Studley Priory, Oxfordshire
Encyclopedia
Studley Priory was a small house of Benedictine
nuns ruled by a prioress, founded before 1176 in the hamlet of Studley, in what is now the village of Horton-cum-Studley
, seven miles north-east of Oxford, and in the County of Oxfordshire. In that year it received a grant from Bernard of St. Walery. The nuns became very dissatisfied to be served unwholesome beef and new beer on Thursday and Sunday nights, and no mutton. The priory was declared closed by 1536, but appears to have experienced a momentary revival before its complete suppression in 1539.
The Priory's lands were eventually sold to the Croke family, who in 1587 built the house now known as Studley Priory, and which still stands in its 10 acres of grounds. A member of the Croke family was one of the judges in the trial of Charles 1st in 1649. The house and its estate - which comprised most of the village of Horton-cum-Studley - remained in possession of the Croke family until around 1870, when it was sold to the Henderson family, who occupied it until the Second World War. During the war it served as a convalescent home for RAF officers.
In 1947 the Priory was leased by Raymond and Tessa Bawtree, who with their partner Wilma Hessey ran it as a country house hotel for the next 14 years. During that time many eminent guests stayed there, including Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Gilbert Murray, Beverley Nichols, Sandy Wilson. It was a favourite hostelry for C.S. Lewis, who came regularly for a Sunday morning beer after church, and in later years stayed there with his wife Joy.
The Bawtrees did not renew their lease in 1961, and that year the Hendersons auctioned off their whole estate, including the Priory, which was bought by the Park family, who continued to run it as a hotel until 2004, when it was bought by a London lawyer, who now occupies it.
The nunnery is mentioned in the historical novel 'Blanket In The Dark', by John Buchan. It was used as a filming venue for Sir Thomas More's home in the 1966 film of Robert Bolt
's A Man for All Seasons
.
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
nuns ruled by a prioress, founded before 1176 in the hamlet of Studley, in what is now the village of Horton-cum-Studley
Horton-cum-Studley
Horton-cum-Studley is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about northeast of the centre of Oxford.-Civil parish:The hamlet of Studley was originally in two parts: one in Oxfordshire and the other in the Hundred of Ashendon in Buckinghamshire. Horton was always part of Oxfordshire...
, seven miles north-east of Oxford, and in the County of Oxfordshire. In that year it received a grant from Bernard of St. Walery. The nuns became very dissatisfied to be served unwholesome beef and new beer on Thursday and Sunday nights, and no mutton. The priory was declared closed by 1536, but appears to have experienced a momentary revival before its complete suppression in 1539.
The Priory's lands were eventually sold to the Croke family, who in 1587 built the house now known as Studley Priory, and which still stands in its 10 acres of grounds. A member of the Croke family was one of the judges in the trial of Charles 1st in 1649. The house and its estate - which comprised most of the village of Horton-cum-Studley - remained in possession of the Croke family until around 1870, when it was sold to the Henderson family, who occupied it until the Second World War. During the war it served as a convalescent home for RAF officers.
In 1947 the Priory was leased by Raymond and Tessa Bawtree, who with their partner Wilma Hessey ran it as a country house hotel for the next 14 years. During that time many eminent guests stayed there, including Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Gilbert Murray, Beverley Nichols, Sandy Wilson. It was a favourite hostelry for C.S. Lewis, who came regularly for a Sunday morning beer after church, and in later years stayed there with his wife Joy.
The Bawtrees did not renew their lease in 1961, and that year the Hendersons auctioned off their whole estate, including the Priory, which was bought by the Park family, who continued to run it as a hotel until 2004, when it was bought by a London lawyer, who now occupies it.
The nunnery is mentioned in the historical novel 'Blanket In The Dark', by John Buchan. It was used as a filming venue for Sir Thomas More's home in the 1966 film of Robert Bolt
Robert Bolt
Robert Oxton Bolt, CBE was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar winning screenwriter.-Career:He was born in Sale, Cheshire. At Manchester Grammar School his affinity for Sir Thomas More first developed. He attended the University of Manchester, and, after war service, the University of...
's A Man for All Seasons
A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)
A Man for All Seasons is a 1966 film based on Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons about Sir Thomas More. It was released on December 12, 1966. Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film. It was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who had...
.