Hurley Priory is a former

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...

in the village of Hurley. Founded in 1086, the remains are located on the banks of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of Berkshire.

History

The Priory of St. Mary at Hurley was founded in 1086 by the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

magnate Geoffrey de Mandeville I as a cell of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. The Priory was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1536, and ownership was transferred to Westminster Abbey. In 1540 Westminster Abbey was dissolved and the Hurley Priory property passed into lay hands. The main Abbey property became known as Lady Place. It was initially owned by Charles Howard, Esq., for three years, then by Leonard Chamberleyn, Esq., then by John Lovelace, Esq. It was used as the residence of the Barons Lovelace. Lady Place was considered one of the great mansions in town, but it fell into disrepair and was demolished as uninhabitable in 1837.

Surviving buildings

The long narrow nave of the priory church survives and is used as the Hurley parish church. It has mainly

windows and doorways. To the north, the range of buildings containing the frater or monastic dining hall is incorporated into a private house. A probable monastic circular

dovecote A dovecote or dovecot , doocot ( Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pige ...

and a nearby larger barn, both to the west of the church, date from the early fourteenth century. The Abbey's former hostelry or guesthouse is incorporated into the Olde Bell Inn, one of the oldest still-working inns in Britain.

Burials

* Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace *

John Lovelace, 2nd Baron Lovelace John Lovelace, 2nd Baron Lovelace (February 1616 – 25 November 1670) was a British peer and Royal servant. Life John was born in Hurley, Berkshire the son of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace and his wife, Margaret, the daughter of London ...

John Lovelace, 3rd Baron Lovelace John Lovelace, 3rd Baron Lovelace (1641 – 27 September 1693) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1670 when he inherited the title Baron Lovelace. He was notorious for his drunken and extravagant way of life ...

Notes

References

Geoffrey N. Wright ''Discovering Abbeys and Priories'' Monasteries in Berkshire Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Church of England church buildings in Berkshire 1086 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 11th century Benedictine monasteries in England 1536 disestablishments in England History of the River Thames de Mandeville family Hurley, Berkshire {{England-church-stub

History

Surviving buildings

Burials

See also

Notes

References