Alvingham Priory
Encyclopedia
Alvingham Priory was a Gilbertine
priory
in St. Mary, Alvingham
, Lincolnshire
, England
. It was an intact, small, parish church of St. Adelwold
, adjacent to the priory church of St. Mary. The Alvingham Priory was established as a double house between 1148 and 1154, possibly by Hugh de Scotney or William Friston It is mentioned that Hamelin Alvingham (known as Hamelin the Dean) who had made substantial land donations to the Alvingham Priory had resigned from his deanery and joined Alvingham Priory as a canon (monk). Though religious of both sexes lived under the same roof, they did not commonly communicate with one another. The monks wore black, with white cloaks, and generally were shaven. In 1232 the priory was extended by purchasing part of the manor of Alvingham from John de Melsa. Prior to 1251 the priory and convent had granges at Alvingham, Cockerington, Grainthorpe
, Keddington
, Newton
, Cabourne
, Coningsby
, and Swinfleet and various houses in Lincoln, Louth
, Boston
, and Great Grimsby. In 1402 Boniface IX authorised the chapel of the Virgin at the gate of Alvingham Priory. The priory was active until most of its inhabitants died from the Black Death
.
The Gilbertine Order Alvingham Priory was located until its dissolution, in the Alvingham
village which is surrounded by agricultural land, which has a defunct canal lock system. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book
(Aluingeham, meaning "Homestead of the Ælfingas (the tribe of Ælf)".). The village lies on a small back road leading east out of Louth, Lincolnshire
, England
called Alvingham Road. The village has two churches in its churchyard. One is dedicated to St. Mary
and the other church is the only church in England which is dedicated to St. Adelwold
.
shared the same churchyard. It contains a late 12th century one bay, intact single aisle choir. The intact 2 aisle, 3 bay nave
is late 12th century. The intact southwest tower was rebuilt in stuccoed brick in the mid 1800s. A bowl was set on a Norman base is circa 12th century while a lead lined bowl is 13th or 14th century.
The Gilbertine priory of St. Mary, Alvingham, was founded as a double house between 1148 and 1154, possibly by Hugh de Scotney or one of his tenants. In a few years the convent possessed lands in Alvingham, Cockerington
, and Calthorp
, and the churches of St. Adelwold, Alvingham, and St. Mary, Cockerington, which stood in the same churchyard, within the precinct of the priory, and the churches of St. Leonard, Cockerington, Cawthorpe, Keddington, and Newton. Hamelin, the dean, gave three parts of the church of St. Adelwold of Alvingham, the fourth part having been given by Roger Fitz Gocelyn. In view of this endowment, St. Gilbert limited the number of inmates to eighty nuns and lay sisters, and forty canons and lay brothers. A wise compact with the neighbouring Cistercians' house of Louth Park in 1174 provided against that most fruitful source of strife, the acquisition of lands. It was agreed that neither house should hire nor acquire for a price cultivated or uncultivated lands without the consent and advice of the other. If the convent of Louth Park broke the contract the convent of Alvingham could take a third of the land for a third of the price paid. On the other hand, the convent of Louth Park could take two-thirds of the land of Alvingham for two-thirds of the price. The pact was to be kept in twenty townships in Lincolnshire.
13th century
Before 1251 the prior and convent had granges at Alvingham, Cockerington, Grainthorpe
, Keddington
, Newton
, Cabourne
, Coningsby
, and Swinefleet
, houses or rents in Lincoln
, Louth
, Boston
, and Great Grimsby
, and lands in several other townships in the county. Like many other religious houses, they profited by the embarrassment of lesser barons and knights, and in 1232 were able to purchase the greater part of the manor of Alvingham from John de Melsa, his father and mother, by paying off their debt of 87½ marks to certain Jews. Their claim to two parts of the church of St. Andrew, Market Stainton, involved them in a struggle with Robert Grosteste, bishop of Lincoln, in the reign of Henry III. He revoked the appropriation made by his predecessor, but in 1245 the priory's appeal to Pope Innocent IV
was finally successful. The grant of the church of Grainthorpe
by Brian of Yarborough was disputed by his sons, but the suit was decided in favour of Alvingham in 1251. In 1254 the spiritualities of the house were assessed at £56 13s. 4d., the temporalities at £53 17s. 4½d. The number of small grants in Alvingham and Cockerington suggests that the prior and convent were popular with their neighbours, or at least very successful in inducing them to part with their land. In 1291 the temporalities had increased to £81 14s. 2½d. The revenues were considerably augmented by the sale of wool, which averaged ten sacks a year at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
14th century
In 1303 the prior held half a knight's fee in Newton, half in Keddington, one-quarter in Alvingham, and one-sixth of another, a quarter in Yarborough and Grimblethorpe, one-sixth in Swinhope, one-eighth and one-fortieth in Cockerington, one-twentieth in Tathwell. In 1428 he also held a quarter in Welton. In 1402 Boniface IX granted an indulgence for the chapel of the Virgin at the gate of the priory.
15th century
The prior commented on the economic effects of the Black Death
in a petition to William Alnwick, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1448. The rectors of the church of Grainthorpe had ceased 'for frivolous reasons' to pay a pension of £10 a year, and the prior was anxious to exercise his privilege to appropriate the church, which was worth 47 marks. He pleaded that owing to floods, sterile lands, pestilence among sheep and cattle, and other sinister events in the past, the convent could not maintain its wonted hospitality. An appeal to Pope Paul II in 1465 resulted in a bull enabling the prior to hold some benefice in commendam on account of the great cost of hospitality.
16th century
In 1535 the clear yearly value of the property amounted to £128 14s. 10d. Of this sum, over £38 was drawn from rectories. The demesne
lands farmed by the prior and convent were worth £20 a year. All the granges, lands, and tenements were let. The Earl of Northumberland
unjustly held possession of a wood worth £10 a year. At this time the Dissolution of the Monasteries
by Henry VIII was about to begin. The house was surrendered on 29 September 1538 by the prior and seven canons. The prioress and eleven nuns were included with them in the pension list. Four years later, in the hands of the crown bailiff, the property brought in £131 16s. 5d., and included the rectories of Alvingham, Cockerington St. Mary, Cockerington St. Leonard, Keddington, Grainthorpe, and Stainton, and granges, lands, and rents in those places, and at Yarborough, Stewton, South Somercotes, Wold Newton, Clee, Great Grimsby, Swinfleet, Flixborough, Normanby, Boston, Rasen, Louth, Lincoln, and elsewhere.
Robert Ingelby was the Prior of Alvingham from 1534 to 1538. Joan Barker was the Prioress of Alvingham in 1538.
There is also a seal of the 13th century, which is a pointed oval. This seal symbolizes the Virgin who is crowned, seated on a carved throne, with ornamental corbel and with the Child sitting on the left knee.
Gilbertine Order
The Gilbertine Order of Canons Regular was founded around 1130 by Saint Gilbert in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, where Gilbert was the parish priest...
priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
in St. Mary, Alvingham
Alvingham
Alvingham is a village that lies on a small back road leading east out of Louth, Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:In the west of the parish, it borders Keddington. The parish boundary meets Brackenborough with Little Grimsby, east of Brackenborough Wood. Passing northwards, it meets Yarburgh, and...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was an intact, small, parish church of St. Adelwold
Æthelwold of Winchester
Æthelwold of Winchester , was Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984 and one of the leaders of the tenth century monastic reform movement in Anglo-Saxon England....
, adjacent to the priory church of St. Mary. The Alvingham Priory was established as a double house between 1148 and 1154, possibly by Hugh de Scotney or William Friston It is mentioned that Hamelin Alvingham (known as Hamelin the Dean) who had made substantial land donations to the Alvingham Priory had resigned from his deanery and joined Alvingham Priory as a canon (monk). Though religious of both sexes lived under the same roof, they did not commonly communicate with one another. The monks wore black, with white cloaks, and generally were shaven. In 1232 the priory was extended by purchasing part of the manor of Alvingham from John de Melsa. Prior to 1251 the priory and convent had granges at Alvingham, Cockerington, Grainthorpe
Grainthorpe
Grainthorpe is a small village and civil parish about north east of the town of Louth, Lincolnshire, England, about from the coast. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Wragholme to the north west, and Ludney to the south east....
, Keddington
Keddington
Keddington is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north-east from LouthKeddington Grade II listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Margaret. The church was restored in 1871-3...
, Newton
Newton, Lincolnshire
Newton is a historic hamlet that dates back as a settlement to Roman times and before, and is located around 13 km east of Grantham. Newton is mostly contained in a conservation area and contains some listed buildings, although this has not stopped a large amount of development since the...
, Cabourne
Cabourne
Cabourne is a hamlet and civil parish on the A46 road about east of the town of Caistor in Lincolnshire, England.The parish church is a grade II* listed building dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The tower dates from the 11th century, the rest of the church being 15th century, with a restoration in...
, Coningsby
Coningsby
Coningsby is a village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Taking its name from the Old Norse 'konungr' meaning 'King' with an Old Norse suffix 'by' meaning 'the settlement of' which gives Coningsby the meaning 'The Settlement of the King'...
, and Swinfleet and various houses in Lincoln, Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
, Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
, and Great Grimsby. In 1402 Boniface IX authorised the chapel of the Virgin at the gate of Alvingham Priory. The priory was active until most of its inhabitants died from the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
.
Geography
Alvingham
Alvingham is a village that lies on a small back road leading east out of Louth, Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:In the west of the parish, it borders Keddington. The parish boundary meets Brackenborough with Little Grimsby, east of Brackenborough Wood. Passing northwards, it meets Yarburgh, and...
village which is surrounded by agricultural land, which has a defunct canal lock system. The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
(Aluingeham, meaning "Homestead of the Ælfingas (the tribe of Ælf)".). The village lies on a small back road leading east out of Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
called Alvingham Road. The village has two churches in its churchyard. One is dedicated to St. Mary
St Mary's Church, North Cockerington
St Mary's Church, North Cockerington, is a redundant Anglican church in the village of Alvingham, adjacent to the village of North Cockerington, Lincolnshire, England...
and the other church is the only church in England which is dedicated to St. Adelwold
Æthelwold of Winchester
Æthelwold of Winchester , was Bishop of Winchester from 963 to 984 and one of the leaders of the tenth century monastic reform movement in Anglo-Saxon England....
.
Architecture and fittings
Built in the late 13th century, the priory saw further construction in the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as in 1806 and 1933. The conventual church and parish churchParish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
shared the same churchyard. It contains a late 12th century one bay, intact single aisle choir. The intact 2 aisle, 3 bay nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
is late 12th century. The intact southwest tower was rebuilt in stuccoed brick in the mid 1800s. A bowl was set on a Norman base is circa 12th century while a lead lined bowl is 13th or 14th century.
History
12th centuryThe Gilbertine priory of St. Mary, Alvingham, was founded as a double house between 1148 and 1154, possibly by Hugh de Scotney or one of his tenants. In a few years the convent possessed lands in Alvingham, Cockerington
North Cockerington
North Cockerington is a small village found approximately 4 miles to the east of Louth, in the English county of Lincolnshire. The village is home to the North Cockerington Church of England Primary School but has no shops or public houses....
, and Calthorp
Calthorpe, Oxfordshire
Calthorpe is a ward in the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire. It contains the Cherwell Heights Estate and the Calthorpe estate.-History:Calthorpe was once a small village outside Banbury...
, and the churches of St. Adelwold, Alvingham, and St. Mary, Cockerington, which stood in the same churchyard, within the precinct of the priory, and the churches of St. Leonard, Cockerington, Cawthorpe, Keddington, and Newton. Hamelin, the dean, gave three parts of the church of St. Adelwold of Alvingham, the fourth part having been given by Roger Fitz Gocelyn. In view of this endowment, St. Gilbert limited the number of inmates to eighty nuns and lay sisters, and forty canons and lay brothers. A wise compact with the neighbouring Cistercians' house of Louth Park in 1174 provided against that most fruitful source of strife, the acquisition of lands. It was agreed that neither house should hire nor acquire for a price cultivated or uncultivated lands without the consent and advice of the other. If the convent of Louth Park broke the contract the convent of Alvingham could take a third of the land for a third of the price paid. On the other hand, the convent of Louth Park could take two-thirds of the land of Alvingham for two-thirds of the price. The pact was to be kept in twenty townships in Lincolnshire.
13th century
Before 1251 the prior and convent had granges at Alvingham, Cockerington, Grainthorpe
Grainthorpe
Grainthorpe is a small village and civil parish about north east of the town of Louth, Lincolnshire, England, about from the coast. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Wragholme to the north west, and Ludney to the south east....
, Keddington
Keddington
Keddington is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north-east from LouthKeddington Grade II listed Anglican parish church is dedicated to St Margaret. The church was restored in 1871-3...
, Newton
Newton, Lincolnshire
Newton is a historic hamlet that dates back as a settlement to Roman times and before, and is located around 13 km east of Grantham. Newton is mostly contained in a conservation area and contains some listed buildings, although this has not stopped a large amount of development since the...
, Cabourne
Cabourne
Cabourne is a hamlet and civil parish on the A46 road about east of the town of Caistor in Lincolnshire, England.The parish church is a grade II* listed building dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The tower dates from the 11th century, the rest of the church being 15th century, with a restoration in...
, Coningsby
Coningsby
Coningsby is a village in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Taking its name from the Old Norse 'konungr' meaning 'King' with an Old Norse suffix 'by' meaning 'the settlement of' which gives Coningsby the meaning 'The Settlement of the King'...
, and Swinefleet
Swinefleet
Swinefleet is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south east of the town of Goole on the A161 road from Goole to Crowle...
, houses or rents in Lincoln
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Louth
Louth, Lincolnshire
Louth is a market town and civil parish within the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.-Geography:Known as the "capital of the Lincolnshire Wolds", it is situated where the ancient trackway Barton Street crosses the River Lud, and has a total resident population of 15,930.The Greenwich...
, Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
, and Great Grimsby
Grimsby
Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, and lands in several other townships in the county. Like many other religious houses, they profited by the embarrassment of lesser barons and knights, and in 1232 were able to purchase the greater part of the manor of Alvingham from John de Melsa, his father and mother, by paying off their debt of 87½ marks to certain Jews. Their claim to two parts of the church of St. Andrew, Market Stainton, involved them in a struggle with Robert Grosteste, bishop of Lincoln, in the reign of Henry III. He revoked the appropriation made by his predecessor, but in 1245 the priory's appeal to Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...
was finally successful. The grant of the church of Grainthorpe
Grainthorpe
Grainthorpe is a small village and civil parish about north east of the town of Louth, Lincolnshire, England, about from the coast. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Wragholme to the north west, and Ludney to the south east....
by Brian of Yarborough was disputed by his sons, but the suit was decided in favour of Alvingham in 1251. In 1254 the spiritualities of the house were assessed at £56 13s. 4d., the temporalities at £53 17s. 4½d. The number of small grants in Alvingham and Cockerington suggests that the prior and convent were popular with their neighbours, or at least very successful in inducing them to part with their land. In 1291 the temporalities had increased to £81 14s. 2½d. The revenues were considerably augmented by the sale of wool, which averaged ten sacks a year at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
14th century
In 1303 the prior held half a knight's fee in Newton, half in Keddington, one-quarter in Alvingham, and one-sixth of another, a quarter in Yarborough and Grimblethorpe, one-sixth in Swinhope, one-eighth and one-fortieth in Cockerington, one-twentieth in Tathwell. In 1428 he also held a quarter in Welton. In 1402 Boniface IX granted an indulgence for the chapel of the Virgin at the gate of the priory.
15th century
The prior commented on the economic effects of the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
in a petition to William Alnwick, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1448. The rectors of the church of Grainthorpe had ceased 'for frivolous reasons' to pay a pension of £10 a year, and the prior was anxious to exercise his privilege to appropriate the church, which was worth 47 marks. He pleaded that owing to floods, sterile lands, pestilence among sheep and cattle, and other sinister events in the past, the convent could not maintain its wonted hospitality. An appeal to Pope Paul II in 1465 resulted in a bull enabling the prior to hold some benefice in commendam on account of the great cost of hospitality.
16th century
In 1535 the clear yearly value of the property amounted to £128 14s. 10d. Of this sum, over £38 was drawn from rectories. The demesne
Demesne
In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...
lands farmed by the prior and convent were worth £20 a year. All the granges, lands, and tenements were let. The Earl of Northumberland
Earl of Northumberland
The title of Earl of Northumberland was created several times in the Peerages of England and Great Britain, succeeding the title Earl of Northumbria. Its most famous holders were the House of Percy , who were the most powerful noble family in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages...
unjustly held possession of a wood worth £10 a year. At this time the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
by Henry VIII was about to begin. The house was surrendered on 29 September 1538 by the prior and seven canons. The prioress and eleven nuns were included with them in the pension list. Four years later, in the hands of the crown bailiff, the property brought in £131 16s. 5d., and included the rectories of Alvingham, Cockerington St. Mary, Cockerington St. Leonard, Keddington, Grainthorpe, and Stainton, and granges, lands, and rents in those places, and at Yarborough, Stewton, South Somercotes, Wold Newton, Clee, Great Grimsby, Swinfleet, Flixborough, Normanby, Boston, Rasen, Louth, Lincoln, and elsewhere.
Robert Ingelby was the Prior of Alvingham from 1534 to 1538. Joan Barker was the Prioress of Alvingham in 1538.
There is also a seal of the 13th century, which is a pointed oval. This seal symbolizes the Virgin who is crowned, seated on a carved throne, with ornamental corbel and with the Child sitting on the left knee.