Burford Priory
Encyclopedia
Burford
Burford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills in west Oxfordshire, England, about west of Oxford, southeast of Cheltenham and only from the Gloucestershire boundary...
in the English
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...
county of Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
.
The house stands on the site of a 13th century Augustinian hospital. In the 1580s an Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
house was built incorporating remnants of the priory hospital. In the 17th century it was remodelled in Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
style, probably after 1637 when the estate had been bought by William Lenthall
William Lenthall
William Lenthall was an English politician of the Civil War period. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons.-Early life:...
, Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
in the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
. The house and later the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
were restored for the philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Emslie John Horniman
Emslie Horniman
Emslie John Horniman was a British anthropologist, philanthropist and Liberal Party politician.The son of Frederick Horniman, sometime Liberal member of parliament for Penryn and Falmouth, Horniman was educated privately and at the Slade School of Fine Art...
, M.P., after 1912 by the architect Walter Godfrey
Walter Godfrey
Walter Hindes Godfrey CBE, FSA, FRIBA , was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator...
.
From 1949, Burford Priory housed The Society of the Salutation of Our Lady
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
, a community of Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s. In the 1980s, its numbers dwindled so in 1987 it became a mixed community including Church of England Benedictine
Order of St. Benedict (Anglican)
There are a number of Benedictine Anglican religious orders, some of them using the name Order of St. Benedict . Just like their Roman Catholic counterparts, each abbey / priory / convent is independent of each other...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s. In 2008, the community sold the property and it has now returned to being a private house. The new owners are Elisabeth Murdoch
Elisabeth Murdoch
Elisabeth Murdoch may refer to:*Elisabeth Murdoch , mother of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch*Elisabeth Murdoch , daughter of Rupert and granddaughter of Dame Elisabeth...
, daughter of the Australian-American businessman Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
, and her husband Matthew Freud
Matthew Freud
Matthew Freud is head of Freud Communications, an international public relations firm in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, a lobbyist and public image adviser.
After a period of living in rented accommodation, the community moved into a new purpose built monastery in Worcestershire. The new monastery is on the site of what was a derelict farm and has taken the name of the farm becoming Mucknell Abbey.