Kington St. Michael Priory
Encyclopedia
Kington St. Michael Priory was a Benedictine
Priory of nuns at Kington St Michael
in Wiltshire
, England.
The last Prioress of Kington was Dame Marie Denys, a daughter of Sir William Denys(1470-1535) of Dyrham
, Gloucestershire and Lady Ann Berkeley, da. of Maurice, de jure 3rd Baron Berkeley
(d.1506). She had previously been a nun at Lacock Abbey
, and had just taken up her new appointment at the start of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
. In the summer of 1535 the King's visitors came to Lacock and made a favourable report. John ap Rice wrote that he had 'founde no notable compertes there' and commended the nuns of Lacock for their familiarity with their rule and constitutions. He informed Thomas Cromwell that Dame Marie Denys, 'a faire young woman of Laycock', had been made Prioress of Kington, where the visitation had revealed a less satisfactory state of affairs. The report of the Commissioners of 1536 upon Kington was however favourable. Marie Denys lived until at least 1571 when she was bequeathed by the will of her brother Sir Walter Denys(1501-1571) his second best bed, situated at the home of his second wife at Codrington
, near Dyrham: "Item I geve my second best bed with blanketts coverled, bolster thereunto belonginge being nowe in Codrington unto my sister Marye Denys"
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Priory of nuns at Kington St Michael
Kington St Michael
Kington St Michael is a village and civil parish about north of Chippenham in Wiltshire.-Location:Kington St Michael is about south of junction 17 of the M4 motorway and Chippenham and about west of the A350....
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England.
The last Prioress of Kington was Dame Marie Denys, a daughter of Sir William Denys(1470-1535) of Dyrham
Dyrham Park
Dyrham Park is a baroque mansion in an ancient deer park near the village of Dyrham in Gloucestershire, England. For the history of the manor of Dyrham, see main article Dyrham.-Description:...
, Gloucestershire and Lady Ann Berkeley, da. of Maurice, de jure 3rd Baron Berkeley
Baron Berkeley
The title Baron Berkeley originated as a feudal title and was subsequently created twice in the Peerage of England by writ. It was first granted by writ to Thomas II de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley, 6th feudal Baron Berkeley, in 1295, but the title of that creation became extinct at the death of...
(d.1506). She had previously been a nun at Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey
Lacock Abbey in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England, was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order.- History :...
, and had just taken up her new appointment at the start of the Dissolution of the Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
. In the summer of 1535 the King's visitors came to Lacock and made a favourable report. John ap Rice wrote that he had 'founde no notable compertes there' and commended the nuns of Lacock for their familiarity with their rule and constitutions. He informed Thomas Cromwell that Dame Marie Denys, 'a faire young woman of Laycock', had been made Prioress of Kington, where the visitation had revealed a less satisfactory state of affairs. The report of the Commissioners of 1536 upon Kington was however favourable. Marie Denys lived until at least 1571 when she was bequeathed by the will of her brother Sir Walter Denys(1501-1571) his second best bed, situated at the home of his second wife at Codrington
Codrington, South Gloucestershire
Codrington is a settlement in South Gloucestershire, England. It is located near Junction 18 of the M4 motorway south of Wapley and Yate.Codrington is a hamlet situated alongside the B4465 road. It is in the Parish of Wapley-cum-Codrington in the hundred of Grumbald's Ash...
, near Dyrham: "Item I geve my second best bed with blanketts coverled, bolster thereunto belonginge being nowe in Codrington unto my sister Marye Denys"
Sources
- Victoria County History, Wiltshire, 1956, vol.3 'Houses of Augustinian canonesses: Abbey of Lacock', pp. 303-316.
- Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine