Brinkburn Priory

Brinkburn Priory
Brinkburn Priory church and hall
Brinkburn Priory Brinkburn Priory shown within Northumberland
OS grid reference	NZ117982
Coordinates	55°16′44″N 1°49′01″W / 55.279°N 1.817°W / 55.279; -1.817Coordinates: 55°16′44″N 1°49′01″W / 55.279°N 1.817°W / 55.279; -1.817
List of places UK England Northumberland

Brinkburn Priory was a medieval monastery built on a bend of the River Coquet, some 4 miles (6 km) east of Rothbury, Northumberland, England. Little survives of the structures erected by the monks apart from the Priory Church, which is a grade I listed building in the care of English Heritage.

It was founded by William Bertram, Baron of Mitford, in the reign of Henry I as an Augustinian priory. The exact date is not known but cannot have been later than 1135, as Henry died that year. About 1180 or so, Brinkburn became an independent house, and the building of the monastic church was commenced. The architectural style has been described as "transitional" (i.e. between Norman and Gothic).

Although the Priory acquired lands in Northumberland and Durham over the years it was never particularly wealthy. Little is known of the early history of the priory, although it is known that it survived some difficult times. In fact, as late as 1419 it was raided and robbed.

Brinkburn Priory was dissolved in 1536 after Parliament enacted the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act. The "lesser monasteries" were those with an income of less than £200 per annum, and Brinkburn fell into this category as in 1535 the priory's value had been recorded as £69 in the Valor Ecclesiasticus. After the dissolution the estate was mainly owned by the Fenwick family and in the late 16th century they built a manor house on the ruins of the Priory buildings and adjacent to the Priory Church.

Services continued to be held at Brinkburn and the church was retained in a fair state of repair till the end of the 16th century. In 1602 it was reported to be in a state of decay, and at some point before 1700 the roof had collapsed and regular services were abandoned.