Ipswich Whitefriars facts for kids

Ipswich Whitefriars was a special religious house in the town of Ipswich, UK. It was home to Carmelite friars, also known as "White Friars," because of the white cloaks they wore. This friary was one of three main friaries in Ipswich during the Middle Ages. The first was the Ipswich Greyfriars (Franciscans), founded before 1236, and the second was the Ipswich Blackfriars (Dominicans), started by King Henry III in 1263. The Whitefriars was founded a bit later, around 1278–79. It became a very important place, where many smart scholars lived and studied. It also hosted important meetings for the Carmelite Order in England.

All three friaries in Ipswich were closed down in 1538. The Whitefriars was located south of Ipswich Buttermarket street. Today, nothing of the original buildings can be seen above ground. However, archaeologists have found parts of it by digging. The Whitefriars is especially remembered for the interesting stories of the scholars and religious people who lived there.

How the Whitefriars Started

Historians believe the Whitefriars was founded around 1279. Some say Sir Thomas de Loudham started it, while others mention Lord Bardesley, Sir Jeffrey Hadley, and Sir Robert Norton. This founding happened around the same time as another Carmelite house was started in Winchester (1278). King Edward I visited Ipswich in 1277. In 1279, he passed a law that helped religious groups like the Carmelites.

The first friars at Ipswich probably came from the Carmelite house in Norwich. However, the Ipswich Whitefriars was not a "daughter-house" of Norwich. It answered directly to the main leaders of the Carmelite Order.

Where Was the Whitefriars Located?

The Whitefriars was built right in the middle of Ipswich. It was south of Buttermarket street and north of Old Foundry Road. At first, it was east of St Stephen's Lane, but later it spread out to the west, towards Queen Street. This area is now where the modern Ipswich Buttermarket shopping centre stands.

During excavations in 1987, archaeologists found the foundations of the Carmelite church. These were beneath the front of the Buttermarket centre. The church was built at right angles to St Stephen's Lane, with its east side facing the lane. St Stephen's Lane was an old road that led north from the River Orwell. The Carmelites were allowed to enclose a long town lane in 1297. They also bought more land in 1316, 1329, and 1332 to make their house bigger. The last expansion was in 1396.

Important Scholars and Leaders

The Ipswich Whitefriars quickly became important in the Carmelite Order in England. Many of its friars became leaders and famous scholars.

Early Leaders from Ipswich

• William Ludlyngton: He was a Prior (leader) of the Ipswich Whitefriars. In 1300, he was chosen to be the new Provincial (head) of the Carmelite Order in England. He had studied at Oxford.
• John Barkhamstead: Another former Prior of Ipswich, he was elected Provincial in 1312.
• John Polested: He joined the Ipswich friary when he was young and later studied at Oxford. He became the Provincial from 1335 until his death in 1341. He wrote more than twenty scholarly books.
• John Kynyngham: This friar from Ipswich became Provincial of England and Ireland in 1393. He was a close advisor to John of Gaunt, a powerful duke. Kynyngham was known for debating with John Wycliffe, a famous religious reformer. He wrote many books on philosophy and religion.
• Nicholas Kenton: He started his education at Ipswich Whitefriars before going to Cambridge. He was a historian, poet, philosopher, and theologian. He became the chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1445 and was Provincial of the Carmelite Order from 1444 to 1456.

Famous Friars of Ipswich

• John Paschal: He joined the Order at Ipswich and was known for his learning and sermons. He later became a Bishop of Llandaff.
• Richard Lavyngham: He became a friar at Ipswich and later studied at Oxford. He was a very scholarly philosopher and theologian. He wrote many books, including one about the Carmelite Order.
• John Barmyngham: He was elected Prior around 1440. He had doctorates from Oxford and Paris and was considered one of the best scholars of his time.
• Thomas Lavenham: An Ipswich Carmelite, he wrote a commentary on Aristotle's Physics. He became one of the first fellows at All Souls College, Oxford in 1447.

Life at the Friary

The Whitefriars was a busy place. In the mid-1300s, some knights joined the friary, even though they weren't as learned as the scholars. In 1379, an abbot named Edmund Brounfield found safety with the Ipswich Carmelites when his own monks forced him out.

Around 1400, a special group of women called "Recluses" started at the Whitefriars. They followed the Carmelite rules very strictly. They ate mostly vegetables, wore uncomfortable "hair shirts," and woke up in the middle of the night for prayers during winter. They also fasted on Fridays and Saturdays.

In 1452, King Henry VI and his whole group visited the Whitefriars. Over the next 25 years, the church was completely rebuilt. The new church was blessed in 1477. People often wanted to be buried in the church and have special prayers said for them there. Records show that people left gifts to the friars in their wills, like barrels of beer or cloaks.

The End of the Whitefriars

John Bale, who later became a bishop, was educated at another Carmelite house and at Cambridge University. He was elected the last Prior of Ipswich Carmelites in 1533. While at Ipswich, he wrote several works and studied many books in the monastic libraries of his time. He seems to have left his position before the friary was finally closed.

In its last days, the community became very poor. They had to sell some of their properties to buy food. The friars even wrote a petition to Thomas Cromwell, a powerful government official, saying that someone was not paying them money he owed. The friary was finally closed in November 1538.

After the friary closed, parts of the buildings were used as a town jail for a while. However, most of the Whitefriars buildings were torn down by 1698, and very little trace of them remained.