Naish Priory
Encyclopedia
Naish Priory in East Coker
East Coker
East Coker is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. Its nearest town is Yeovil, which is situated two miles north from the village. The village has a population of 1,781...

, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

, England, contains portions of a substantial house dating from the mid 14th century to around 1400. Emery says the building was not a priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...

 as it had been termed by the late 19th century owner Troyte Chafyn Grove, and there appears no evidence of ownership by a religious house or the residence of a large community of monks on the site. However there is evidence of a dormitory and communal living dating from the 14th century, and the extant buildings grew on a foundation that had religious obligations by way of chantry
Chantry
Chantry is the English term for a fund established to pay for a priest to celebrate sung Masses for a specified purpose, generally for the soul of the deceased donor. Chantries were endowed with lands given by donors, the income from which maintained the chantry priest...

 to the de Courtenay Earls of Devon from at least 1344. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building, with the attached Priory Cottage and northern boundary railings.

Naish Priory and surrounding farm land (“Naish”) is a medieval period establishment of Romano–British and 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...

 origin, sited directly equidistant between two Roman Villas. During Saxon times it formed part of the estate of Gytha Thorkelsdóttir
Gytha Thorkelsdóttir
Gytha Thorkelsdottir , also called Githa, was the daughter of Thorgil Sprakling . She married the Anglo-Saxon nobleman Godwin of Wessex....

, which passed to her son Harold II of England as part of his royal manor, and it was a significant journey stop on the important route from Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...

, Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

 and Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...

 into Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

 and Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

.

The extant 14th century buildings evidence primary links to the important de Courtenay family
House of Courtenay
The House of Courtenay was an important dynasty in medieval France originating from the castle of Courtenay in the Gâtinais , going back to the 10th century. The dynasty descended from Athon, the first lord of Courtenay, apparently himself a descendant of the Counts of Sens and from Pharamond,...

 of the medieval period, Earls of Devon
Earl of Devon
The title of Earl of Devon was created several times in the Peerage of England, and was possessed first by the de Redvers family, and later by the Courtenays...

, close blood relatives of the Plantagenet
House of Plantagenet
The House of Plantagenet , a branch of the Angevins, was a royal house founded by Geoffrey V of Anjou, father of Henry II of England. Plantagenet kings first ruled the Kingdom of England in the 12th century. Their paternal ancestors originated in the French province of Gâtinais and gained the...

, Lancastrian
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...

 and Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...

 kings, and one of the most important English Renaissance
English Renaissance
The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the late 15th and early 16th centuries to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginning in Italy in the late 14th century; like most of northern...

 families. They had received rights of the royal Coker Manor via the de Redvers and de Mandeville families who had been given the estates by William II of England
William II of England
William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales...

 after the Norman Conquest that led to their confiscation from Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...

 King of England and his mother. Hutton claimed that the “venerable” Naish was site of the original Coker Manor House of the de Mandeville family.

Naish's local and national historic significance is only now, after its Grade 1 listing in 1961 to protect it from encroachment by Yeovil
Yeovil
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...

’s expansion, beginning to be fully assessed. Naish has been restored since the end of the 19th century and is maintained as a Grade 1 listed unified dwelling.

Buildings and foundation

The original building work of what stands today at Naish Priory is directly linked to Sir Peter de Courtenay (1346–1404), a Knight of the Garter and Royal Household and Constable of Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...

, Lord of East Coker, and his brother William Courtenay
William Courtenay
William Courtenay , English prelate, was Archbishop of Canterbury, having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.-Life:...

 (1342–1396) who was Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

 from 1381 to 1396 and Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

 of England in 1381 and Sir Peter’s tenant at Naish from 1392. Archbishop William de Courtenay was also responsible for major contemporaneous building work at Christ Church, Canterbury and the foundation at Maidstone College. These De Courtenay brothers were very significant political players on the national stage during the turbulent reigns of Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

 and Richard II of England
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...

, which resulted in Henry of Lancaster usurping the throne in 1399 to become Henry IV of England
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...

. Also significant to completion of the 14th/15th century work at Naish was their younger de Courtenay brother Sir Philip Courtenay
Sir Philip Courtenay
Sir Philip Courtenay, KG, Lord of Powderham Castle, Devon was a Knight of the Shire for Devon.He was the son of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon and Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon...

, Richard II’s
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...

 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...

 and High Admiral of the Western Seas
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

, who took over from William the Archbishop as Peter’s tenant at Naish when William the Archbishop died in 1396.

The building work itself from this period is local ham stone adorned with fan tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...

, Oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...

, octagonal chimneys, a pointed arch with oak door and heraldic carving, and a chapel with squint and great east window, flanked by stone carved corbelled heads. It is in the gothic perpendicular
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...

 court style popularised by William Wynford
William Wynford
William Wynford was one of the most successful English master masons of the 14th century, using the new Perpendicular Gothic style. He is first mentioned in 1360 when at work at Windsor Castle as warden of masons' work...

 and his colleague Henry Yevele
Henry Yevele
Henry Yevele was the most prolific and successful master mason active in late medieval England. The first document relating to him is dated 3 December 1353, when he purchased the freedom of London...

. Until 1405 Wynford was supervising the building the Church of St John the Baptist, Yeovil
Church of St John the Baptist, Yeovil
The Church of St John the Baptist in Yeovil, Somerset, England was built in the late 14th century and has been designated as a Grade I listed building....

, which is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) from Naish Priory. Wynford was also responsible for building Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...

 and New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...

 for William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham was Bishop of Winchester, Chancellor of England, founder of Winchester College, New College, Oxford, New College School, Oxford, and builder of a large part of Windsor Castle.-Life:...

, who was William Courtenay's erstwhile colleague and friend.

The foundation of the establishment now seen at Naish Priory is also earlier linked to Archbishop William and Sir Peter Courtenay’s father, Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon previous Lord of Coker, who was High Admiral of the West Seas and married to Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon
Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon
Margaret de Bohun, 2nd Countess of Devon was an English noblewoman who lived most of her life in the county of Devonshire as the wife of Hugh Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. She was a granddaughter of King Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile...

, niece of King Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

. The De Bohun family was the leading patron of illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 work in England in the 14th Century. Margaret died in 1391 in her eighties a significant matriarch, having had seventeen children by Huw de Courtenay.

The earlier endowment by Huw the 2nd Earl of Devon, of Naish and surrounding land in East Coker, as part of a chantry for his family’s souls, took place in 1344, and is evidenced by charter. Naish became a site of worship separate to St Michael’s Church in East Coker and housed several clerics devoted to the chantry of the family. It is probable that it encompassed facilities for the education of talented local children of little means, as provided for in Margaret de Bohun’s will.

Corbelled heads and gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...

s from around 1400, such as the rare toad "beast of Botreaux" which signifies the de Bohun family, stand on the outer walls of Naish Priory, evidencing the contemporaneous links between the building and the de Courtenay and de Bohun families, as well as the those families' close blood ties and allegiance with Henry IV and the House of Lancaster who replaced the Plantagenet Kings in 1399. In particular the corbelled heads which stand either side of the great East window have been identified as those of Henry IV and Joan of Navarre, Queen of England who were married in 1403.

Naish is surrounded by rich Grade 1 farm land which contains significant trees, waterways, ancient hedgerows, hollows with sunken roads and paths.

History

The original buildings at Naish, together with surrounding Grade 1 farm land to be worked for an income in perpetuity, were dedicated by Huw de Courtenay 2nd Earl of Devon in 1344 to the remembrance and prayer for the souls of his family. They were close kinsmen and blood relations of the Plantagenet and Lancastrian kings of England, with great local and national responsibilities during the 14th and 15th centuries. These generations were the most important of the de Courtenay family, and their members occupied many of the most influential court, chivalric, military, religious and political roles in England at crucial times in the development of England during the late medieval period.

Both Huw the 2nd Earl and his son Philip were High Admirals of the West Seas, in charge of commandeering the English Channel fleet west of the Thames, and specifically the defence of the south and west coasts of England from French invasion during the Hundred Years War. They are the origin of Yeovil's long connection with procurement for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. The farm land at Naish produced hemp yarn sold into the Coker manor consignments for the navy in the 1350s. Unfortunately the area's seafaring connections meant that Coker was among the first Somerset areas to be struck by the Black Death (bubonic plague) which spread west along the south coast with shipping and then inland with those associated. Huw de Courtenay the 2nd Earl of Devon's son and heir, also Huw, a great military champion died of plague in 1349 at Forde Abbey
Forde Abbey
Forde Abbey is a privately owned former Cistercian monastery in Dorset, England. The house and gardens are run as a tourist attraction while the estate is farmed to provide additional revenue...

 on his way from Coker to Devon.

De Courtenays at Naish

In 1392 after his mother’s death William Courtenay
William Courtenay
William Courtenay , English prelate, was Archbishop of Canterbury, having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.-Life:...

 the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

 formally took possession of Naish, in East Coker, from his brother Peter, along with the rest of the Burrell’s Mill estate that mainly lay in West Coker and was therefore then formally the domain of his nephew Edward the 3rd Earl.

Later years

The Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...

 in the mid 15th century destroyed the de Courtenay family’s unity, as part of the Bonville-Courtenay Feud
Bonville-Courtenay Feud
The Bonville–Courtenay feud was an violent rivalry between two eponymous families during the Wars of the Roses in 15th-century England, sparked by a dispute over a coveted ducal office and a fight for local supremacy.-Background:...

, with cousin turning against cousin and the challenge to their power in Devon from the Bonville family taking its toll. Nevertheless the foundation at Naish continued in the same form.

It appears that some Tudor
Tudor architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...

 alterations of Naish to a more secular country house with chapel took place during that lease. Naish seems to have been occupied during this time by his younger brother James de Courtenay who is responsible for the alteration to a country house, perhaps as the family was rehabilitated under Henry VIII of England
Henry 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...

.

Works at Naish in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 added a south western wing, a second storey to the central section, modified the cloister and added a galleried staircase tower to the south of the eastern end to provide the house greater accommodation and amenity. Above the gatehouse an important original Oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...

remains. In 2007 the house was put up for sale at a price of £1.775 million.

Names

Naish Priory has variously in its long history been known as La Aisshe, L’Aisshe, Naysshe, Naysshe Ferme, Nayssh, Nayshe, Nasshe, Naysh, Naysh Manor, Old Mansion Nash, Nash Court, Nash Farm, Nash Abbey, Nash Priory, Naish Priory. Its unique and complex history has led to many different interpretations including what would appear to be the current potential misnomer of Naish Priory.
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