Hatfield Regis Priory
Hatfield Broad Oak Priory, or Hatfield Regis Priory, is a former
, England. Founded by 1139, it was dissolved in 1536 as part of Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries.History
The large settlement of Hatfield was well established by the time of the
The Benedictine monastery itself was founded in or before 1139, one of the five religious communities of that order to be founded in Essex. The priory was a daughter house of the
In around 1230 a fire destroyed part of the priory church, for whose repairs Henry III granted ten oaks each from the forests of Hatfield and Wristle.
John Lydgate, the poet, was elected prior in 1423 but resigned the office a few years later to concentrate on his travels and writing.[3]
Disputes
A dispute over tithes from the royal manor of Hatfield granted to the
Another dispute arose over the appointment of the prior. Patronage of the priory always belonged to the de Veres, earls of Oxford. The de Vere earls of Oxford and the abbot of St. Melanie both claimed the right, resulting in a series of unpleasant episodes in 1235. The matter was appealed to Rome, and in 1236 Pope Gregory IX ordered commissioners to hear the matter. A final settlement was reached eighteen years later. On the death of the prior, the Hatfield monks were to ask permission of the earl of Oxford to hold an election. The new prior would be presented to the earl, who would request his confirmation by the bishop of London. The prior was to notify the abbot and convent of Rennes of the death of his predecessor and of his own election and confirmation.[5] This is an example of an assertion of practical independence by an English cell of a foreign monastery.
The conventual church was built, or rebuilt, in the first part of the fourteenth century. The priory reached its peak in the first half of the fourteenth century with its great church, 230 feet in length, dominating the local countryside. Roger de Wautham, canon of St. Paul's, London, donated precious vessels for the use of the abbey and of the parish church."Houses of Benedictine monks: Priory of Hatfield Regis or Broadoak.[6]
Dissolution
The priory was dissolved in 1536 by
Some parts of the priory church remain as part of St Mary's parish church. The remaining buildings were dismantled and no trace remains of them above ground where they stood in the field to the north of the church.
See also
References
- ^ a b "The Monastery of Hatfield Regis", Rev. Alan Jones. Displayed in Hatfield Broad Oak church
- ^ Frederic J. Longrais, "Les moines de l'abbaye Saint Melaine en Angleterre. Les chartes du prieuré d'Hatfield Régis," Recueil de travaux offert à M. Clovis Brunel, v. 2, (Paris, 1955).
- ^ The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 6th Ed., Edited by Margaret Drabble, Oxford University Press, 2000 p. 616
- ^ "'Houses of Austin canons: Priory of St Botolph, Colchester'". A History of the County of Essex: Volume 2, pp. 148-50. 1907.
- ^ Historical Manuscripts Commission Report, viii, 632.
- ^ A History of the County of Essex Volume 2. (Eds. William Page, and J Horace Round). London: Victoria County History, 1907. 107-110. British History Online. Web. 5 September 2022
- ^ Victoria County History, Essex: Volume 8. 1983.
Further reading
- Lowndes, G. Alan. "History of the Priory at Hatfield Regis alias Hatfield Broad Oak". Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society (1884). n.s. 2: 117–52.