4. THE PRIORY OF WOTHORPE (fn. 1)
It is impossible to ascertain with certainty
when and by whom this small Benedictine
nunnery, dedicated to the honour of the Blessed
Mary, was founded. According to the pseudoIngulf, a foundation existed here as early as the
reign of Henry I. (fn. 2) The earls of Kent were
the patrons of the convent, and its superiors,
chosen by the community and approved by the
patron, received confirmation from the bishop on
their appointment. The names of different
prioresses are entered in the Lincoln episcopal
registers.
The priory itself was situated at Great Wothorpe on the hill, and the only endowment that
it appears to have possessed was the rectory of
the adjacent parish church of Wothorpe which
has long since disappeared. (fn. 3) A vicarage was
formally ordained and the rest of the proceeds
assigned to the nuns in accordance with the
decrees of the third Lateran Council of 1215.
The bishop in 1292 granted an indulgence to
all penitents who should contribute alms towards
the repair of the buildings of the prioress and
nuns, then in a ruinous condition. (fn. 4) In 1323
Bishop Burghersh ordered an inquiry to be made
into certain irregularities within the priory caused
by discords raised among the nuns by sister
Joan de Bonnwyche. (fn. 5)
All the inmates of this house, save one, died
or were dispersed after the Black Death of 1349,
and so disastrous was the effect of this terrible
visitation on the finances of the priory that on
11th March, 1353-4, Sir Thomas Holland and
Joan his wife, daughter of Edward of Woodstock
earl of Kent, the patrons, obtained from the
king a licence for the bishop to unite this
slenderly endowed foundation with the adjacent
nunnery of St. Michael, Stamford, making over
to the latter the appropriation of the church
of Wothorpe, together with all other possessions of the deserted house. (fn. 6) The bishop of
Lincoln, who seems to have made the surviving
nun of Wothorpe, Agnes Bowes, prioress, in
order to maintain that convent's rights, sanctioned the union on 11 June, 1354, to take
place so soon as the prioress should die, resign,
or be removed, (fn. 7) the prioress and convent of
St. Michael in their petition for the annexation
setting forth the losses they had sustained and
the difficulty of maintaining accustomed hospitality. The diocesan stipulated that the proceeds
of the priory, with the rectory of Wothorpe,
should be applied to the support of the infirmary
and kitchen of St. Michael's, and that the prioress
and convent should maintain a chaplain in the
parish church of Wothorpe to celebrate daily
and to minister to the spiritual needs of the
parishioners there day and night. (fn. 8)
At the dissolution the manor, rectory, and
advowson of the vicarage of Wothorpe were
granted by the crown to Richard Cecil. (fn. 9)
Prioresses of Wothorpe
Denise of Caldwell, (fn. 10) 1224
Maud of Glinton, (fn. 11) died 1290
Isoda or Isolda of Wyrthorp, (fn. 12) elected 1290,
died 1313
Emma of Pinchbeck, (fn. 13) elected 1313
Agnes Bowes, (fn. 14) collated 1349