Breamore Priory was a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

Austin canons The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious ...

in Breamore, Hampshire, England.

Foundation

The priory was founded some time towards the end of the reign of

Henry I Henry I or Henri I may refer to: :''In chronological order'' * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry ...

Baldwin de Redvers Baldwin de Redvers, 1st Earl of Devon (died 4 June 1155), feudal baron of Plympton in Devon, was the son of Richard de Redvers and his wife Adeline Peverel. He was one of the first to rebel against King Stephen, and was the only first rank magn ...

and his uncle Hugh de Redvers.

12th to 16th centuries

In the 14th century, the

Courtenay Compendium The Courtenay Compendium (now Copenhagen, Royal Danish Library, Acc. 2011/5) is a medieval English manuscript containing a miscellany of historical texts. It contains three blocks of texts. The first concerns British and English history. The secon ...

was created at Breamore.

Dissolution

The last prior, Prior Finch, wrote at least twice to

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

proffering his service and that of his house, and desiring Cromwell's favour. But according to the ''

Valor Ecclesiasticus The ''Valor Ecclesiasticus'' (Latin: "church valuation") was a survey of the finances of the church in England, Wales and English controlled parts of Ireland made in 1535 on the orders of Henry VIII. It was colloquially called the Kings books, ...

'' of 1535 the annual value of the priory was £200 5s. 1½d., together with two pounds of pepper. Less alms and other obligatory outgoings of £45 11s. the annual value was only £154 14s. 1½d. and the pepper. This brought the house well below the limit for the first series of dissolutions, and it was surrendered on 10 July 1536.

Post-Dissolution

The site of the priory and all its possessions was granted in November 1536 to

Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter, 2nd Earl of Devon (c. 1498 – 9 December 1538), feudal baron of Okehampton, feudal baron of Plympton, of Tiverton Castle, Okehampton Castle and Colcombe Castle all in Devon, was a grandson of ...

, and his wife Gertrude. Several of the manors of Breamore and

Southwick Priory Southwick Priory or Our Lady at Southwick () was a priory of Augustinian canons founded in Portchester Castle on Portsmouth Harbour and later transferred north to Southwick, Hampshire, England. It ceased at the Dissolution of the Monasteries ...

were included in the dower lands of

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

in January 1540.''HMC Calendar of Manuscripts of the Marquess of Salisbury'', vol. 1 (London, 1883), p. 12 no. 58. A large manor house,

Breamore House Breamore House is an Elizabethan manor house noted for its fine collection of paintings and furniture and situated NW of Breamore village, north of Fordingbridge, Hampshire, England. Though it remains in private hands, it is open to visitors f ...

, was built on the site in 1583.

Present day

No above ground remains of the priory survive, although cropmarks can be seen on satellite imagery of the site.

Burials

Isabella de Forz, Countess of Devon Isabel de Forz (or Isabel de Redvers, Latinized to Isabella de Fortibus; July 1237 – 10 November 1293) was the eldest daughter of Baldwin de Redvers, 6th Earl of Devon (1217–1245). On the death of her brother Baldwin de Redvers, 7th Earl ...

(1237–1293)

References

Sources

''A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 2'', The Victoria County History 1973
Augustinian monasteries in England Priories in Hampshire 12th-century establishments in England 1536 disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 1130s Anne of Cleves {{Hampshire-struct-stub