The History of Prittlewell Priory

Notes on the History of Prittlewell Priory

NB. These are brief notes only. A new fully illustrated guidebook to the Priory is being prepared.

Prittlewell Priory was founded by Robert fitzSuen in the early 12th century. The accepted date is 1110 AD.

It was common practice for noblemen in the early Middle Ages to found monasteries and Priories, the aim being to secure salvation. It was believed that by paying monks to say prayers for their souls the time spent in ‘purgatory,’ on the way to heaven, would be minimised.

FitzSuen owned vast estates in south east Essex. His grandfather had been one of several French families given lands by Edward the Confessor. FitzSuen seems to have given just part of his estates in Prittlewell to the monks of St. Pancras, Lewes (Sussex) for the foundation of a Priory of the order of Cluny. St. Pancras was the ‘mother’ house of Cluny in England. Cluny was in Burgundy (France), and had become a favoured monastic foundation because on its very strict regime. There were three Cluniac houses in Essex, Prittlewell being by far the largest. Other Cluniac Priories in south east England include Castle Acre and Bromholm, both in Norfolk.

The rest of his Prittlewell estates seem to have been retained by the family, and were inherited eventually by the Earls of Oxford (the de Veres). This area then became known as Earls Hall.

The Priory was endowed (which means supported) with the income from lands, property and churches in many surrounding parishes. This included some properties in the town of Prittlewell itself (along the north side of East Street in particular), together with properties (farms) stretching down to the shore of the Thames, adjacent to the manor of Southchurch (an area which was known by the 15th century as South End – the south end of the lands of the Priory).

Prittlewell Priory, as most monasteries, was largely self-sufficient. The Priory would have comprised the conventual buildings (those serving a religious function) including the church, the refectory (dining hall), Priory storerooms or cellars and Prior’s chamber, and the Chapter House with dormitory above. All of these were arranged around the roughly square Cloister Garth, or Cloisters.

Access to these buildings, all within the inner precinct of the Priory, would have been via a Gatehouse, which was probably situated to the west of the Priory church, possibly underneath the present tennis courts.

In the outer precinct would have been the monastic barns (for storing the threshed and unthreshed corn, barley, wheat and oats), the stables, cow sheds, smithy and other workshops. There would also probably have been guesthouses and an infirmary. There would have been fields for the growing of crops beyond these buildings, and almost certainly a Priory garden (for medicinal herbs, etc) and probably an orchard.

All of these would have been within the boundaries of the current park.

Prittlewell Priory had a maximum of 18 monks, but usually no more than 12.

The Priory continued to function as a religious house until 1536 when, as a result of the Act of Suppression, the Priory, along with all the ‘lesser monasteries’ was closed. The Priory was the richest of all the Essex monasteries. The last Priory, Thomas Norwich was given a pension.

The lands and possessions of the Priory were taken into the King’s hands, and then sold off. The first private owner was Thomas Audley, brother of the Lord Chancellor. He purchased the Priory from the King for £400. In 1548 Lord Richard Rich, at one time chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, purchased the Priory, and all of its estates, for the sum of £800. It was probably during these years, in the second half of the 16th century, that many of the Priory buildings that were not required for conversion into a country house, were demolished.

Rich had accumulated vast estates over the whole of Essex, his family home being at Lees Priory. Neither Audley nor Rich would have lived at the Priory, although Rich did build or rebuild Rochford Hall (probably using stone from the demolished Priory buildings). Rich also acquired Southchurch, Leigh, Hadleigh and Rochford.

Pritlewell Priory remained in the family of Rich, the Earls of Warwick until 1678 when the last heir died. The Priory was then purchased by Daniel Scratton. The Scratton family owned the Priory (and members of the family lived there) until the late 19th century, and then again in the early years of the 20th century. The Scrattons also owned the manor and manor house of Milton Hall, now in the centre of Southend.

Extensive changes were made to the Priory in the 17th century (possibly by the first of the Scratton owners). A two storey porch entrance was built to make it more fashionable. In the 18th century floors were inserted into the vast Refectory and Prior’s Chamber to create more bedroom space. In the early-mid 19th century the two storey brick wing was added to the south west corner. On the ground floor of this wing were the dining room and sitting room, with bedrooms above.

We know that by the mid 19th century (and probably long before), the grounds had been laid out as pleasure gardens for the family. To the north of the Priory buildings a brick walled kitchen garden had been laid out. Very detailed descriptions of what was being grown in the kitchen gardens survive.

In 1917 the Priory came up for sale, and was purchased by Robert Arthur Jones (a local business man), and presented to the town for use as a museum. It then became the town’s first dedicated public museum. After extensive restoration and refurbishment the Priory opened as the town’s first museum in 1922.

The Geophysical Survey of Priory Park

Prittlewell Priory is now surrounded by parkland (Priory Park) which, of course, must include the original monastic precinct and buildings. However, during the 450 years since the Dissolution, all traces of these other buildings have disappeared, and post medieval landscaping have introduced other features. It was with the intention of trying to locate the sites of some of the original monastic buildings (and precinct boundary) that we asked Essex Heritage Trust for help and a generous grant was awarded towards a geophysical survey of about one third of the park (an area slightly larger than the scheduled area).

The Cluniac Priory of St.Mary’s , Prittlewell, was founded by Robert fitzSeun in the early years of the 12th century. The first of the stone buildings – the Church and Refectory, were built on the north and south sides of the Cloisters, respectively, by the end of the 12th century. On the west side of the Cloisters was the range of storage rooms or "cells" with timber framed Prior’s apartments above.

Following the Suppression of the Monasteries (in 1536) the Church was dismantled, together with all the other buildings apart from the Refectory and Prior’s Chamber, which became the core of a private mansion. Building stone, in this part of Essex, would have been much sought after, and it may have been quite soon after the Dissolution that the buildings were demolished. The first private owner of the Priory was Thomas Audley, followed soon afterwards by the one-time Chancellor of the Court of Augmentations (the body responsible for disposing of Monastic lands and property), Richard Rich.

From the later 17th century, until 1917, the owners of the estate were the Scratton family.

At the time of the Dissolution Commissioners went round to each monastery in order to compile an inventory of goods. This Inventory is our principal clue to the now vanished buildings that stood within the Priory’s Precinct. These included a Brewhouse and Bakehouse, a Kitchen, the Lombardy Chamber, Italy Chamber, Pennys Chamber, Butlers and Porters Chamber, and Grange. Although there is no mention of Guesthouse and Infirmary, these may have existed, and perhaps one or more of the "chambers" fulfilled these functions.

It must be remembered that Priories and Monasteries were, generally speaking, economically self-sufficient communities. Apart from some of the urban-based orders, they were endowed with, and surrounded by, large areas of land which they farmed (and some of which may have have been leased out). The large area immediately surrounding the claustral buildings would have formed one or more precincts, that would have been enclosed by a wall or (probably in our case) a bank and ditch. It was within this precinct that all the buildings mentioned in the Inventory would have existed.

The Survey was carried out for us by GSB Prospection of Bradford, leaders in their field, and with extensive experience on monastic sites. The results of the survey have recently been sent to us, and we reproduce one of the maps here. At this stage, of course, the interpretation is at a very early stage. We are now beginning to look at other monastic sites, and other surveys, in an attempt to suggest what the possible foundations discovered in our survey might represent. If any readers would like to offer suggestions or see the full survey report, please contact Ken Crowe at Southend Museum (01702 – 434449).

The results of the Survey and interpretation will then be incorporated in new displays at the Priory, and on special panels that will be placed at relevant points around the Priory, for which a grant has been awarded from Cory Environmental Trust.

The Survey and its interpretation will, of course, help to guide and inform any decisions about future work at the Priory and park, and the panels and other displays will help to set the Priory in its original historic context for the many thousands of people who visit the park, and museum, every year.