Crabhouse Priory facts for kids
Crabhouse Priory was a special religious home for nuns in Norfolk, England. It was built a very long time ago, in the late 1100s. A group of nuns, called Augustinian Nuns, lived there.
The priory was named St Mary the Virgin and St John the Evangelist. It was located in a marshy area called the Fens, near a village now known as Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen. This spot is on the west side of the River Great Ouse, between King's Lynn and Downham Market. When the nuns first settled there, the river flowed differently. Their home was in a marshy area near what is now Stowbridge.
The Priory's Story
Crabhouse Priory was a busy place for many centuries. It was a self-sufficient community where the nuns prayed, worked, and managed their lands. They had fishponds to raise fish for food. They also had farmland around the priory to grow crops.
An important book called the Register of Crabhouse or The Crabhouse Cartulary tells us a lot about the priory. This book is kept in the British Library. It records many big events from when the priory started until it closed down.
When the Priory Closed
The priory was closed down during the time of Henry VIII, a famous English king. This happened in the 1530s, when King Henry VIII decided to close many monasteries and priories across England. This event is known as the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
After Crabhouse Priory closed, most of its buildings were taken apart over the next 20 years. However, some parts of the priory, like the farm buildings and living areas, were kept. They were used for farming. The land around the priory stayed mostly the same for a long time.
Today, the main area where the priory stood is where a house called Crabbs Abbey is located. This is in the southernmost part of Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen. You can still find where the old monastic fishponds were, just south of the main house.
Leaders of Crabhouse Priory
The leader of a priory was called a Prioress. Here are some of the women who led Crabhouse Priory over the years:
- Catherine
- Cecilia, 1249
- Christian of Tilney, around 1270
- Agnes of Methelwold, chosen in 1315
- Margaret Costayn of Lynn, chosen in 1342
- Olive of Swaffham, chosen in 1344
- Cecilia of Welle, chosen in 1351
- Cecilia Beaupre, chosen and died in 1395
- Matilda Talbot, chosen in 1395
- Joan Wiggenhall, chosen in 1420
- Margaret Dawbeny, chosen in 1445
- Etheldreda Wulmer, chosen in 1469
- Elizabeth Bredon, active around 1500 and 1514
- Margaret Studefeld, until 1537, she was the last prioress
