Axholme Charterhouse or Axholme Priory, also Melwood Priory or Low Melwood Priory,

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lincolnshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 167,446. T ...

, is one of the ten medieval

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

houses (charterhouses) in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was established in 1397/1398 by Thomas Mowbray,

Earl of Nottingham :''See also Earl of Winchilsea'' Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray, 1st Earl of Nottingham, John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard ...

and later

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. The house was centred on a pre-existing chapel on the present Low Melwood Farm, between

Owston Ferry Owston Ferry is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the west bank of the River Trent, and north from Gainsborough. It had a total resident population of 1,128 in 2001 including Kelfield. This increased ...

and Epworth in the

Isle of Axholme The Isle of Axholme is an area of Lincolnshire, England, adjoining South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It is located between Scunthorpe and Gainsborough, both of which are in the traditional West Riding of Lindsey, and Doncast ...

, which according to a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

of 1398 "was called anciently the Priory of the Wood". The full name of the monastery was The House of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The prior, Saint Augustine Webster, was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

in 1535 for refusing the

Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in the Kingdom of England, or in its subordinate Kingdom of Ireland, to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church. Failure to do so was to be trea ...

and later

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

ed and

canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...

. The monastery was suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in June 1538. Afterwards the buildings were converted by John Candysshe into a house: parts still survive as do some earthworks. There has been limited excavation.

Priors of Axholme

*John Moreby, elected 1398 *Henry, occurs 1449 *Richard, occurs 1469 and 1472 * Augustine Webster, 1535 *Michael Mekeness, 1535 to 1538

References

Lincolnshire Architectural & Archaeological Society
*Glyn Coppack and Mick Aston, nd: ''Christ's Poor Men - the Carthusians in England'' 1390s establishments in England 1538 disestablishments in England Carthusian monasteries in England Buildings and structures in Lincolnshire Christian monasteries established in the 1390s Archaeological sites in Lincolnshire Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation Monasteries in Lincolnshire Religiously motivated violence in England Ruined abbeys and monasteries Ruins in Lincolnshire 1397 establishments in England {{Lincolnshire-struct-stub