Stavordale Priory
Encyclopedia
Stavordale Priory in Charlton Musgrove
Charlton Musgrove
Charlton Musgrove is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated north east of Wincanton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 375...

, 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 was built as a priory church in the 13th century and was converted into a private residence in 1533. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building.

The original priory for Augustinian canons was founded by a member of the Lovel family, in 1243, probably following an endowment by Henry, Lord Lovel, who died about 1199.

The bell tower is known to have existed by 1374, and the church was refitted and rebuilt around 1439. The chantry of Jesus was described as having been "recently completed" in 1526. It is thought to be linked to the village's old church near the altar by a tunnel, perhaps used as a priest's escape route, some two miles in length.

It was converted around the time of 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...

, after the priory merged with Taunton in 1533.

It was restored and extended by Thomas Edward Collcutt
Thomas Edward Collcutt
Thomas Edward Collcutt was an English architect in the Victorian era who designed several important buildings in London.-Biography:...

 in 1905 for Mr. F.G. Sage.

It is now owned by Sir Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...

 a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 theatrical producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...

notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. He is described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York Times.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK