Edith Weston Priory was a small
alien house
Alien priories were religious establishments in England, such as monasteries and convents, which were under the control of another religious house outside England. Usually the Motherhouse, mother-house was in France.Coredon ''Dictionary of Mediev ...
of
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monks in
Edith Weston
Edith Weston is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish was 1,042 at the 2001 census, including Normanton, Rutland, Normanton and increasing to 1,359 at the 2011 cen ...
,
Rutland
Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town.
Rutland has a ...
. The French parent house of
Abbey of Saint-Georges, Boscherville
The Abbey of Saint-Georges, Boscherville, is a former Benedictine abbey located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Boscherville, in Seine-Maritime, France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western E ...
was founded by Ralf de Tanquerville, chamberlain to
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
, about the year 1050. By 1114 his son William donated the church and manor at Edith Weston, and a small cell of monks was set up to collect the rents and intercede for the founder's soul.
The cell was one of two in England: William founded
Avebury Priory
Avebury Priory was an alien house of Benedictine monks in Wiltshire, England, between the early 12th century and the Dissolution.
William de Tancarville, chamberlain to Henry I of England, Henry I, granted an Avebury (village), Avebury estate (w ...
in Wiltshire around the same time. Like all alien houses, control (and revenues) passed to the Crown in time of war with France, and it was during one of these periods that the priory closed. The last known Prior was in 1361, and by 1394 the church and manor had been sold to
St. Anne's Priory, Coventry
Charterhouse, Coventry (also known as St. Anne's Priory, Coventry) is a Grade I listed buildings in Coventry, grade I listed building on London Road, Coventry, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England.
The current building incorp ...
, bringing the priory to an end.
[
Pevsner was dismissive of the priory, saying that ]Brooke Priory
Brooke Priory was a minor house of Augustinian monks in Brooke, Rutland. It was a cell of St Mary's Abbey, Kenilworth.
History
It was founded by Hugh de Ferrers (lord of the manor of Oakham) before 1153. It was dedicated to St Mary the Vir ...
was the only monastery in Rutland as "Edith Weston hardly counts as one".
The earthwork remains probably now lie below the waters of Rutland Water
Rutland Water is a reservoir in Rutland, England, east of Rutland's county town, Oakham. It is filled by pumping from the River Nene and River Welland, and provides water to the East Midlands. By surface area it is the largest reservoir in E ...
.[
]
Priors of Edith Weston
Only a few names are known:[
]
References
*
{{Monasteries in Leicestershire , state=expanded
Monasteries in Rutland
Benedictine monasteries in England
12th-century establishments in England
Christian monasteries established in the 1110s