Clare Priory
Encyclopedia
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...
house of the Augustinian order, established 1248 near Clare Castle
Clare Castle
Clare Castle is a medieval castle in the small town of Clare in Suffolk, England. Built shortly after the Norman conquest of England by Richard Fitz Gilbert, the motte and bailey castle was later improved in stone. In the 14th century the castle was the home of Elizabeth de Clare, one of the...
on the banks of the River Stour in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. It was one of the first English monastic houses suppressed in 1538 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...
, but the Irish Augustinian Friars purchased the house in 1953, with the help of the family who then owned it, and by doing this returned to their origins in England.
In England and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
of the 14th century the Augustinian order had had over 800 friars, but these priories had declined (for other reasons) to around 300 friars before the anti-clerical laws of the Reformation Parliament and the Act of Supremacy
Act of Supremacy 1559
The Act of Supremacy 1558 was an Act of the Parliament of England, passed under the auspices of Queen Elizabeth I of England. It replaced the original Act of Supremacy 1534 issued by Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, which arrogated ecclesiastical authority to the monarchy, and which had been...
. The friars were dispersed from 1538 in the dissolution of monasteries during the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. The martyr St John Stone was one of the few British Augustinians to publicly defy the will of Henry VIII in this matter. The partial list of monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII of England alone includes 18 Augustinian houses such as Bath Abbey
Bath Abbey
The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath, commonly known as Bath Abbey, is an Anglican parish church and a former Benedictine monastery in Bath, Somerset, England...
, Bourne Abbey
Bourne Abbey
Bourne Abbey and the Parish Church of St. Peter and St. Paul is a scheduled Grade I church in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. The building remains in parochial use, despite the 16th century Dissolution, as the nave was used by the parish, probably from the time of the foundation of the abbey in...
, Newstead Abbey
Newstead Abbey
Newstead Abbey, in Nottinghamshire, England, originally an Augustinian priory, is now best known as the ancestral home of Lord Byron.-Monastic foundation:The priory of St...
and Waltham Abbey
Waltham Abbey (abbey)
The Abbey Church of Waltham Abbey has been a place of worship since at least 1030, and is in the town of Waltham Abbey, Essex, England. The Prime Meridian passes through its grounds. Harold Godwinson is said to be buried just outside the present abbey...
, the last one dissolved under him, but not the last to be destroyed.
Burials
- Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of UlsterElizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of UlsterElizabeth de Burgh, Duchess of Clarence, suo jure 4th Countess of Ulster and 5th Baroness of Connaught was a Norman-Irish noblewoman who married Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence.- Family :...
- Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March
- Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of ClarenceDuke of ClarenceDuke of Clarence is a title which has been traditionally awarded to junior members of the English and British Royal families. The first three creations were in the Peerage of England, the fourth in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the fifth in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.The title was first...