Llanthony Secunda Priory in January 2019

Llanthony Secunda Priory was a house of Augustinian canons in the parish of Hempsted,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England, situated about south-west of Gloucester Castle in the City of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. It was founded in 1136 by Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, a great magnate based in the west of England and the Welsh Marches, hereditary Constable of England and Sheriff of Gloucestershire (who resided at Gloucester Castle), as a secondary house and refuge for the canons of

Llanthony Priory Llanthony Priory () is a partly ruined former Augustinians, Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains, Wales, Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Mo ...

in the

Vale of Ewyas The Vale of Ewyas () is the steep-sided and secluded valley of the River Honddu, in the Black Mountains of Wales and within the Brecon Beacons National Park. As well as its outstanding beauty, it is known for the ruins of Llanthony Priory, ...

, within his Lordship of Brecknock in what is now

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, Wales. The surviving remains of the Priory were designated as

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in 1952 and the wider site is a scheduled ancient monument. In 2013, the Llanthony Secunda Priory Trust received funds for restoration work, which was completed in August 2018 when it re-opened to the public.

History

In 1135 after persistent attacks from the local Welsh population, the canons of

retreated to Gloucester where they founded a secondary cell, called Llanthony Secunda. Llanthony Secunda was known for cheese-making; in 1502 the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Prior of Llanthony gave presents of "Lanthony Cheese" to

Elizabeth of York Elizabeth of York (11 February 1466 – 11 February 1503) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from her marriage to King Henry VII of England, Henry VII on 18 January 1486 until her death in 1503. She was the daughter of King E ...

, the wife of Henry VII. In 1530 the prior of Llanthony at Gloucester sent "cheese,

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

and baked

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are a group of Agnatha, jawless fish comprising the order (biology), order Petromyzontiformes , sole order in the Class (biology), class Petromyzontida. The adult lamprey is characterize ...

s" to King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

at Windsor. It was customary at the commencement of the fishing season to send the sovereign the first lamprey caught in the river. The intermittent custom of the City of Gloucester to present the sovereign at Christmas with a lamprey pie with a raised crust may have originated in the time of King Henry I, who was inordinately fond of lamprey and who frequently held his court at Gloucester during the Christmas season. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries the priory and its lands near Gloucester were granted by the Crown to Arthur Porter.

Humpty Dumpty

During the Siege of Gloucester, a Royalist cannon, shipped in from Holland to Bristol and from there to Gloucester, was placed on the walls of Llanthony Secunda and directed at Gloucester's City Wall. It was hoped by the besieging monarch, Charles I, that this cannon would break the siege and win him control of the city. The cannon misfired, however, exploding on the first shot. Some believe this to have been the origin of the

Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle, and is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. The first recorded versions of the rhyme date from ...

nursery rhyme, but this is disputed. The true origins of Humpty Dumpty are unknown, but the idea that it refers to the Royalist cannon during the Siege of Gloucester is still often cited as fact.

Llanthony Weir and Lock

Llanthony has given its name to a

weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

on the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, which is the normal tidal limit on the East Channel of the river, and the disused Llanthony Lock, both built about 1870. Llanthony Lock was purchased by the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust in 2008 to restore the link between that canal and Gloucester Docks.

Burials at Llanthony Secunda Priory

* Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, the founder, buried in the

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

of Llanthony Secunda Priory;George Roberts, ''Some account of Llanthony Priory, Monmouthshire'', London, 1847, Appendix, pp.63 et se

/ref> * Sibyl de Neufmarché, wife of the founder; * Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford, Llanthony Secunda Priory, son of founder; * Mahel de Hereford, Llanthony Secunda Priory, son of founder; * Henry FitzMiles, Llanthony Secunda Priory, son of founder; * Margaret of Hereford (d.1187), eldest daughter and eventual co-heiress of founder, who inherited the patronage of Llanthony Secunda Priory, wife of Humphrey II de Bohun (d.1165) * Henry de Bohun, Llanthony Secunda Priory *

Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford Humphrey IV de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford, 1st Earl of Essex (1204 – 24 September 1275) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and soldier who served as hereditary Constable of England. Origins He was the eldest son and heir of Henry de Bohun, 1st Ear ...

, Llanthony Secunda Priory * Anne of Gloucester, (1383–1438) eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester and Eleanor de Bohun. Buried Llanthony Secunda Priory; * William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, husband of Anne of Gloucester; * Eleanor de Braose, wife of Humphrey de Bohun, son and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

of Humphrey IV de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford, 1st Earl of Essex (1204–1275), by whom she had issue, including Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford. She was herself descended from the founder's 2nd daughter and eventual co-heiress Bertha of Hereford who married William de Braose (d.1192), Lord of Bramber, Sussex.

References

External links

Llanthony Secunda Priory Trust
{{authority control Monasteries in Gloucestershire Augustinian monasteries in England Grade I listed buildings in Gloucestershire History of Gloucester 1136 establishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 1130s Burial sites of the Bohun family