Monks Kirby Priory facts for kids
Monks Kirby Priory was a special kind of monastery. It was built in 1077 in a village called Monks Kirby, in Warwickshire, England. This priory was home to Benedictine monks. It was closed down in 1415. Its lands and money were then given to another monastery. This was the Carthusian priory of Axholme in Lincolnshire. They kept it until the Reformation, a big change in the church. Today, parts of the old priory are still part of Monks Kirby village church.
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How Monks Kirby Priory Started in 1077
The church in Monks Kirby was very important long ago. It was a large church even before the Normans arrived. After the Norman Conquest, a knight named Geoffrey de la Guerche owned the land. He was from a place called Brittany. Geoffrey rebuilt the old Anglo-Saxon church. It had been damaged, maybe during fights between Saxons and Normans.
Geoffrey made the rebuilt church a priory. It was connected to a big monastery in France. This was the Benedictine Abbey of St. Nicholas at Angers. The document that set up the priory still exists. It is dated July 1, 1077. This document is special because it shows something rare. It proves that a new Norman lord married the daughter of the old Anglo-Saxon lord. Geoffrey married Ælgifu. She was the daughter of Leofwin of Newnham. Leofwin was related to Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Lady Godiva. This marriage did not mean there was no violence before.
In the document, Geoffrey gave the church of Kirby to the new priory. He also gave two priests. He gave some of his local land, like the village of Copston Magna. The priory also got money and rights from his other lands. Monks Kirby Priory was named after the Virgin Mary and St Denis. The document also tells us the names of the first monks. They came from France. Their names were Geoffrey, Ranulf, Stephen, Maurice, Roger, and Herman. The two priests, Frano and Osgot, probably worked at the church before.
The Benedictine Monks' Priory
Growing Strong: The 12th and 13th Centuries
After Geoffrey died, his lands went back to the King. The King then gave them to Nigel d'Aubigny. Nigel's son, Roger de Mowbray, had descendants who became important nobles.
The priory became more important during the 1100s. The Mowbray family and others gave it new lands and money. The English royal family, the Plantagenets, came from Angers. This probably helped Monks Kirby priory become more well-known. In the 1170s, a monk named Richard of Waterville came from Angers. He became the leader, or Prior, of Monks Kirby. He later became Prior of Whitby. He even helped set up an archery contest there. Some say Robin Hood and Little John were part of it.
We do not know much about how the monastery was laid out. But it must have had a library. It might have had a Scriptorium, a place where monks copied books. One beautiful book from the priory still exists. It is from the late 1100s. This book is now at Balliol College, Oxford. It tells a story about a statue of the Virgin Mary. It says the statue stopped two thieves. One thief later changed his ways. He visited the priory every year.
Only a small part of the 12th-century building has been found. In 1977, a small dig found a blocked doorway. It had round columns with zigzag patterns. These patterns were common in late norman architecture. The oldest parts of the priory church we see today are from the 1200s. This shows the priory was still growing. In 1266, King Henry III allowed the monks to hold a fair and a weekly market in Kirby.
Tough Times: The 14th Century
The church was rebuilt again in the late 1300s. It looks much like it does today. One of the church bells, still used, is from this time.
However, this rebuilding happened after a difficult century. The Hundred Years War with France caused big problems. The French Abbot lost control of the priory. The King of England took the money from French-owned monasteries. Foreign monks were sent away.
Problems for these "alien" priories started in 1295. This was when the war with France began. By 1330, Monks Kirby Priory had serious issues. The monks had to be reminded of basic rules. For example, women were not allowed in the monastery. They also had to remember their duty to help the poor.
In 1360, the monks wrote to the Pope. They said that "Christ has worked many miracles" in the church. But they also said the church was "old and in danger of ruin." The monks wanted to raise money. They offered special forgiveness to pilgrims who donated to fix the church.
By 1376, the French priories were under more pressure. A French knight fighting for England, Thierry de Robessart, made a deal. He leased the Kirby Priory lands from the Abbot of Angers for 25 years. The King of England agreed to this lease. Robsart paid the Abbot a lot of money. He also had to pay £40 a year in taxes to the King. Thierry de Robessart died in 1387. In 1390, the King let Thierry's son, Jean, keep the lease.
The Robsarts only kept two monks at the Priory. The Abbot of Angers had not received money from the Priory for a long time. He offered to give the land to Thomas Mowbray. In 1396, Mowbray took the offer. He wrote to the Pope. He said that Monks Kirby Priory was supposed to have seven monks. But only two lived there. He said the rules were not followed. He also said the money was not used for good things. Because of problems with the monks and their servants, the buildings were falling apart. Mowbray wanted the priory and its money to go to a new monastery. This was a Carthusian Abbey he was building. It was on the Isle of Axholme in Lincolnshire.
It took 20 more years for Mowbray's wish to be granted. In 1399, relations between England and France got better. The Abbey at Angers got its rights back. But the good relations did not last. In 1415, the Carthusians of Axholme took over Monks Kirby priory. The Benedictine monks left Monks Kirby after 338 years.
Moving to the Carthusians
In 1415, King Henry V agreed to the transfer. The Duke of Norfolk could move the priory and its lands. They would go from French control to the Carthusian Abbey in Axholme. This connection was already old. Both Monks Kirby and Axholme had belonged to the Anglo-Saxon Leofwin. Then they went to Geoffrey de la Guerche. Later, they were given to the Mowbray family. This transfer was a switch. Before, Axholme's money went to Monks Kirby. Now, Monks Kirby's money would support the new Axholme Abbey.
The church was changed again in the late 1400s. A tall, eight-sided spire was added. It must have been a very noticeable building.
The Carthusians in Axholme lived a very strict life. The money from Monks Kirby priory was most of their income. There were no monks living at Monks Kirby anymore. In 1535, Axholme paid for a vicar at Monks Kirby. They also paid for a chantry priest. We do not know for whom this priest prayed.
The Newnham Paddox Estate was next to Monks Kirby. The Newnham family owned it from the 1100s. Different families owned it in the 1300s and early 1400s. Then, in 1433, John Fildyng bought it. He was a descendant of the Newnham family. The Feildings bought more land. They bought part of the Monks Kirby manor from the monks at Axholme in 1515.
The Reformation
During the Reformation, King Henry VIII took the assets of the Axholme priory. The King gave the remaining lands of Monks Kirby Manor to Thomas Manning. He was the Bishop of Ipswich. The King also gave the church's income and the right to choose the vicar to Trinity College, Cambridge.
After the Reformation
The priory church became the main church for Monks Kirby village. Parts of the old priory were used in the north wall of the church. They were also used in one of the two side chapels.
The Monks Kirby manor did not stay with the Bishop of Ipswich. Several owners had it over the next 80 years. This included the family of Lady Jane Grey. Her father, Henry, the first Duke of Suffolk, probably paid for the impressive wooden ceiling in the church. In the 1600s, the powerful Countess of Buckingham bought the Manor. She gave it to her grandson, Basil Feilding, 2nd Earl of Denbigh. The Feilding family then owned both the Newnham Paddox estate and the lands that belonged to the Priory Church. The Earl of Denbigh owned most of the village until the mid-1900s.
The church spire fell down in 1701. The special parapets, or low walls, were added in the late 1700s. The church looks much like it does today because of a big restoration in 1869. The church is dedicated to Saint Edith of Polesworth. This dedication was probably brought back in the 1700s. But its older origins are not completely clear.
Trinity College sold much of its land around Monks Kirby after the Second World War. But it still helps with the church's affairs.
Lasting Impact
In 1977, Monks Kirby celebrated the 900th anniversary of the priory's founding. A small archaeological dig was done. It found proof of the 12th-century church. Benedictine monks visited the church for the celebrations. A Roman Catholic religious group had also been re-established in Monks Kirby. Both the Catholic and Anglican communities took part in the celebrations.
