Sopwell Priory
Sopwell Priory (also known as Sopwell Nunnery) was a
History
Priory of St Mary
The priory was built c. 1140 by the Benedictine
The priory was attacked in 1429 by the robber William Wawe and his men, who attempted to plunder the priory but were driven off by the intervention of some townsmen.[2]
Lee Hall
Following the dissolution of St Albans Abbey in 1539, Sopwell Priory was bought by
Sopwell House
In the 1560s, Lee decided to build a larger house, named "Sopwell House", with a great hall between two perpendicular wings. The monastic cloister was turned into a courtyard. In 1669, the estate was sold to Sir Harbottle Grimston. Much of the house was pulled down, and materials reused at Gorhambury. What remained was modified to form a house which ceased to be used in the late 18th century, and became a ruin.[4]
The ruins, which are now managed by St Albans Museums, remain today on Cottonmill Lane, near the centre of St Albans.[5] In 2017 the ruins were tagged with graffiti. "Due to the fragile nature of the bricks, specialist teams were brought in to ensure cleaning chemicals did not cause damage."[6]
Images
References
- ^ British History Online: Victoria County History, Hertfordshire - A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 4: Houses of Benedictine nuns: Sopwell Priory
- ^ a b "Sopwell", Monastic Matrix, University of St Andrews
- ^ Watkins, Morgan George (1885). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 04. pp. 390–392. .
- ^ a b Bourton, Peter. "Sopwell ruins", St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society, May 20, 2021
- ^ Historic England: The Benedictine Priory of St Mary (Sopwell Priory) and the post-medieval mansions known as Sopwell House or Lee Hall
- ^ Berry, Franki. "St Albans’ Sopwell Nunnery ruins now clean after graffiti incident", The Herts Advertiser, 6 December 2017