Ecclesfield Priory

Ecclesfield Priory was a religious house of Benedictine monks, lying in the village of Ecclesfield, north of Sheffield in Yorkshire, England.

History

Early history

Ecclesfield Church and a mill in the village were in the possession of St Wandrille's Abbey in Normandy by 1142, when this was confirmed by a papal bull of Pope Innocent II. These were the abbey's most northerly possessions, and probably their most valuable.

There is no written evidence of any building on the site before 1273, but an 1161 agreement between Richard de Lovetot and the abbey mentions "the monks of Ecclesfield". In 1866, an outer wall of the Priory was uncovered, at the west end of the chapel. The architect supervising the work claimed that this may have been 12th-century work, but there has been no further investigation of this.

Religious use

The Priory was in existence by 1273, when it was mentioned in a papal bull of Pope Clement IV, again confirming some of the abbey's possessions. It acted as a cell of the abbey in Normandy. Many writers have assumed that this demonstrates that the surviving structures were built prior to this date, but David Hey notes that it is possible that a 12th-century structure was in use and was only replaced a few years later.

The names of most priors from the early 14th century are known:

To 1328: Robert de Bosco

1328 – 49: John de Fauvel

1349 – 69: Robert Gullielmi

1369 – 71: William Fulmere

1371 – 72: John Burdet

1372 – 85: Sir Henry de Medbourne

In 1357, the abbey sent two armed messengers to bring Gullielmi back because he had ignored a summons questioning his "evil life and embezzlement of the priory's goods". Fulmere was ejected as he was not ordained, and Burdet was imprisoned in Newgate for threatening Fulmere.