Brightley Priory facts for kids
Brightley Priory was a Cistercian monastery (a place where monks lived and prayed). It was started in 1133 and built in 1136. This priory was located about two miles north of Okehampton in Devon, England. However, the monks only stayed there for five years. They moved to a new location nearby, which later became Forde Abbey.
History
Building the Priory
Between 1133 and 1136, a powerful lord named Richard FitzBaldwin built Brightley Priory. He owned the land around Okehampton Castle. The priory was built on the bank of the West Okement River.
Richard dedicated the priory to the Virgin Mary. He invited Gilbert, the Abbot of Waverley Abbey in Surrey, to send monks. Twelve monks and an abbot came to Brightley to start a new Cistercian community.
Why the Monks Moved
The land around Brightley Priory was not very good for farming. This made it hard for the monks to grow enough food. Because of this, they thought about leaving in 1141.
However, Richard's sister, Adelicia de Brioniis, offered them a new place to live. This new site was on the River Axe. Between 1141 and 1148, the monks built a new priory there. This new home became known as Forde Abbey. It got its name because it was close to an old ford (a shallow place to cross a river).
What Remains Today
The original Brightley Priory site is now a farm. One of the farm buildings, which is a long, rectangular building, still shows signs of being a church building. It might have been a chapel.
It's important not to confuse Brightley Priory with another old place called Brightley, Chittlehampton. That one is in north Devon. A writer named Tristram Risdon made this mistake in his book "A Survey of Devon" in 1630.
