| Woodspring Priory | |
|---|---|
 The Priory Church from the south | |
  Location within Somerset | |
| Former names | Worsprynge, Worspring |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Gothic |
| Location | Kewstoke, England |
| Coordinates | 51°23′27″N2°56′42″W / 51.39083°N 2.94500°W /51.39083; -2.94500 |
| Completed | 15th century |
Woodspring Priory (originallyWorsprynge[1] orWorspring) is a formerAugustinianpriory. It is near the scenic limestone promontory ofSand Point and Middle Hope, owned by theNational Trust, beside theSevern Estuary about 3 miles (5 km) north-east ofWeston-super-Mare, within the Englishunitary authority ofNorth Somerset. Many of the buildings are Grade Ilisted,[2] and the whole site is scheduled as anancient monument.[3]
The priory was founded, by William de Courtney, in the early 13th century, and dedicated toThomas Becket. The small community built a church and monastic lodgings during the next hundred years. They wereVictorine Canons who were influenced by theCistercians who emphasised manual labour and self-sufficiency so that the clerks who had taken holy orders worked on the farm, as well as providing clergy for surrounding churches. Despite endowments of land the priory was not wealthy until the 15th century when further building work, including the current priory church, infirmary and barn was undertaken. It wasdissolved in 1536 and then owned by local noblemen and leased to local farmers. In 1968 the priory and adjoining land ofMiddle Hope was purchased by theNational Trust as part ofProject Neptune. The following year the priory was taken over by theLandmark Trust who spent 20 years on restoration work, and now rent out the farmhouse as holiday accommodation.
The surviving buildings include the priory church, which was a 15th-century replacement for the earlier 13th-century structure, an infirmary, a barn and a 16th-century prior's lodging, which was converted into a farmhouse. The whole site was arranged around a centralcloister from which only the east wall and west wall of thechapter house remain, thesacristy,refectory, chapter house, lady chapel and parlour having been demolished. The former district council and parliamentary constituency both took their name from the priory.
The priory was founded in the early 13th century, and dedicated toThomas Becket. The founder, William de Courtney, was a grandson ofReginald Fitzurse, one of Becket's murderers. In 1849 areliquary was found inSt Paul's Church, Kewstoke that was believed to have come originally from the priory and to contain the blood of Thomas Becket. It is believed that it was moved to St Paul's for safe keeping at the time of theDissolution of the Monasteries and is now in theMuseum of Somerset inTaunton.[4] The first building had been completed by 1242 as it is described in a letter toJocelin of Wells.[5] In 1283John de Botetourt, 1st Baron Botetourt, the warden of theForest of Dean was instructed to deliver ten oaks from the forest to the Prior of Woodspring.[6] The foundation was confirmed byEdward II in 1325.[5] It was home to a small community ofVictorine Canons.[7] The Victorine order were founded at theAbbey of St. Victor, Paris and founded St Augustine's Abbey inBristol which becameBristol Cathedral.[8][9] Members of the priory were influenced by theCistercians who emphasised manual labour and self-sufficiency so that the clerks who had taken holy orders worked on the farm.[9] The priory also provided the clergy for the local parish Church of St Paul, Kewstoke.[10]
The priory, along with other religious houses such asGlastonbury Abbey andWells Cathedral, was responsible for draining some of the mudflats and salt marshes of theSomerset Levels.[11] William de Courtenay gave the manors of Woodspring,Worle andLocking to the priory,[12] however it was not rich for most of its existence, withWilliam Button giving a legacy of 210marks in 1277.[8] In 1317, although the first church buildings were complete, however it had not been consecrated andBishop Drokensford therefore fined them 20 shillings.[8] Further financial difficulties arose when, during the outbreak of theBlack Death in 1348 they had to appoint successive clergy to local churches, and the church suffered a fire in the priory church.[8] In the 15th and early 16th centuries an unknown benefactor enabled expansion and new building work to be undertaken. There is some speculation that some of the funding may have come from smugglers who were able to land their craft close to the priory and avoid customs duties.[8] The priory church and the great barn were constructed along with a part of the prior's lodging.[3][9][13][14][15]
In 1536Henry VIII, through a series of administrative and legal processes disbandedmonasteries,priories,convents andfriaries in England. He appropriated their income, disposed of their assets, and provided for their former members and functions. He was given the authority to do this in England and Wales by theAct of Supremacy, passed byParliament in 1534, which made himSupreme Head of the Church in England, thus separating England fromPapal authority, and by theFirst Suppression Act (1536) and theSecond Suppression Act (1539).[16] Roger Tormenton had been elected prior of Woodspring in 1525 and in 1534 he acknowledged the king's supremacy, having already sold a third of the prior's property toThomas Horner ofMells Manor,[8] but on 27 September 1536 the community was disbanded with revenues of £87 2s 11d.[17] Some of the priory's treasures were distributed to nearby churches. In addition to the reliquary going to St Paul's in Kewstoke, the carvedmisericords went toSt Martin's in Worle and the sculptedpulpit to theChurch of St Lawrence inWick St. Lawrence.[8]
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the priory was granted toWilliam St Loe and leased to Edward Fetyplace ofDonnington, Berkshire who converted it into a farmhouse.[17] Thechancel was demolished, a second floor was constructed in the northaisle and large windows were bricked up.[9] In 1566 it was sold toWilliam Carr the MP for Bristol who completed the conversion from priory to manor house.[17] In the late 17th century it was inherited by the Pigott family who owned it for 200 years, including the Smyth-Pigotts who were related to the Smyth family who ownedAshton Court.[17] In the 17th century it was owned byRalph Hopton who was aRoyalist commander in theEnglish Civil War.[8]
During the post medieval period until the early 18th century it served as a hospital for the local population.[18] In 1829 repairs were carried out to the church.[19] Excavations in 1885 found floor tiles withcoats of arms and a pavement from the 14th century beneath which were several coffins.[18] According to the findings of laterresistivity andgradiometer surveys there may also have been a formal Tudor garden and there may have been fish ponds.[18]
The farmhouse was damaged by fire in 1897.[20] In 1926 the owner, Somerset cricketer MajorVernon Hill, offered the priory for sale to the local council, but the council did not purchase it.[21] Major and Mrs Hill continued to own the priory until 1928,[22] when it was bought by the Agricultural Land Company and rented to local farmers.[8] In 1932 it was the venue forAlan Cobham's Flying Circus providing aviation displays.[8] In 1968 the priory and adjoining land ofMiddle Hope was purchased by theNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty as part ofProject Neptune.[8][17]
The decaying priory was taken over by theLandmark Trust in 1969. In the subsequent 20 years restoration work was undertaken. Initially this was to the church and infirmary with the removal of ivy and removal and replacement of the roofs. The infirmary walls had to be held in place by a concrete ring beam.[19]
The church is now a small museum with photographs and information about the history of the priory and its renovation by the Landmark Trust,[23] while the attached lodging house is rented out as holiday accommodation.
The 15th-century barn,[24] east cloister wall,[25] farmhouse range,[26] gatehouse, gates and mounting block,[27] infirmary,[28] and west wall[29] are all listed buildings.
The whole site was arranged around a centralcloister from which only the east wall and west wall of thechapter house remain.[3][30][31] Thesacristy, refectory, chapter house, lady chapel and parlour having been demolished. The gatehouse, gates,mounting block with six steps and west wall can also be seen attached to the farmhouse.[32]
The original 13th-century church no longer stands, however the current church which is inperpendicular style has a twobaynave, north aisle and two stage crossing tower, which is 65 feet (20 m) high.[13][33] The tower stands on the 13th-century base from which the short stair turret andtraceried windows can still be seen. Thequatrefoilparapet is from 1829.[8] The west front includes bothtriassic stone from the 13th-century building andDundry stone from the 15th. The main door is partially blocked up and serves as a window and the large upper windows have also been blocked up.[8]
The 16th-century prior's lodging which was converted into a two-storey farmhouse had major alterations and extensions in 1701. Inside the building are massive beams. Thepentice was added in the 19th century.[15] The 15th-century barn, which is approximately 50 metres (160 ft) north west of the church has seven bays supported bybuttresses with diagonal buttresses at the corners. It has acollar beam roof. It has a well at the eastern end.[14] The old infirmary was built in the 15th century and has an arch braced collar beam roof. The south wall shows the site where a stair turret was included, which would have linked the ground floor infirmary chapel with the infirmarer's quarters, which have both been demolished.[8][34]
The priory gave its name to the Woodspring District of the formercounty of Avon, which existed from 1974 to 1996 but is now known asNorth Somerset.[35] Between 1983 and 2010 the parliamentary constituency known asWoodspring also took its name from the priory.[36]
51°23′27″N2°56′42″W / 51.39083°N 2.94500°W /51.39083; -2.94500
