List of monastic houses in Buckinghamshire Facts for Kids

Monastic houses were special places where groups of people, like monks, nuns, and friars, lived together. They dedicated their lives to prayer, study, and work, following strict religious rules. These communities played a big part in medieval England. They ran schools, cared for the sick, and helped the poor.

In Buckinghamshire, many different types of monastic houses existed. These included large abbeys, smaller priories, and friaries for different religious orders. Some were even Knights Templar or Knights Hospitaller sites, which were military-religious groups. Most of these places were closed down by King Henry VIII in the 1500s during a time called the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Monastic Houses in Buckinghamshire

Aylesbury Friary

Type: Franciscan Friars Minor (a type of friar).
Founded: 1387 by James Butler, Earl of Ormond.
Status: Closed down on October 1, 1538.

Aylesbury Monastery

Type: Possibly a house for nuns.
Status: Its existence is uncertain. It might have been a temporary holding place rather than a full monastery.

Biddlesden Abbey

Type: Cistercian monks, who came from Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire.
Founded: July 10, 1147, by Ernald de Bosco.
Status: Closed down on September 29, 1538. The original buildings were taken down around 1727. Today, a private house called 'Biddlesden Park' stands on the site.
Dedicated to: Saint Mary.

Bradwell Priory

The chapel at Bradwell Priory

Type: Benedictine monks. It was a "cell," meaning it was a smaller part of a larger monastery called Luffield.
Founded: Sometime between 1136 and 1144 by Meinfelin, Lord of Wolverton.
Status: Closed down around 1524-1526 by Cardinal Wolsey. The land was later given to Arthur Longfield in 1542-43. Today, it's privately owned and used as an urban studies center.
Dedicated to: Saint Mary.

Bulstrode Preceptory

Type: A base for the Knights Templar, a military-religious order.
Founded: Before 1276.
Status: Closed down between 1308 and 1312. The land later went to the Knights Hospitaller, another military-religious order, but they didn't build a commandery there. Its location is known from old earthworks.

Burnham Abbey

Type: Augustinian canonesses (nuns).
Founded: 1265 or 1266 by Richard, King of the Romans.
Status: Closed down on September 19, 1539. The land was given to William Tyldesly in 1544-45. Interestingly, an Anglican Augustinian group of nuns moved here in 1916, and they are still there today.
Dedicated to: Saint Mary.

Chetwode Priory

ChurchAndPrioryChetwode(AndrewSmith)Mar2006

Chetwode Priory, now a parish church

Type: Augustinian Canons Regular (monks).
Founded: 1244 or 1245 by Ralph de Norwich.
Status: It became a smaller "cell" of Notley Abbey in 1460-61 and was fully closed in 1535. The priory church became a local parish church around 1480, dedicated to St Mary and St Nicholas.
Dedicated to: Saint Mary and Saint Nicholas.

Crawley Monastery

Type: A monastery, but the specific religious order is not known.
Founded: Before 1042.
Status: Its exact history after 1086 is unclear.
Dedicated to: St Firmin.

Gare Nunnery

Type: Benedictine nuns.
Founded: 1163 in Stoke Goldington by Robert de Salcey and others.
Status: It was given to Delapré in Northamptonshire in the late 1100s or early 1200s. By 1438, it was mostly used as a farm (a "grange") and was later destroyed.

Hogshaw Nunnery

Type: Nuns of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.
Founded: The exact founding date is unknown.
Status: The nuns moved to Buckland in Somerset around 1180. The site was then used by the Knights Hospitaller.

Hogshaw Commandery

Type: A base for the Knights Hospitaller, a military-religious order.
Founded: Around 1180, on the same spot where the nunnery used to be. It was given to them by William Peverel.
Status: Closed down in 1470. The church on the site was used until 1650 but was in ruins by 1700.

Lavendon Abbey

Type: Premonstratensian Canons (monks).
Founded: Around 1154-1158 by John de Bidun.
Status: Closed down in 1536. The land was given to Sir Edmund Peckham in 1543. Today, a house called 'Lavendon Grange' stands on the site.
Dedicated to: Saint John the Baptist.

Little Marlow Priory

Type: Benedictine nuns.
Founded: Around 1195 or before 1218. Some records say 1244 by Jeffrey, Lord Spensar.
Status: Closed down in or before 1536. The land was given to John Tiltey and E. Restwold in 1540.
Dedicated to: Saint Mary.

Luffield Priory

Type: Benedictine monks.
Founded: After 1118 (around 1123-1124 or 1133) by Robert II le Bossu, Earl of Leicester.
Status: The Pope allowed it to be closed in 1494, but it stayed open until 1504 after the leader (prior) died.
Dedicated to: The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Medmenham Abbey

Type: Cistercian monks, who came from Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire.
Founded: 1201-1204, or in 1202, by Hugh de Bolbec. The buildings were finished in 1213.
Status: Closed down before July 8, 1536. The land was given to Robert Mone and others in 1547. It was later turned into a large manor house.
Dedicated to: The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Missenden Abbey

Type: Augustinian/Arroasian Canons (monks). It was an "alien house," meaning it was controlled by a parent monastery in France.
Founded: 1133 by William de Missenden.
Status: It accepted the King's authority in 1536 and was closed in 1538. The land was given to the Duke of Northumberland. Today, it's a college that is rarely open to the public.
Dedicated to: Saint Mary the Virgin.

Newton Longville Priory

Type: Cluniac monks. It was an "alien house," controlled by Longville Ste Foi Abbey in France.
Founded: Around 1150 or before 1102 by Walter Giffard, Earl of Buckingham.
Status: Closed down in 1414. The land was given to New College, Oxford in 1441. A manor house was built on the site around 1550. St Faith's Church nearby has parts from the 12th century that might have been part of the priory church.
Dedicated to: St Faith.

Notley Abbey

Type: Augustinian Canons Regular (monks).
Founded: Before 1162 by Walter Giffard, Earl of Buckingham, and Lady Ermgard.
Status: Closed down on December 9, 1538. The land was given to Sir William Paget in 1547. Today, a private house stands on the site.
Dedicated to: The Blessed Virgin and Saint John the Baptist.

Ravenstone Priory

Type: Augustinian Canons Regular (monks).
Founded: 1255 by Peter de Chaseport.
Status: Closed down in 1525 (or 1544). The land was given to Sir Francis Byran in 1548. Today, a 19th-century farm called 'Abbey Farm' is on the site.
Dedicated to: St Mary.

Risborough Priory

Type: Possibly Benedictine monks.
Status: Its existence is uncertain. It was supposedly a small monastery linked to Canterbury Cathedral before the Norman Conquest.

Snelshall Priory

The site of Snelshall Priory

Type: First, Premonstratensian Canons (monks), as a "cell" of Lavendon. Founded before 1166. They left after 1203-1204. Then, Benedictine monks took over.
Founded: The Benedictine house was founded 1203-1219 by Ralph Mortel.
Status: Closed down in 1535. The land was given to Francis Piggot in 1538. Today, you can still see earthworks (changes in the ground) where it once stood.
Dedicated to: St Leonard.

Tickford Priory

Type: Benedictine-Cluniac monks. It was an "alien house," a "cell" of Marmoutier Abbey in France.
Founded: 1140 or around 1100 by Fulk Paynell.
Status: Closed down in 1524. King James I later sold it to Henry Atkins.
Dedicated to: Blessed Virgin Mary.

Widmere Commandery

Type: A base for the Knights Hospitaller.
Founded: Before 1248.
Status: Closed down before 1338.

Wing Priory

Type: Originally a Saxon monastery in the 7th century. Later, Benedictine monks, as an "alien house" dependent on St Nicholas, Angers, in France.
Founded: Before 1086.
Status: It was under the control of the English Crown at different times (1342-1361 and 1393-1423). It was closed down in 1416. The land was later given to Sir Robert Dormer by King Henry VIII.

Other Sites

Wycombe Abbey: This is an independent girls' school today and does not have a known monastic history.

List of monastic houses in Buckinghamshire facts for kids

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