HOUSES OF BENEDICTINE NUNS
9. THE PRIORY OF BUNGAY
About the year 1160 Roger de Glanville and
the Countess Gundreda, his wife, founded the
priory of Bungay, in honour of the Blessed
Virgin and the Holy Cross, for nuns of the
Benedictine order. The first endowment consisted of benefices, lands, and rents, the greater
part of which had been part of the dower of
Gundreda on her marriage, and included the four
churches of All Saints, Mettingham, Ilketshall
St. Margaret, Ilketshall St. Andrew, and Ilketshall St. Laurence. (fn. 1) An elaborate charter of
confirmation by Henry III in 1235 marks a
great variety of other benefactions chiefly of small
plots of land, made since the foundation, including
the church of St. Mary Roughton, by Roger
de Glanville, and the mill of Wainford by Roger
Bigod, earl of Norfolk. (fn. 2)
It is not a little remarkable that there is no
mention of the possessions of the nuns of St. Cross,
Bungay, throughout the taxation roll of Pope
Nicholas in 1291. We can only conclude that
the house obtained at that date the rare privilege
of exemption from such taxing.
On the complaint of the prioress of St. Cross,
Bungay, a commission of inquiry was issued in
February, 1299, as to Robert, prior of Coxford,
with various men, carrying away her goods at
Roughton and Thorpe Market, county Norfolk,
and assaulting her men. (fn. 3) On the other hand, in
May, 1301, a commission was appointed on the
complaint of the abbot of Barlings, that Joan,
prioress of Bungay, Simon, parson of the church
of St. John by Mettingham, and many others,
had carried away the abbey's goods at Bungay
and other places. (fn. 4)
The prioress obtained licence in 1318 to appropriate the church of St. John Baptist, Ilketshall,
which was of their own advowson, (fn. 5) and in consideration of their poverty the prioress and
convent obtained licence, without fine, in 1327,
to acquire in mortmain land and rent to the
yearly value of £10. (fn. 6) Edward de Montacute
and Alice his wife assigned the advowson of the
church of Redenhall to the priory of Bungay in
1346, together with licence for its appropriation. (fn. 7)
In 1441 this church was disappropriated, a pension of 40s. being reserved for the nunnery. (fn. 8)
In 1416 a list was drawn up of all the churches
of Norwich diocese appropriated to nunneries, with
the date of the appropriation. Under Bungay
priory appear the names of the four churches
originally given by the founder, as well as Bungay
St. Thomas and Roughton, and the date assigned
to the appropriation of these six and the establishment of vicarages is temp. Lat. Conc. (fn. 9) To these
six the list adds Redenhall, giving 1349 as the
year of the ordaining of a vicarage. (fn. 10)
The Valor of 1535 gives the clear annual
value of the temporalities, which were chiefly in
Suffolk, as £28 1s. 8¾d. The clear value of the
spiritualities came to £33 10s. 0½d., giving a
total income of £61 11s. 9¼d. The spiritualities
included the appropriated churches of St. Mary
and St. Thomas, Bungay; St. John, St. Laurence,
St. Andrew, and St. Margaret, Ilketshall; Mettingham and Roughton, Norfolk; and portions
of 10s. and 40s. respectively, from Morton and
Redenhall. (fn. 11)
The advowson or patronage of this priory, implying the assent of the patron (usually formal)
to the prioress chosen by the chapter, and certain
rights during a vacancy, belonged in the reign of
Edward I to Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk.
William de Ufford, earl of Suffolk, died seised of
it in 1381; and John, duke of Norfolk, in 1432,
as pertaining to the manor of Ilketshall. (fn. 12)
The visitations of Bishops Goldwell and Nykke
were entirely to the credit of this nunnery.
The numbers of the religious of this house were
considerably less towards the close of its history
than had been the case in the thirteenth century.
In 1287 there were a prioress and fifteen nuns, (fn. 13)
but probably Bungay, like many other religious
houses, never recovered from the pauperizing
effects of the Black Death, as when Nicholas
Goldwell visited Bungay on 31 January, 1493,
as commissary for his brother the bishop, besides
Elizabeth Stephynson, the prioress, nine sisters
were resident. Nothing was then found worthy
of reformation. (fn. 14) Bishop Nykke visited this priory
in August, 1514; the register page beyond recording the visit is blank. (fn. 15) The next visitation
entry was of that made by two of the bishop's
commissaries in August, 1520; the prioress,
Elizabeth Stephynson, did not appear on account
of infirmity, as well as another of the sisters;
seven other nuns replied both as to the state of
the house and the essentials of religion, omnia bene. (fn. 16)
At the visitation of 1526 Maria Loveday, the
prioress, stated that everything was praiseworthy
both in spiritualities and temporalities, and in this
estimate the visitor and seven nuns concurred. (fn. 17)
Equally satisfactory was the visitation of 1532,
when Cecilia Falstolf was prioress; there was
nothing to reform. (fn. 18)
This priory came, of course, under the Act of
1536 for the suppression of the smaller houses.
The exact date on which it was dissolved is not
known. In April of that year a memorandum in
the hand of the Duke of Norfolk was forwarded
to Cromwell, wherein he stated that he had
obtained possession of Bungay, worth £60
last St. Andrewtide. The nuns seem to have
forestalled forcible action and deserted the house,
knowing what was in store for them, for at that
date the duke found ' not one nun left therein.'
He stated that he had previously shown the king
that the nuns would not abide, so 'the house
being void, I, as founder, (fn. 19) lawfully entered thereunto.' (fn. 20)
On 18 December, 1537, Thomas, duke of
Norfolk, obtained a grant of the site of this
priory, with the whole of its property and advowson, from the crown at the modest rental of
£6 4s. 3d., about a tenth of its annual value. (fn. 21)
Prioresses of Bungay
Mary de Huntingfield, 1220 (fn. 22)
Alice, occurs 1228 (fn. 23)
Mary, occurs 1270 (fn. 24)
Sara de Strafford, 1291 (fn. 25)
Joan, occurs 1301 (fn. 26)
Elizabeth Folyoth, 1306 (fn. 27)
Mary de Felbrigge, 1308 (fn. 28)
Mary de Castello, died 1335 (fn. 29)
Katharine Fastolf, 1335 (fn. 30)
Ellen Becclesworth, resigned 1380 (fn. 31)
Katharine de Montacute, 1380 (fn. 32)
Margaret Smalbergh, 1395 (fn. 33)
Margaret Park, 1399 (fn. 34)
Sara Richeres, 1407 (fn. 35)
Margaret Takell, 1433 (fn. 36)
Emmota Roughed, 1439 (fn. 37)
Ellen Tolle, occurs 1451 (fn. 38)
Emma, occurs 1455 (fn. 39)
Anne Rothenhall, occurs 1459 (fn. 40)
Margaret Dalenger, 1465 (fn. 41)
Elizabeth Stephynson, 1490 (fn. 42)
Maria Loveday, occurs 1526 (fn. 43)
Cecilia Falstolf, occurs 1532 (fn. 44)
The conventual seal of the priory of Holy
Cross, Bungay, was engraved in the Gentleman's
Magazine of May, 1810, from an impression
attached to a deed of 1360. The design is our
Lord on the cross, with a man kneeling on each
side at the base. Legend:
+ S' . S'CIMONIALIA' . DOMUS + S' . CRUCIS
DE BUNGEYA
The matrices of the seals of two early prioresses
are also extant; in each case the design is
suggested by the name of the prioress. On the
one, circa 1200, appears the Blessed Virgin,
crowned and seated under a trefoiled arch, with
the Holy Child on left knee. In the base, under
a pointed arch, is the half-length kneeling figure
of the prioress. Legend:
+ SIGILL' . MARIE . D' . HUNTINGEFELD. (fn. 45)
On the other, circa 1300, appears the figure of
St. John Baptist, right hand raised in benediction,
in the left hand the Agnus Dei on a plaque. In
the base, half-length of prioress kneeling. Legend:
+ S'. JOHANNE. PRIORISSE. DE. BUGEIA (fn. 46)