HOUSES OF BENEDICTINE NUNS
6. THE PRIORY OF BARROW GURNEY
The founder of the Priory of Barrow Gurney,
also called Minchin Barrow, is not known, but
appears to have been a Gurney, and one connected with the family of Fitzhardinge lords
of Berkeley. In 1283 the Berkeley family were
certainly patrons of the priory. (fn. 1)
The foundation was dedicated to the honour
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St. Edward,
king and martyr, and had clearly been established before 1212, when Hugh de Wells,
Bishop of Lincoln, made his will, and left 10
marks to the nuns of Barrow. (fn. 2) Some time
before its dissolution it seems as if the additional
dedication in honour of the Holy Trinity had
been made.
Previous to the Taxatio
(fn. 3) of 1291, the house
obtained a pension on the church of Twerton,
near Bath, the advowson of which church belonged to the Prioress and convent of Kington.
Richard de Acton, in 1362, (fn. 4) gave land and
houses in Wells and Barrow Gurney to provide
a chaplain to pray for the soul of Guy de Brian, (fn. 5)
and seven years later he and others gave 72
acres of arable and 7 acres of meadow in Barrow
Gurney to provide a lamp to burn in the priory
church of the Blessed Mary of Barrow. Next
year, 1370, (fn. 6) John Blanket of Bristol gave property
in Bristol and the suburbs to provide bread and
wine for the high altar.
In the Valor of 1535 (fn. 7) the property of the
house was assessed as worth £29 6s. 8½d. on which
there were charges of £5 12s. 4¾d., leaving a
clear value of £23 14s. 3¾d.
The nuns of the house seem all to have been
drawn from good families, but were not therefore
exempt from jealousies and worldly interests.
On 26 June 1315 the bishop (fn. 8) wrote to the
prioress enjoining obedience, on pain of excommunication, to the regulations he was going
to lay down and to the custodian he was going
to appoint over the possessions of the house.
She should for the future cease to interest herself with worldly and secular matters, should
above all things apply herself to the worship of
God and obediently and carefully attend to the
government of her sisters. The prioress and
the other nuns should eat and sleep together
unless hindered by ill-health or other just
cause. She should not concede to any one
of her nuns permission to go into or beyond
the vill, except for great and lawful cause,
and then they should go in pairs and in their
nuns' habits, and should not wander to places
where their leave did not extend, nor voluntarily
absent themselves beyond the time of their leave.
Silence, too, was to be observed as their rule
demanded, and the prioress should not carry
herself harshly towards her nuns, but should live
in charity, love, and unanimity.
In the next month (July) the bishop writes
to William de Sutton, (fn. 9) asking him to take over
the administration of the priory, the prioress
being evidently incompetent. What happened
as the result of this we do not know, but on 4
October 1316 the bishop wrote to the Dean of
Wells and Canon Penkridge, asking them to
examine the election process of Joan de Gurney,
elected prioress, and if they were satisfied with
the procedure to induct her into the office. (fn. 10)
In July 1317 we find that the bishop blessed
four nuns of the house of Barrow, who had
just made their profession before him in his
chapel at Banwell, namely, Joan de Gurney,
Agnes de Saut Marais, Milburga de Durnford,
and Basilia de Sutton. (fn. 11) It then appeared that
Dame Joan had been elected prioress before she
was professed, and as this was uncanonical the
election was void, but on 26 October 1317, as she
was now a professed nun, Bishop Drokensford
collated her on his own authority as Prioress of
Barrow. (fn. 12) Dame Joan, however, though of
noble birth, seems to have been incompetent
and quite unfitted for her post. The nunnery
was mismanaged, and the prioress given to
wandering, and Bishop Drokensford appointed the
rectors of Chew and Harptree to inquire and take
measures on 6 September 1323. (fn. 13) The arrangements made by these two commissioners seem
to have been of little avail, for on 18 January
1325 he issued a commission to his official to
visit the priory and to remove the prioress. (fn. 14)
On 3 May 1325 Joan de Gurney resigned, and
on 4 June the bishop bade his official examine
into the election of Agnes de St. Cruce. (fn. 15) There
were clearly however difficulties in the way,
for on 4 October 1325 he again issued a commission to three canons to examine into the
election of Agnes de St. Cruce as prioress, and
if it was regular to confirm her in her office. (fn. 16)
The prioress who had been removed was closely
related to the patron of the priory, and possibly
difficulties had been placed in the way of obtaining from the patron his licence for the election.
The next year (9 February 1326), the bishop
wrote to the nuns bidding them obey their new
prioress.
On entering into his diocese, Bishop Ralph
of Shrewsbury, according to the prevailing custom, claimed the right to nominate a member
of the house, and sent word to the prioress
that the convent should receive Elizabeth
daughter of Sir Hamon Fitz Richard. (fn. 17)
On 28 March 1398 (fn. 18) Pope Boniface IX wrote
to the Prior of Bath to inquire into the facts
concerning Isabella Poleyns and Joan Bozum,
Benedictine nuns of Barrow in the diocese of
Wells. On their own authority and without
seeking licence, with no intention of apostatizing, but on account of penury of victuals,
they had transferred themselves to another monastery of the same order in the diocese of Llandaff,
and now they desired to return and be restored,
each of them, to her old room over the parlour.
On 2 September 1410 Bishop Bubwith, at
the request of Margery Fitz Nichol, prioress,
who, on account of extreme old age and infirmity
desired to be relieved of the government of the
house, issued a commission of inquiry. (fn. 19) About
a year and a half afterwards, it seems that the
late prioress regarded her application to be
allowed to resign as if it also had relieved her
of her duties and her vows as a sister. For, on
14 April 1412, Bishop Bubwith sent instructions
to her (fn. 20) to submit herself to the regular observance of her order, and not to allow old age to
excuse her attendance at the services of the
chapel. She must punctually attend the services, both of the night and the day, when she
could conveniently be present, and any neglect
on her part to do so would endanger her soul's
welfare, and be a manifest violation of the rule
of the Order to which she was pledged.
On 20 May 1432 Bishop Stafford wrote to
Joan Stabler, one of the nuns of Barrow,
telling her that since from lapse of time the
nomination to the vacant post of prioress had
fallen to him, he therefore appointed her to that
office. (fn. 21)
On 3 February 1463 (fn. 22) Bishop Beckington
issued a commission to John Erl, rector of Backwell, to receive the profession of two nuns of
Barrow, Sibyl Prest and Isabella Bacwell.
The later history of the priory is unknown,
and nothing remains to be recorded beyond the
fact that in August 1535 the prioress, Isabella
Cogan, resigned on a pension of £4, which was
continued to her in 1537 by the Court of
Augmentations. (fn. 23)
The house was dissolved on 19 September
1536. No list exists of the sisters who were
dispersed, but a pension was granted to the
prioress, Katharine Bowle or Bulle, of £5 yearly.
Prioresses of Barrow Gurney
Alice, occurs 1300 (fn. 24)
Joan de Gurney, elected 1316, resigned
1325 (fn. 25)
Agnes de Sancta Cruce, elected 1325, died
1328 (fn. 26)
Basilia de Sutton, elected 1328 (fn. 27)
Juliana de Groundy, elected 1340 (fn. 28)
Agnes Balun, elected 1348 (fn. 29)
Joan Panes, occurs 1377, 1388 (fn. 30)
Margery Fitz Nichol, resigned 1410 (fn. 31)
Joan Stabler, appointed 30 May 1432 (fn. 32)
Agnes Leveregge, 1463 (fn. 33)
Isabel Cogan, occurs 1502, resigned 1534 (fn. 34)
Katharine Bowle or Bull, 1535–7 (fn. 35)