Stonely Priory was an Augustinian priory in

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 ...

. It was dissolved in 1536.

History

A tradition recorded by Leland hold that the priory of St. Mary at Stonely was founded about 1180 by William de Mandeville. However, as this William de Mandeville did not hold Kimbolton, the Priory may have been founded by

William FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, who succeeded his brother Geoffrey in 1216 and died in 1227. It was an Augustinian monastery, and possibly originated as a hospital. The

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of the priory belonged to the lords of Kimbolton."History of Stonely Priory", Kimbolton & Stonely
/ref> The earliest recorded reference to the priory is in the Hundred Roll of 1274, when the manor of Kimbolton was in the hands of the family of de Bohun. It was a small monastery, and probably never held more than seven canons. Very little is known of its history. There are no foundation charters extant. In 1366 the parish church of Kimbolton was appropriated to the use of the canons, the parish church was served by canons from the priory. Bishop

William Alnwick William Alnwick (died 1449) was an English Catholic clergyman. He was Bishop of Norwich (1426–1436) and Bishop of Lincoln (1436–1449). Educated at Cambridge, Alnwick was an ecclesiastic priest. He was probably the same hermit who lived in ...

visited the priory in 1442. The prior was accused of maintaining his own kinsfolk out of the revenues of the house; but this was only asserted by a brother who had just been accused of visiting the village in secular attire. No other charges were made."Houses of Austin canons: The priory of Stonely". ''A History of the County of Huntingdon'': Vol. 1. Ed. (William Page, Granville Proby and H E Norris, eds.) London: Victoria County History, 1926. 395-396. British History Online. Web. 3 November 2015
/ref> The first known prior was John de Ripton (d. 1309) and the last Edmund Bonde. In 1534 the prior and canons signed the Acknowledgment of Royal Supremacy. The surrender of the house was made under the first Act in 1536; with the canons probably allowed to serve as secular priests. In 1552 the estate was purchased by Thomas Mary Wingfield, who died in 1557, leaving it to his son and heir,

Edward Maria Wingfield Edward Maria Wingfield (1550–1631) was a soldier, Member of Parliament (1593), and English colonist in America. He was the son of Thomas Maria Wingfield, and the grandson of Richard Wingfield. Captain John Smith wrote that from 1602 to 1603 ...

, aged 7, who was born at Stonely. He was one of the patentees of Virginia in 1606 and 1607 and accompanied the first colonists to Jamestown, but returned in 1608. Scattered earth works and crop marks are all that remain. The Priory Cottage, possibly a former stable, was converted to residential use in the 19th century. It is a listed building."Priory Cottage", Historic England
/ref>

References

External links

Sharp, Malcolm. "Stonely Conservation Area Character Statement", Huntingdonshire District Council
{{coord, 52.2950, -0.3680, display=title Monasteries in Cambridgeshire 1180 establishments in England 1536 disestablishments in England Christian monasteries established in the 1180s Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire