• Source: Binham Priory

St Mary's Priory, Binham, or Binham Priory, is a ruined Benedictine priory located in the village of Binham in the English county of Norfolk.
Today the nave of the much larger priory church has become the Church of St. Mary and the Holy Cross and is still used as a place of worship. The remains of the priory are in the care of English Heritage. The abbey's west face is the first example in England of gothic bar tracery, predating Westminster Abbey by a decade. According to English Heritage, Binham Priory's "history is one of almost continuous scandal." Many of its priors proved to be unscrupulous and irresponsible.




History



Binham Priory was founded in 1091 as a cell of St Albans Abbey at the behest of Peter de Valognes, who was granted the manor of Binham after the Norman Conquest. The Priory took around 150 years to be completed and was finished in the mid-Thirteenth Century. Originally it had 8 monks, rising to 13 or 14 in the 14th century before falling back to 6 immediately before its suppression 1539.
In 1212, Binham Priory was besieged by Robert Fitzwalter over an argument between Fitzwalter and the Abbey of St. Albans. The siege was lifted by the forces of King John I.
In 1285, King Edward I visited the priory, likely whilst on pilgrimage to Walsingham Priory.
In 1381, the records of the priory were burned during the Great Revolt, this action was led by a local man, John Lister, who was an organiser of the rebellion in Norfolk.
A Ley tunnel is said to run from the buildings to an unknown destination and it is reported that many years ago a fiddler decided to explore these passages; he could be heard for some distance before suddenly ceasing. The fiddler was never seen again.
In 1539, most of the priory was destroyed under the orders of Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries. The wealth of the priory was gifted to a local nobleman, Sir Thomas Paston, who dismantled some of the buildings to provide stone for a house in Wells-next-the-Sea. Further demolitions were made by Paston's grandson, Edward, who planned to build a new house in Binham but eventually gave up on the project.




Present day


The priory church continues to be used for parish services. As the priory was dedicated to Mary and the church to the Holy Cross, it is called The Priory Church of St Mary and the Holy Cross.
The Priory is in the care of English Heritage and is Grade I listed. Further buildings in the area, such as the priory gatehouse, are also Grade I listed.




Burials


Peter de Valognes and wife Albreda de Saint-Saveur
Roger de Valognes (their son) and his wife Agnes FitzJohn




See also


List of monastic houses in Norfolk
Walsingham Priory
List of monastic houses in England
List of English abbeys, priories and friaries serving as parish churches
Simon Binham
William Binham




References






External links



Map sources for Binham Priory
The Priory Church of St Mary and the Holy Cross
The Norfolk Archaeological Trust: Binham Priory
Norfolk Churches: Binham Priory

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Binham Priory
• Binham
• Peter de Valognes
• Binham (disambiguation)
• Walsingham
• List of monastic houses in England
• List of monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII of England
• St Mary's Priory
• Tunnels in popular culture
• Thomas Paston