated the rectory of Scarborough to the priory which was later confirmed by Henry V
, Henry VI
and Edward IV
. A royal license was also granted by Richard II
in 1388 to crenellate the priory with a wall and gates of stone. There were fourth gates, Kirk Gate, West Gate, Nun Gate and Bayle Gate. The priory also had a large library, which listed by John Leland shortly before the dissolution.
during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
. The priory was very wealthy at the time of the dissolution and its yearly income was estimated to be £547 6s. 11½D, and owned land stretching from Blubberhouses
in the north, and Askham Richard
, down to the Spurn Point.
The condition of the priory at the dissolution can be gathered from the report of Richard Pollard, a surveyor of Henry VIII. The Church was more than 390 feet in length, surrounded by the Chapter House
, Treasury, Cloister
, Prior's Hall, Infirmary. All the buildings were destroyed except the Nave
which became the parish church and the Gate-house, which is now the Bayle Gate Museum. Some of the stones from the old priory were used in the construction of the piers at Bridlington. The last Prior, William Wode, was executed at Tyburn
for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace
.
; the interior was white-washed; and the east window also was filled with stained glass. This work was carried out by the Lancaster
partnership of Paley and Austin, but their work was not to the satisfaction of the church authorities. Around 1874 the church employed Sir George Gilbert Scott to completed refurbish the church as it is today. The total cost of the restoration
was about £27,000.
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
, East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in the Diocese of York
Diocese of York
The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire....
. It is on the site of an Augustinian priory founded in 1113 which was dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
Foundation
Bridlington Priory was founded around 1113 by Walter de Gant, for Augustinian Canons Regular, one of the earliest Augustinian houses in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, with an adjoining convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
. Its foundation was confirmed in charters by King Henry I of England
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
The site had formerly been a Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
church and nunnery. When complete, the building was over 400 ft (121.9 m) and 75 ft (22.9 m), with a transept which was 150 ft (45.7 m). The first prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
is though to have been called Guicheman or Wickeman.
Early history
The priory was favoured by kings and their nobles and soon owned land across YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. The Canons from the priory established Newburgh Priory
Newburgh Priory
Newburgh Priory is a large house near Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England. Standing on the site of an Augustinian priory, founded in 1145, it is a stately home in a rural setting with views to the Kilburn White Horse in the distance...
in 1145. King Stephen
Stephen of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
granted the priory should have right to have the property of felons and fugitives
Fugitives
The Fugitives were a group of poets and literary scholars who came together at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, around 1920. They published a small literary magazine called The Fugitive from 1922-1925 which showcased their works...
within the town and proceeds from the harbour and later King John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
gave the priory the right to hold a yearly fair in the town in 1200. During the conflict between Stephen and Matilda
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
, William le Gros, Earl of Albemarle (a Manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
in Holderness
Holderness
Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common with the Netherlands than other parts of Yorkshire...
which is now ‘lost’) advanced on the priory and expelled the canons in his campaign against Gilbert de Gant of Hunmanby
Hunmanby
Hunmanby is a large village , which was classified as a town until the 1960s, and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England...
. He fortified the priory and later gave the priory six parcels of land, one at Boynton
Boynton, East Riding of Yorkshire
Boynton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of the town of Bridlington and lies on the B1253 road.According to the 2001 UK census, Boynton parish had a population of 161....
and the rest in Holderness. Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
appropriated the rectory of Scarborough to the priory which was later confirmed by Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
, Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
and Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
. A royal license was also granted by Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
in 1388 to crenellate the priory with a wall and gates of stone. There were fourth gates, Kirk Gate, West Gate, Nun Gate and Bayle Gate. The priory also had a large library, which listed by John Leland shortly before the dissolution.
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The priory was dissolved in 1538 by Henry VIIIHenry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
during the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
. The priory was very wealthy at the time of the dissolution and its yearly income was estimated to be £547 6s. 11½D, and owned land stretching from Blubberhouses
Blubberhouses
Blubberhouses is a small village and civil parish located in the Washburn Valley in the borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, a county in the north of England. It is situated to the south of the Yorkshire Dales national park, and to the north of a Roman road and Fewston Reservoir.The village is...
in the north, and Askham Richard
Askham Richard
Askham Richard is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York in the north of England, six and a half miles south west of York, close to Copmanthorpe, Bilbrough and Askham Bryan. Prior to 1996 it formed part of the district of Selby. The village became a Conservation Area in...
, down to the Spurn Point.
Chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room attached to a cathedral or collegiate church in which meetings are held. They can also be found in medieval monasteries....
, Treasury, Cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
, Prior's Hall, Infirmary. All the buildings were destroyed except the Nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
which became the parish church and the Gate-house, which is now the Bayle Gate Museum. Some of the stones from the old priory were used in the construction of the piers at Bridlington. The last Prior, William Wode, was executed at Tyburn
Tyburn, London
Tyburn was a village in the county of Middlesex close to the current location of Marble Arch in present-day London. It took its name from the Tyburn or Teo Bourne 'boundary stream', a tributary of the River Thames which is now completely covered over between its source and its outfall into the...
for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
.
Restoration
For three centuries after the dissolution, the Nave continued to be used as the parish church and only a third of the building was actually used by the congregation. From 1846 the parish began to raise funds to restore the church and it partially re-roofed, the west window was opened out and filled with stained glassStained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
; the interior was white-washed; and the east window also was filled with stained glass. This work was carried out by the Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
partnership of Paley and Austin, but their work was not to the satisfaction of the church authorities. Around 1874 the church employed Sir George Gilbert Scott to completed refurbish the church as it is today. The total cost of the restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
was about £27,000.
Organ
The organ was built in 1889 by the Belgian organ builder Charles Anneessens. Various adjustments were made in the 20th century, before it was restored and enlarged between 2004 and 2006 by Nicholson. It has been recorded a number of times and is played by Daniel Moult in the film and recording Virtuoso! Music for Organ.People Connected to the Priory
- St John of BridlingtonJohn of BridlingtonSaint John of Bridlington is an English saint of the 14th century...
, English saint. - Piers LangtoftPiers LangtoftPeter Langtoft, also known as Peter of Langtoft was an English historian and chronicler who took his name from the small village of Langtoft in the East Riding of Yorkshire....
who wrote a history of England in Anglo-Norman verse. - Sir George RipleyGeorge Ripley (alchemist)Sir George Ripley was a famous English author and alchemist.Ripley studied for twenty years in Italy where he became a great favourite of Pope Innocent VIII...
, 15th century English alchemist.
