Andwell Priory facts for kids
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Priory of St. Mary at Andwell |
| Order | Benedictine monks |
| Established | early 12th century |
| Mother house | Tiron |
| Dedicated to | St. Mary |
| Controlled churches | Stratton, Hinton |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Adam de Port of Mapledurwell |
| Site | |
| Location | Andwell, Hampshire, England |
| Coordinates | 51°16′06″N 1°00′51″W / 51.2683°N 1.0142°W |
| Visible remains | some walls and doorways |
Andwell Priory was a small, old monastery in Andwell, Hampshire, England. It was home to Benedictine monks. Monasteries are places where monks or nuns live and dedicate their lives to religious practices.
Contents
Discovering Andwell Priory
What Was Andwell Priory?
Andwell Priory was a special kind of monastery called an "alien priory." This meant it was a small branch of a larger monastery located in another country. In this case, Andwell Priory was connected to a big Benedictine abbey called Tiron, which was in France.
Benedictine monks follow the rules of St. Benedict. They live together, pray, study, and work. A "cell" is a very small monastery, often with just a few monks, connected to a larger abbey. Andwell Priory started as one of these small cells.
Who Built It?
This small priory was founded in the early 1100s. It was started by a person named Adam de Port. He lived nearby in Mapledurwell. Adam de Port gave land in Up Nately and other things to the priory.
King Henry I of England officially approved these gifts. He did this with a special document called a charter. This helped the priory to grow and become established.
A New Owner: Winchester College
Later, in the time of King Richard II, a very important person bought Andwell Priory. This was William of Wykeham, who was the Bishop of Winchester. A bishop is a high-ranking leader in the Christian church.
William of Wykeham then gave Andwell Priory and its lands to a new school he had just started. This school was Winchester College. Winchester College is still a famous school today, and Andwell Priory's lands still belong to it.
What's Left Today?
Andwell Priory was always a very small place. Not much of it remains today. You can still see some of the walls that were part of the church building. These walls are made of flint, a type of stone.
You can also see two old doorways from the 1300s. These doorways were part of another building called the west range. Even though there isn't much left, these remains help us imagine what the priory might have looked like long ago.
