View source for Alvecote Priory

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2017}}
[[File:Alvecote Priory - geograph.org.uk - 1029086.jpg|thumb|Remains of Alvecote Priory.]]
'''Alvecote Priory''' is a ruined [[Benedictine]] [[Priory]] in [[Alvecote]], [[Warwickshire]], England. The site has been scheduled as an [[ancient monument]].<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Alvecote priory and dovecote|num=1020623|accessdate=6 August 2017}}</ref> Now very little remains of the priory, most of the walls have been eroded but a fairly high wall remains on one side. The main entrance arch is the most impressive feature, still standing at around {{convert|20|ft|m}} high. The attached [[dovecote]] also survives, however both the ruined priory and dovecot are on the [[Heritage at Risk Register]] due to vandalism and water damage.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alvecote priory and dovecote, Shuttington - North Warwickshire|url=https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-at-risk/search-register/list-entry/1985185|website=Heritage at Risk|publisher=Historic England|access-date=6 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806223424/https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-at-risk/search-register/list-entry/1985185|archive-date=6 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History==
It was founded 1159 by '''William Burdett''' as a dependency of [[Great Malvern Priory]].<ref>'Houses of Benedictine monks: Priory of Alvecote', in A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1908), pp. 61-62. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol2/pp61-62 [accessed 6 August 2017].</ref> After returning from a [[crusade]], Burdett accused his wife of being unfaithful and stabbed her, and as penance founded the monastery.<ref>{{cite news|title=Evil deceit that led to murder|url=http://www.tamworthherald.co.uk/evil-deceit-led-murder/story-15576123-detail/story.html|access-date=6 August 2017|work=Tamworth Herald|date=23 April 2013}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Little is known of the history of this small priory, which was a dependency of [[Great Malvern Priory]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Alvecote Priory|url=http://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_her/alvecote-priory|publisher=Our Warwickshire|access-date=6 August 2017}}</ref> We only know the names of five of its priors. The first prior of whom any record survives was William de Wikwane who resigned in 1282. The last priors of this small house occurred in rapid succession. William Sutton was recorded as prior in 1535 but by the following year he had been succeeded by William Umberleye. It was probably he who finally surrendered the house to the King's commissioners when the mother house of Great Malvern was finally [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolved]] in 1540.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

Dugdale stated that the tomb of the founder was located in an arch of the wall on the north side of the church and was covered by “a plain free stone curiously embossed with the sculpture of a large cross”. The priory was not richly endowed and the taxation of 1291 gave its property a value of £7 9s 2d. After two centuries the priory buildings were in poor repair and the monks gained the favour of Edward III. Protection was granted to the monks and their attorneys to collect alms in churches for the restoration of the church and cloister. The priory was suppress in 1543 and the priory and its lands were granted to Chancellor Audley. In June it was alienated to Joan Robynson, the widow of the mercer George Robynson of London. The priory remains are now included in Pooley Country Park.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

The priory house (ruin in 1965) was built from the stone of the old Benedictine Priory.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

==Incomplete List of Priors==
William de Wikwane	resigned 1282

William de Beaulis 	appointed 1315

Richard de Malverne	occurs 1341

William Sutton		occurs 1535

William Umberleye	occurs 1536

==See also==
* {{gbmapping|SK251041}}

==References==
{{Commons category|Alvecote Priory}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=36489 VCH article on history of priory]
* {{EHbarName|Alvecote+Priory}}

{{Monasteries in Warwickshire}}
{{Benedictine houses of England and Wales}}
{{coord|52.63408|N|1.63056|W|region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SK251041)|display=title}}<!-- Note: WGS84 lat/long, converted from OSGB36 grid ref -->

[[Category:Structures on the Heritage at Risk register in Warwickshire]]
[[Category:Benedictine monasteries in England]]
[[Category:Monasteries in Warwickshire]]
[[Category:1159 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1150s]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Warwickshire]]