Trentham Priory
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Augustinian |
| Established | c.7th century, c.11th century or c. late 12th |
| Disestablished | 1537 |
| Dedicated to | Saint Thomas the Martyr |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | St. Werburgh, Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester or Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester |
| Site | |
| Location | Trentham, Staffordshire, England |
Trentham Priory was a Christian priory in North Staffordshire, England, on an unknown site near the confluence between the young River Trent and two local streams.
A nunnery is said to have been built on the site of the priory some time in the 7th century by Saint Werburgh, daughter of Wulfhere of Mercia. Existence of this nunnery is disputed and a connection with Saint Werburgh is disputed. There are the remains of what is said to be a stepped base for a Saxon stone cross, to be seen today in the churchyard at St. Mary and All Saints at Trentham. But it is not known if this cross base is authentic, an authentic import from elsewhere at the behest of the Sutherland family, or a later antiquarian fabrication.
In the 12th century, the priory itself dated its foundation to the time of William Rufus, and claimed as its founder Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester. There is little modern support for this theory, although the 12th century foundation charter does describe itself as "the restoration of an abbey of canons". The word abbathia, however, often translated as abbey, may have been used to describe a house of secular canons or minster.
Trentham became an Augustinians monastery house from the 1150s, under the patronage of Ranulph, Earl of Chester. Shortly after Ranulph's death, the manor of Trentham appears to have passed into the hands of King Henry II who took over patronage of the priory. Henry granted additional charters and the priory seems to have been securely established by 1155, with the pope Alexander III confirming its religious charters in 1162.
While the priory did obtain land grants and gifts in the Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire, during this time it remained, as most priories in the county, relatively modest. Gundred, wife of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick, and the Earls of Chester were among the prominent benefactors of the house.
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Wikipedia