Grovebury Priory

{{Short description|Benedictine priory in Bedfordshire, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Grovebury Priory | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | religious_affiliation = | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = | festival =  | organisational_status =  | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | functional_status = | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = England | map_type = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_relief = | map_caption = | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = 1164 | groundbreaking = | year_completed = | construction_cost = | date_demolished =  | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = | elevation_m =  | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = | module =  | footnotes = }} '''Grovebury Priory''', also known as '''La Grave''' or '''Grava''' was a priory in [[Leighton Buzzard]], [[Bedfordshire]], [[England]]. It was established in 1164 and disestablished in 1414.

==Origins== The beginnings of the Priory lie with a grant of the royal manor of Leighton made by [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] to the [[abbess]] and [[Fontevraud Abbey|convent of Fontevraud]] in 1164.<ref>Evelyn Baker, ''La Grava: The Archaeology and History of a Royal Manor and Alien Priory of Fontevrault'', Council for British Archaeology, York, 2013, pp. 269-271.</ref> It is probable that a house was built there for a cell of the Order not very long after.<ref>''Alien house: Priory of La Grave or Grovebury'', in ''A History of the County of Bedford, vol. 1'', London, 1904, pp. 403-404. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/beds/vol1/pp403-404 [accessed 29 September 2017].</ref>

Hence Leighton manor was initially the sum total of the original endowment of the house. To this later there was added land belonging to Walter Pullan, worth 32 shillings. Some smaller gifts of land in [[Edlesborough]] and [[Stewkley]], [[Buckinghamshire]] and in [[Studham]]. The value of the manor in Leighton in 1291 was £32, 6 shillings 8 pence; and other temporalities of the priory in the deanery of [[Dunstable Priory|Dunstable]] amounted to £2, 2 shillings 2 pence. In 1302 the abbess of Fontevraud held one [[Knight's fee]] in Stewkley; in 1316 the manor of Leighton, and half a fee in Studham; in 1346 only half a fee in Stewkley.<ref>''Alien house: Priory of La Grave or Grovebury'', in ''A History of the County of Bedford, vol. 1'', London, 1904, pp. 403-404. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/beds/vol1/pp403-404 [accessed 29 September 2017].</ref>

==Order of Fontevrault== {{Main |Fontevraud Abbey}} [[File:ArbrisselRobert gravat.jpg|thumb|Robert of Arbrissel in the now lost effigy]]

It is known that the [[Plantagenet]]s were great benefactors of the mother abbey at [[Fontevraud Abbey|Fontevraud]] in its early years and [[Henry II of England|Henry]]'s widow, [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]], took up residence there. That monastery, founded in 1101,<ref>Cf. Jean Dalarun, ''Robert d Arbrissel, fondateur de Fontevraud'', Albin Michel, Paris 1986; Gabrielle Esperdy, ''The Royal Abbey of Fontevrault: Religious Women and the Shaping of Gendered Space'', in ''Journal of International Women's Studies'' 6: 2 (2006) 59-80. http://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol6/iss2/5 [accessed 29 September 2017]; Fiona J. Griffiths, ''The Cross and the Cura monialium: Robert of Arbrissel, John the Evangelist, and the Pastoral Care of Women in the Age of Reform'', in ''Speculum'' 83 (2008) 303-330.</ref> became the chosen mausoleum of the Angevin dynasty. More dynamically, it became the centre of a new monastic Order, the Order of Fontevrault. The Fontevraud monastic reform had two notable distinguishing features. Firstly, it followed in part the [[Cluniac Reforms|model]] established by the highly influential and prestigious [[Order of Cluny|Cluny Abbey]] (which by the 12th century numbered more than a thousand monasteries.<ref>Mortimer Chambers, ''The Western Experience'', Knopf, pp. 269-283</ref>) in adopting a centralized form of government. While most [[Benedictine]] monasteries remained autonomous and associated with each other only loosely, Cluny created a federated structure in which the superiors of subsidiary houses effectively were deputies of the Abbot of Cluny, the head of the Order. These subsidiary houses were hence usually styled [[priory|priories]], not [[abbey]]s, governed therefore not by [[abbot]]s but by [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]]s, or more technically ''obedientiary priors''.<ref>Michael Ott, ''Priory'', in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 12'', New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911; George Cyprian Alston, ''Congregation of Cluny'', in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia. vol. 4'', New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. [Accessed 29 September 2017]</ref> The head of the Order of Fontevraud was the Abbess of Fontevraud. At the death about 1117 of the founder, [[Robert of Arbrissel]], she already had under her rule 35 priories, and by the end of that century about 100, in France, Spain and England.<ref>Jean Favier, ''Les Plantagenêts: Origine et destin d'un empire,'' Fayard, Poitiers, 2004, p. 152</ref>

The second characteristic feature was that its houses were [[double monastery|double monasteries]], with separately housed convents of both men and women, under a common superior, a prioress. The men had their own male superior, but he was subject to the prioress.

The prime mover in introducing the Order of Fontevraud into England was above all [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], over the course of his long reign (1133-1189). However, there seem only ever to have been in the country four houses in all. Apart from Grovebury, these were firstly [[Westwood Priory]] ([[Worcestershire]]),<ref>''Houses of Benedictine nuns: Priory of Westwood'', in J.W. Willis-Bund & William Page (edd.), ''A History of the County of Worcester, vol. 2'', London, 1971, pp. 148-151. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/worcs/vol2/pp148-151 [accessed 29 September 2017]; Marjorie Chibnall, ''L'Ordre de Fontevraud en Angleterre au XIIe siècle'', in ''Cahiers de civilisation médiévale'' 29 (1986) 43-44. http://www.persee.fr/doc/ccmed_0007-9731_1986_num_29_113_2313 [accessed 30 September 2017].</ref> and Eaton or [[Nuneaton Priory]] ([[Warwickshire]]),<ref>''Houses of Benedictine nuns: Priory of Nuneaton'', in William Page (de.), ''A History of the County of Warwick. vol. 2'', London, 1908, pp. 66-70. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol2/pp66-70 [accessed 29 September 2017]; Marjorie Chibnall, ''L'Ordre de Fontevraud en Angleterre au XIIe siècle'', in ''Cahiers de civilisation médiévale'' 29 (1986) 43. http://www.persee.fr/doc/ccmed_0007-9731_1986_num_29_113_2313 [accessed 30 September 2017].</ref> and Grovebury Priory ([[Bedfordshire]]),<ref>''Alien house: Priory of La Grave or Grovebury'', in ''A History of the County of Bedford, vol. 1'', London, 1904, pp. 403-404. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/beds/vol1/pp403-404 [accessed 29 September 2017].</ref> the two being, with Grovebury, founded roughly between 1133 and 1164. Later Henry II revamped and refounded the monastery at [[Amesbury Abbey|Amesbury]] (1177), a more complex venture.<ref>''Houses of Benedictine nuns: Abbey, later priory, of Amesbury'', in R.B. Pugh & Elizabeth Crittall (edd.), ''A History of the County of Wiltshire, vol. 3'', London, 1956, pp. 242-259. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol3/pp242-259 [accessed 29 September 2017]; Marjorie Chibnall, ''L'Ordre de Fontevraud en Angleterre au XIIe siècle'', in ''Cahiers de civilisation médiévale'' 29 (1986) 41-47. http://www.persee.fr/doc/ccmed_0007-9731_1986_num_29_113_2313 [accessed 30 September 2017].</ref> Amesbury became the principal Fontevraud house in England and apparently even the residence of the abbess of Fontevraud for a period during the abbacy of Joan [[House of Dreux|de Dreux]] ( 1265-1276).<ref>''Histoire de l'Ordre de Fontevrault (1100-1908)'', Auch, 1913, t. II, pp. 119-122.</ref> It was also the residence not only of [[Eleanor of Provence]] (died 1291), the widow of [[Henry III of England]], but also of other women of rank, such as [[Eleanor of Brittany (abbess)|Eleanor of Brittany]] (1275-1342), later abbess of [[Fontevraud Abbey|Fontevraud]]; [[Mary of Woodstock]] (1279-1332), daughter of [[Edward I of England|Edward I]]; and prioresses [[Isabel of Lancaster, prioress of Amesbury|Isabel of Lancaster]] (c. 1305- before February 1349), daughter of [[Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster]] and a great-granddaughter of King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]]; and [[Sybil Montagu, Prioress of Amesbury|Sybil Montagu]] (died 1420), sister of [[John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury|John Montagu, Earl of Salisbury]].<ref>''Houses of Benedictine nuns: Abbey, later priory, of Amesbury'', in Ralph B. Pugh & Elizabeth Crittall (edd.), ''A History of the County of Wiltshire, vol. 3'', London, 1956, pp. 242-259. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol3/pp242-259 [accessed 29 September 2017].</ref> It was also the chosen burial place of [[Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany|Eleanor of Brittany]], known as the Fair Maid of Brittany (died 1241), who was the rightful heir to the thrones of England and Brittany.<ref>W. Stubbs (ed.), ''Annales Londonienses and Annales Paulini'', London, 1882, p. 38; H.R. Luard (ed.), ''Annales Monastici, vol. I'', London, 1864, p. 118.</ref>

With the passing of the Plantagenet dynasty, Fontevrault and her dependencies began to fall upon hard times, and the decline was worsened by the devastation of the 14th century [[Hundred Years War]]. In 1460 a [[canonical visitation]] of fifty of the priories of the Order revealed most of them to be barely occupied, if not abandoned.<ref>Carlos M. N. Eire, ''Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650'', Yale University Press, New Haven, 2016, p. 127.</ref>

==The Situation at Grovebury== Grovebury seems never to have been a true house on the elaborate Fontevraud [[double monastery]] model, but largely a land holding administered by a small number of male religious.<ref>Marjorie Chibnall, ''L'Ordre de Fontevraud en Angleterre au XIIe siècle'', in ''Cahiers de civilisation médiévale'' 29 (1986) 44. http://www.persee.fr/doc/ccmed_0007-9731_1986_num_29_113_2313 [accessed 30 September 2017].</ref> This format was known among other "priories" classed by the English crown as ''[[alien priories]]'' and explains why, unlike the other Fontevraud houses in England, Grovebury was classed as such. An altogether banal but instructive example would be [[Blakenham Priory]] in [[Suffolk]] (a possession of the great [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictine]] abbey of [[Bec Abbey|Bec]]<ref>William Dugdale, ''Monasticon Anglicanum'', vol. 6, part 2, Bohn, London, 1846, p. 1002.</ref> in [[Normandy]]), where it is doubtful that true conventual monastic buildings ever existed, at least of any size.

At La Grava there is never talk of a prioress. A [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]] is first mentioned in 1195–1196, and at that time he is referred to as the Prior of Leighton, even the name of La Grave or La Grava not appearing till late in the reign of [[Henry III of England|Henry III]].

This prior of Leighton had a good deal of trouble with his tenants on the subject of feudal services during the thirteenth century, which involved him in suits before the [[Curia regis|Curia Regis]] from 1213 to 1290.

The nature of the enterprise at this house is shown from the fact that the Prior during the latter part of the century was William de Lyencourt. This was a person of some importance, since he doubled as the proctor general of the abbess of Fontevraud in England, and in that capacity was obliged to make journeys for which he had to seek safe conducts from the king.<ref>''Alien house: Priory of La Grave or Grovebury'', in ''A History of the County of Bedford, vol. 1'', London, 1904, pp. 403-404. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/beds/vol1/pp403-404 [accessed 29 September 2017].</ref>

Both the mother house at Fontevraud and the priory of Almesbury in England, where the king's mother resided at the end of her life and where his daughter had made their profession, were in great poverty at this time. It was said that at Fontevraud, at one time they had only the blackest of bread to eat on Fridays,<ref>''Alien house: Priory of La Grave or Grovebury'', in ''A History of the County of Bedford, vol. 1'', London, 1904, pp. 403-404. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/beds/vol1/pp403-404 [accessed 29 September 2017].</ref> For whatever reason, there is no mention made of poverty at La Grave.

The history of the house is in general is a little difficult to trace. Even the dedication of the church is unknown and other than William de Lyencourt, mentioned explicitly as prior in 1283, 1287, 1297, only a single prior's name is known, that of one Nicholas, who occurs in 1258 and 1263.<ref>William Page & Herbert Arthur Doubleday (edd.),''The Victoria History of the County of Bedford, vol. 1'', 1904, pp.403-404. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40054 ]</ref>

Such difficulties are especially true of the fourteenth century. In 1316 the manor was stated to be the property of the abbess of Fontevraud, but "now in the hand of the [[Mary of Woodstock|Princess Mary]],"<ref>[[Mary of Woodstock|Princess Mary]] is said to have been given the administration of Grovebury Priory, holding this until her death. Cf. [http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/LeightonBuzzard/TheMedievalManorOfLeightonAliasGrovebury.aspx The Medieval Manor of Leighton Alias Grovebury] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615093238/http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/LeightonBuzzard/TheMedievalManorOfLeightonAliasGrovebury.aspx |date=2011-06-15 }}, [[Bedfordshire County Council]].</ref> and in 1349 the pope wrote to [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], asking him to allow the abbess and convent to regain possession of the house of La Grave, of which they had been [[Looting|despoiled]]. It seems however to have returned to its original position as a cell of Fontevraud, for it was reckoned in the next century among the [[Alien priory|alien priories]], and in consequence of the measures introduced by 1414 was seized and granted in 1438, along with many other properties, to [[Eton College]]; and a few years later, in 1481, transferred to the dean and canons of [[St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle]].<ref>William Page & Herbert Arthur Doubleday (edd.),''The Victoria History of the County of Bedford, vol. 1'', 1904, pp.403-404. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40054 ]</ref>

==Site== The site of Grovebury Priory, more correctly 'La Grava', was comprehensively excavated by the Bedfordshire County Archaeology Service between 1973 and 1985,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/LeightonBuzzard/TheMedievalManorOfLeightonAliasGrovebury.aspx |title=Hosted by Bedford Borough Council: The Medieval Manor of Leighton Alias Grovebury |access-date=2011-06-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615093238/http://www.bedfordshire.gov.uk/CommunityAndLiving/ArchivesAndRecordOffice/CommunityArchives/LeightonBuzzard/TheMedievalManorOfLeightonAliasGrovebury.aspx |archive-date=2011-06-15 }}</ref> in advance of destruction by a 60-ft deep sand quarry. An account of that project and its discoveries, largely dependent upon the unemployment training schemes provided by the Manpower Services Commission in the 1970s and 1980s, has been published in 2011 as a chapter (14 'The Manpower Services Commission and La Grava' by Evelyn Baker) in 'Great Excavations - Shaping the Archaeological Profession' edited by John Schofield (Oxbow). The full excavation report was published by the Council for British Archaeology in October 2013 as Research Report 167, an English Heritage supported monograph, entitled 'La Grava, the Archaeology and History of a Royal Manor and Alien Priory of Fontevrault' by Evelyn Baker with contributors.

== See also == * [[List of monastic houses in Bedfordshire]]

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==Notes== * This article incorporates text from a publication now in the [[public domain]]: ''The Priory of La Grave or Grovebury'', in ''The Victoria History of the County of Bedford: Volume 1'', 1904 *[http://wikimapia.org/10246524/Location-of-Grovebury-Priory-Leighton-Buzzard-Bedfordshire-England wikimapia] {{coord|51.90377|N|0.65982|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

[[Category:Monasteries in Bedfordshire]] [[Category:Alien priories in England]] [[Category:12th-century establishments in England]] [[Category:1414 disestablishments in England]] [[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1160s]] [[Category:Benedictine nunneries in England]] [[Category:Leighton Buzzard]]