The Great Priory of Lenton

The Great Priory of Lenton, one of numerous monastic foundations which arose in this country shortly after the Norman Conquest, was one of those one-hundred-and-fifty religious houses erected during the reign of Henry I. It belonged to the Cluniac Order of Monks, was founded by William Peverel who built Nottingham Castle and who amply endowed the Priory so that it rose to a position of great wealth. Although the exact year when the Charter was granted is not known there is sufficient evidence to suggest it took place between the years 1103 and 1108, and was confirmed by King Henry I, whose Charter read as follows:-

"in the name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, be it known to the pious devotion of the faithful of the Holy Church, that I Henry, King of England, for the love of Divine Worship, etc. etc., grant the Church of the Holy Trinity, which is in Lenton, to the government and religion of the Cluniac monks who serve God in the same place etc. etc."

The Priory continued its work for 430 years, there being twenty to thirty monks in residence at a time and it is estimated that about one thousand men passed through the Priory in four centuries. It was the tenth richest Priory in England and the wealthiest in the Midlands.

Endowments to the Priory of Lenton were numerous and substantial, there being 127 towns and villages in Nottinghamshire, 120 in Derbyshire, besides several in Yorkshire and Leicestershire which paid tribute to the Priory. The annual income was around £320. Income from local parishes received by the Priory were: tithes of corn and hay received from Beeston amounted to £8 per annum, from St. Mary's Church, Nottingham, £18, and Radford £6.13.4d. oblations at St. Mary's, Nottingham, £9.

William de Avonal of Hadden, gave "five shillings out of my Mill at Rowsley" paid yearly on the feast of St. Mark. Extracts from Dame Agnes Mellers' foundation deed of the Nottingham Free School, dated 22nd November 1513, show that, under certain circumstances, she gave great authority in its government to the Prior and Convent of Lenton.

Four Charters were granted to the Priory by King Henry II: the first freed all property from tax, toll or custom; the second conferred a Fair of eight days at the Feast of St. Martin, with full toll on all purchases except on food and clothing; the third made a grant of eighty acres of land; while the fourth gave the Hermitage of Kersall in Lancashire.

On several occasions the reigning Monarch visited and was entertained in Lenton Priory. Henry II was there in 1230, Edward I in 1302 and 1303, Edward II in 1307 together with a distinguished company comprising Earls of Lincoln, Hereford and Lancaster, and again in 1323. Edward III visited in 1336 and several times after.

The Priory of Lenton was built on the land now bounded by Abbey Street (where there was the Western entrance door to the great monastic church), Priory Street, Old Church Street (where stood the High Alter) and the present Priory churchyard. (See diagram). The Gatehouse of the Great Priory, which was in existence for many years after the dissolution of the monastery, stood across Wilford Road, now called Gregory Street, at the junction with Abbey Street.

The Arms of Lenton Priory, carved in stone, can be seen on the outside of Beeston Parish Church at the apex of the roof at the east end of the nave. In 1330 the rectory of Beeston Parish was appropriated by Lenton Priory and the Church became a Chapel, subject to the Mother Church at Lenton. This appropriation was effected by the aid of Popes Alexander III and Lucius Ill whose letters were produced in support of the claim "against the parishioners and poor vicar". The appropriation was retained until the dissolution.