Wintney Priory facts for kids

Wintney Priory was an old building where a group of Cistercian nuns lived. It was located in Hartley Wintney, a village in Hampshire, England. A priory is a type of monastery where religious people, like nuns, live together.

Starting the Priory

The priory began in the late 1100s. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Mary Magdalene.

There is some debate about who exactly founded it. Some old records say that Richard Holte and his wife Christina started the priory. They also say that Geoffrey Fitz Peter built the first church there. However, another historian named John Leland believed that Roger Cobreth and his son Thomas were the founders.

The Cobreth family was very connected to the priory. Many family members helped the priory with money and support. One special event was when Dame Diana Cobreth, a member of the family, had her heart buried in front of the main altar.

Life at the Priory (12th to 16th Centuries)

The first church at the priory was a temporary one. In 1234, a new stone church was built by Richard de Herriard. Other members of the de Herriard family also helped the priory.

Around 1316, the priory faced money problems. Records show it was due to "negligence and poor administration." The nuns were even leaving because there wasn't enough food for them. This might have been because of the big famines that happened around 1315.

The Archbishop of Canterbury stepped in to help. He sent a group to check on the nunnery. They were told to "inquire, correct, reform and punish" any problems. This effort seemed to fix things by the 1320s.

However, the priory still struggled financially later on. In 1398 and again in 1404, they were excused from paying certain taxes. This was because they were a "house of poor nuns heavily encumbered," meaning they were in a lot of debt.

Sometimes, the leaders of the nunnery were called abbesses instead of prioresses. The local church of St. Mary in Hartley Wintney was part of the priory's original gifts. The prioress and nuns chose the vicars (church leaders) for this church until the priory closed.

The Priory Closes Down

On May 23, 1536, officials visited Wintney Priory. They were there as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, when King Henry VIII closed many religious houses in England.

The officials estimated the priory's yearly value at about £52. They found ten nuns living there. The report said the nuns were "of good conversation," meaning they behaved well. They also truly wanted to stay in their religious life.

Besides the nuns, there were two priests, a waiting servant, thirteen farm workers, nine women servants, and two "corrodiers" (people who paid to live there) with their two servants. The main church and living areas were in good shape. However, the kitchen and brewhouse were in bad condition.

The priory officially closed on July 22, 1536.

What Happened After the Priory Closed?

In August 1536, the land and buildings of the priory were given to Sir William Poulet. He was an important person in the king's household.

Later, in May 1538, the priory's site, including the church, steeple, and churchyard, was given to Richard Hill and his wife Elizabeth.

A letter from 1538 shows that Richard Poulet told Mr. Hill not to damage any buildings of the priory. The king had only given him permission to take down the cloister (a covered walkway) and the dorter (the nuns' sleeping area).

Wintney Priory Today

Today, an 18th-century farmhouse called Wintney Farm stands where the priory used to be. The old parish church of St. Mary is still there. This church was built in the 1200s and 1300s, so it existed when the nuns lived at Wintney Priory.