The Priory of St Mary, Huntingdon was an Augustinian

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 ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

(now

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

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 ...

. Its foundation date is unknown. Dugdale suggests that it was a re-foundation of an Anglo-Saxon canonry; this is a credible idea, as several other Austin priories were (e.g.

Taunton Priory Taunton Priory, or the Priory of St Peter and St Paul, was an Augustinian house of canons founded c. 1115 by William Gyffarde (also called William Giffard), Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England near Taunton, Somerset, England. Histor ...

). As a house of canons regular, it was founded by Eustace de Lovetot,

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of Huntingdon - apparently in compensation for his rapacity as sheriff. (Since there was a similar story about Picot, sheriff of Cambridgeshire, and his foundation of St Giles, later

Barnwell Priory Barnwell Priory was an Augustinians, Augustinian priory at Barnwell, Cambridgeshire, Barnwell in Cambridgeshire, founded as a house of Canons Regular. The only surviving parts are 13th-century claustral building, which is a Grade II* listed, and ...

, this may be just a trope.) Eustace's heir, William, was a patron of the priory, and he also founded

Worksop Priory Worksop Priory (formally the Priory Church of Our Lady and Saint Cuthbert, Worksop) is a Church of England parish church and former priory in the town of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, part of the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and under the ...

, suggesting a family attraction to the Augustinians. The canons regular (not necessarily by this time formally Augustinian) were occupying the church by the 1090s. In or around 1098,

Christina of Markyate Christina of Markyate was born with the name Theodora in Huntingdon, England, about 1096–1098 and died about 1155. She was an anchoress, who came from a wealthy English family trying to accommodate with the Normans at that time. She later bec ...

’s mother was sitting looking out at the priory; a dove flew from it and landed on her sleeve - and so she knew her daughter to be blessed. Christina was taught by Sueno, a canon of Huntingdon. In 1114, Robert, the subprior, left Huntingdon to help Gilbert, sheriff of Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire and Surrey, found

Merton Priory Merton Priory was an English Augustinian priory founded in 1114 by Gilbert Norman, Sheriff of Surrey under King Henry I (1100–1135). It was situated within the manor of Merton in the county of Surrey, in what is today the Colliers Wood ...

. Henry I confirmed the priory's lands and gifts; his wife,

Matilda of Scotland Matilda of Scotland (originally christened Edith, 1080 – 1 May 1118), also known as Good Queen Maud, was Queen consort of England and Duchess of Normandy as the first wife of King Henry I. She acted as regent of England on several occasions ...

was one of the drivers behind the Augustinian movement in England and Wales. Her brother

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...

was also

earl of Huntingdon Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland ( David of Scotland). The seventh and most recent creation dates t ...

and a benefactor of Huntingdon Priory. William de Lovetot's son Richard was also a benefactor; his sons (William and Nigel) died without issue; his daughters (Amice, Rose and Margery) married local aristocrats, and through the eldest, Amice, the Priory became associated with the de Mandeville family. The Priory had about 16 canons, and held a good number of lands and churches; its wealth was partly spent on hospitality. During the 14th century, it suffered both economically and from the

Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...

. It seems to have suffered a moral decline in the 15th century: the 1420 episcopal visitation found too many laundresses wandering where they shouldn't; the 1435 visitation admonished the canons for pawning their jewels and keeping hunting dogs. It also prohibited canons from visiting the house of one John Clerk, whose wife was of questionable morality. In 1440, there was no question about her morality: she was having an affair with the prior (along with 8 other women). The buildings were in disrepair and more goods had been pawned. Successive priors, especially Thomas Herford (d.1518), made improvements, but the Priory had declined to poverty by 1532. The 12 canons were devout enough to pay a massive fine to stop it being suppressed in 1536 (being a monastery under £200), but this, in the end, only gave them two years extra in the house. In 1538, the eight remaining canons were pensioned off and the monastery destroyed.

References

{{coord, 52.333, -0.183, display=title Monasteries in Cambridgeshire 1086 establishments in England Huntingdon 1538 disestablishments in England