Pamber Priory facts for kids
Pamber Priory is a very old church in Monk Sherborne, Hampshire, England. It used to be a special kind of monastery called a priory. Sometimes it was called West Sherborne Priory or Monk Sherborne Priory.
Today, it is a Church of England parish church, meaning it's a local church for people in the area. It has a long and interesting history, going back almost 900 years!
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A Look Back in Time: The Priory's Beginnings
The land where Pamber Priory stands has a long history. It was first mentioned during the time of King Edward the Confessor. Later, in 1086, the Domesday Book recorded that a man named Hugh de Port owned it.
A church building was officially opened by the Bishop of Winchester, William Giffard. This happened sometime between 1107 and 1129. We don't know exactly how much of the church was finished then. Only parts of the central tower and a bit of the south wall are from that very early time.
Founding the Priory
In 1130, Hugh de Port's son, Henry de Port, started a priory here. A priory is like a small monastery. It was connected to a larger abbey in France called the Abbey of Saint Vigor.
Henry de Port gave the church building to the monks. He also gave them money to help them serve the local church in Newnham. He wrote a special document, or charter, around 1130. This document mentioned money from two watermills in Newnham.
The de Port family came from Normandy, France. They wanted monks at Sherborne to serve God. They also wanted the monks to pray for their family, friends, and neighbours.
Building and Changes Over Time
The first church building was shaped like a cross. It didn't have side sections, called aisles. Around 1220, parts of the church were rebuilt. The eastern part, called the chancel, was made longer.
A cloister was built on the south side of the church. This was an open area, usually with covered walkways, where monks could walk and pray. Today, only the area under the tower and the extended chancel remain.
Some side chapels were added later, but we don't know exactly when. A lot of building work happened between 1255 and 1260. King Henry III even gave wood from his forest to help. He visited the priory at least five times!
This priory was for Benedictine monks. It was a "conventual" priory, meaning it was independent and didn't have an abbot (the head of a large monastery).
Challenges and Changes
Because Pamber Priory was linked to an abbey in France, it was called an "alien priory." This made the English government suspicious of it. However, the Bishops of Winchester were more accepting. They allowed the monks to appoint priests for churches in Church Oakley and Bramley.
Tough Times for the Priory
At first, the priory seemed to be doing well financially. But things changed after King Henry III died in 1272. King Edward I made a law in 1279 called the Statute of Mortmain. This law stopped people from giving land to the church. This meant the priory lost an important way to get money.
When Edward I went to war with France in 1294, he took control of all "alien" properties. Pamber Priory had a good income of £130 that year. But the king's actions set a pattern. Later kings would also take control of alien priories.
The monks could get their priory back by paying a fine. Pamber Priory managed to pay these fines. But King Edward II took control of it again. He even took over the right to appoint priests for the churches in Newnham and Church Oakley in 1326.
War, Plague, and Poverty
The Hundred Years War started in 1337. Pamber Priory was watched closely and taken over again. By 1339, its income was very low, barely enough to pay its rent.
Then, in 1348, the terrible Black Death swept across the country. By 1350, the Bishop of Winchester wrote that Pamber Priory was "desolate" and "destitute." Many monks seemed to have returned to France.
When the war with France ended in 1361, the priory was given back to the monks. Some of its unpaid fines were cancelled. But when war started again in 1369, the priory was in such bad shape that the monks didn't have to pay anything. There was barely enough money to support the monks and their servants.
By the 1380s, the priory's income was very low. This was partly because the king took money, and partly because people couldn't pay their rent after the Black Death.
A New Beginning
Things got a little better when King Henry IV became king in 1399. Foreign monks could return to England. Also, priories like Pamber, which were independent, were not taken over in 1401. The Bishop of Winchester even left Pamber Priory off his list of alien priories for the king.
Pamber Priory officially stopped being an "alien priory" in 1446. In 1462, the land was given to a hospital in Southampton called God's House. This hospital was already owned by The Queen's College, Oxford. So, Queen's College became responsible for the priory.
The Priory Becomes a Parish Church
In the 1400s, Queen's College started a chantry at the priory. This meant a priest would pray for certain people. This priest also served the people of Pamber, who didn't have their own church. It was like a small, local church for them.
When King Henry VIII closed down monasteries in 1547, the chantry was dissolved. But the local people felt the priory chapel was their church. They even went to court to make Queen's College provide a priest.
Queen's College, as the owners, repaired the building in 1843 and 1936. Today, Pamber Priory is a grade I listed building, meaning it's very important historically. In 1911, the College was still giving a small amount of money to the poor of the parish each year. This was a tradition from a gift made by Adam de Port way back in the 1100s!
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