Kyme Priory
Encyclopedia
Kyme Priory was a priory in South Kyme
, Lincolnshire
, England
.
The Augustinian Priory
of Kyme was founded by Philip of Kyme, steward to Gilbert Earl of Lincoln, before 1169, in honour of the Blessed Mary, for about twelve Canons
.
In 1377 Bishop Bokyngham held a visitation, and he found the canons were in the habit of serving their appropriate churches in person, and not by means of secular vicars, and their community life had suffered in consequence. The Bishop ordered that none of them should serve churches or take charge of granges distant from the monastery, in order that the divine office might be well sustained. They were forbidden to wear swords or any other weapons, or to have their habits unnecessarily ornamented. There are also injunctions as to going out without leave, eating and drinking outside the monastery, or entertaining friends too liberally within it. Similar injunctions were issued by Bishop Flemyng in 1422. An order was given by Bishop Repingdon in 1417 to bring back a canon who had gone without leave to join the Carmelites at Nottingham.
Bishop Alnwick's visitation in 1440 is preserved in full. The prior complained that his canons were too fond of idle sports. The cellarer complained that there were too many boys in the choir, which was a hindrance to the divine office: he said the infirmary was out of repair, and that the obedientiaries ate in the town of Kyme when they went there on business, and one canon hunted for his own profit. Others complained of the accumulation of offices in the hands of a few, and of the too free access of seculars to choir and refectory. The bishop dealt with all these points. The time spent in games should be given rather to contemplation, reading and study; seculars should be banished from choir and refectory, and the infirmary repaired.
In 1534 the clear revenue of the priory was £101 0s. 4d., including the churches of Kyme, Swarby, Ewerby, Osbournby, Metheringham, Thorpe near Wainfleet, Calceby, Croft, Northolme, and Wainfleet All Saints.
The canons of Kyme at the time of the first Act of Suppression loved their monastery and their religious life well enough to pay a heavy fine for continuance. Despite making only £200 a year, they paid an annual £200 fee to continue.
The little priory survived until the Dissolution
. The last Prior was Ralph Fairfax, who was elected in 1511, and the priory Surrender
took place on 6 July 1539. It was given to the Earl of Rutland and Robert Tyrwhitt.
Saint Mary and All Saints Church, at South Kyme, formed the south aisle and part of the nave of the priory church. It was greatly altered and partly rebuilt in 1805. It is today a Grade II* listed building.
South Kyme
South Kyme is a small village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England; it is located south east of North Kyme which is itself from Billinghay....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The Augustinian Priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
of Kyme was founded by Philip of Kyme, steward to Gilbert Earl of Lincoln, before 1169, in honour of the Blessed Mary, for about twelve Canons
Biblical canon
A biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources. The internal wording of the text can also be specified, for example...
.
In 1377 Bishop Bokyngham held a visitation, and he found the canons were in the habit of serving their appropriate churches in person, and not by means of secular vicars, and their community life had suffered in consequence. The Bishop ordered that none of them should serve churches or take charge of granges distant from the monastery, in order that the divine office might be well sustained. They were forbidden to wear swords or any other weapons, or to have their habits unnecessarily ornamented. There are also injunctions as to going out without leave, eating and drinking outside the monastery, or entertaining friends too liberally within it. Similar injunctions were issued by Bishop Flemyng in 1422. An order was given by Bishop Repingdon in 1417 to bring back a canon who had gone without leave to join the Carmelites at Nottingham.
Bishop Alnwick's visitation in 1440 is preserved in full. The prior complained that his canons were too fond of idle sports. The cellarer complained that there were too many boys in the choir, which was a hindrance to the divine office: he said the infirmary was out of repair, and that the obedientiaries ate in the town of Kyme when they went there on business, and one canon hunted for his own profit. Others complained of the accumulation of offices in the hands of a few, and of the too free access of seculars to choir and refectory. The bishop dealt with all these points. The time spent in games should be given rather to contemplation, reading and study; seculars should be banished from choir and refectory, and the infirmary repaired.
In 1534 the clear revenue of the priory was £101 0s. 4d., including the churches of Kyme, Swarby, Ewerby, Osbournby, Metheringham, Thorpe near Wainfleet, Calceby, Croft, Northolme, and Wainfleet All Saints.
The canons of Kyme at the time of the first Act of Suppression loved their monastery and their religious life well enough to pay a heavy fine for continuance. Despite making only £200 a year, they paid an annual £200 fee to continue.
The little priory survived until the Dissolution
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...
. The last Prior was Ralph Fairfax, who was elected in 1511, and the priory Surrender
Surrender (military)
Surrender is when soldiers, nations or other combatants stop fighting and eventually become prisoners of war, either as individuals or when ordered to by their officers. A white flag is a common symbol of surrender, as is the gesture of raising one's hands empty and open above one's head.When the...
took place on 6 July 1539. It was given to the Earl of Rutland and Robert Tyrwhitt.
Saint Mary and All Saints Church, at South Kyme, formed the south aisle and part of the nave of the priory church. It was greatly altered and partly rebuilt in 1805. It is today a Grade II* listed building.