Mattersey Priory
The Ruins of Mattersey Priory
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 Location within Nottinghamshire
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| Monastery information | |
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| Order | Gilbertine |
| Established | c.1185 |
| Disestablished | 1538 |
| Dedicated to | St Helen |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Roger FitzRalph |
| Site | |
| Location | Mattersey, Nottinghamshire |
| Coordinates | 53°23′53″N 0°56′37″W / 53.398193°N 0.94369°WCoordinates: 53°23′53″N 0°56′37″W / 53.398193°N 0.94369°W |
| Visible remains | Ruins |
| Public access |
Yes Currently managed by English Heritage and open free of charge. |
Mattersey Priory is a former monastery of the Gilbertine order, located near the village of Mattersey, Nottinghamshire, England. It is currently managed by English Heritage.
The priory was founded by Roger FitzRalph (son of Ranulph de Mattersey) in around 1185, and was dedicated to St Helen. It was constructed on a gravel island in the River Idle, and the area surrounding would have been mostly marshland at the time. The priory was designed to be home to six canons of the Gilbertine order, although it could accommodate up to ten canons. Unlike many other Gilbertine priories, Mattersey was not a "mixed-house"; it was home to only canons (male), and not to canonesses (female).
The priory's church was destroyed by fire in 1279 and not rebuilt.
The priory is described as "never prosperous". In 1291, it was recorded as having an income of £52 The 1534 Valor Ecclesiasticus records the priory's income as £61 16s. 7d. with a clear annual value of £55 2s. 5d.
In 1403, King Henry IV granted the priory permission to hold a weekly Monday market at Mattersey. He also gave permission to hold annual fairs on St. John of Beverley's day (7 May) and St. Simon and St Jude's day (28 October).
The priory was dissolved as part of King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. It was surrendered on 3 October 1538 by Robert Holgate, Bishop of Llandaff; the Prior, Thomas Norman; the sub-prior, Thomas Bell; and by the three canons: John Garton, William Schylton, and Richard Watson. The following year the former Prior was awarded an annual pension of £12 the sub-prior £2 13s. 4d., and each of the canons 40s.
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