Polsloe Priory
Polsloe Priory, also known as St Katherine's Priory,[1] was a Benedictine priory for women (a nunnery) in Devon, England. It was founded in around 1159 on land to the east of Exeter, on a site that is now part of the city's suburb of Polsloe.[2] At the time it was the only religious house for women in Devon,[3] but two others were founded later: at Cornworthy and Canonsleigh Abbey.[4] The first prioress of whom any record survives was Avelina in 1218.[5] Amongst the holdings of the priory was the Church of St Mary, Marston Magna in Somerset.[6]
In common with most other Catholic institutions, it was dissolved by Henry VIII, in 1539,[2] even though it had paid a fine of £400 for exemption from the First Suppression Act of 1536.[7] At dissolution it had 14 nuns, including the prioress and subprioress.[8]
Most of the buildings have been demolished, but one remains, built of the local red sandstone and believed to date from around 1320.[2] English Heritage have designated it a Grade II* listed building.[1]
References
- 1 2 Historic England. "Polsloe Priory (1169490)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- 1 2 3 Cornforth, David. "Polsloe Priory". Exeter Memories. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
- ↑ Bartlett, Robert (2000). England under the Norman and Angevin Kings, 1075-1225. OUP. p. 428. ISBN 0 19 822741 8. – via Questia (subscription required)
- ↑ Lega-Weeks (1934). p. 181.
- ↑ Lega-Weeks (1934). p. 195.
- ↑ Robinson, W.J. (1915). West Country Churches. Bristol: Bristol Times and Mirror Ltd. pp. 43–47.
- ↑ Cooke, Kathleen (1996). The English Nuns and the Dissolution. The Cloister and the World. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 295. ISBN 0 19 820440 X. – via Questia (subscription required)
- ↑ MacCaffrey, Wallace T. (1975). Exeter, 1540–1640. The Growth of an English Town (2nd ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 176. ISBN 0 674 27503 9.
Sources
- Lega-Weeks, Ethel (1934), "The Pre-Reformation History of St. Katherine's Priory, Polsloe", Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 66: 181–199
Further reading
- Lega-Weeks, Ethel (1935), "The History of St. Katherine's Priory, Polsloe, Part II", Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 67: 349–359
- Lega-Weeks, Ethel (1937), "The History of St. Katherine's Priory, Polsloe, Part III", Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 69: 447–470
- Lega-Weeks, Ethel (1938), "The History of St. Katherine's Priory, Polsloe, Part IV. Polsloe Tithes", Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 70: 423–432
- Orme, Nicholas (2015), "Polsloe Priory", Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association, 147: 185–212
Coordinates: 50°44′3″N 3°30′7″W / 50.73417°N 3.50194°W