Following our visit to Boscobel House we made the short trip down the lane to White Ladies Priory - we had initially planned to walk (its about a two mile round trip) but there was a bitter cold wind so we drove and luckily there was a car parking space as parking there is limited.
A short walk through the wood and you come to the
priory which is the ruins of a later 12th century church of a small nunnery of "White Ladies" or Augustinian canonesses. Most of the convent buildings were demolished during The Suppression of Monasteries.
The priory was founded in the mid 12th century as the priory of St Leonard at Brewood. The nuns were called "white" ladies" as they wore white habits and to distinguish them from the nearby Benedictine nuns who were called "black ladies" due to the colour of their habits. The priory had no main patron and only a few nuns lived here. Consequently there are only a few written records of its history.
In 1326 a nun of noble birth - Elizabeth la Zouche from Ashby de la Zouche apparently escaped from the nunnery. In 1332 she made confession to the Bishop of Lichfield in Brewood Church and returned to White Ladies. In 1338 a charge against the prioress was made for expensive dress, laxity and hunting with dogs.
Following the Dissolution the priory was leased to a William Skeffington who possibly rebuilt some of the priory as a timber-framed house. He was buried in Tong church in 1550. By 1587 White Ladies was owned by Edward Giffard who lived in the house with his wife Frances. King Charles II came to the house in 1651 and was attended there by the Penderel brothers. He later sought refuge in the nearby wood and hid in The Royal Oak.
From the second half of the 17th century White Ladies belonged to the Fitzherbert family who owned Boscobel. White Ladies was demolished in the 18th century but the church was retained and the churchyard remained a Catholic burial ground during the 18th and early 19th century.
Today only the walls of the 12th century priory church remain. Romanesque arches and column capitals can be seen.
There have been reports of ghostly white figures being seen among the ruins along with strange lights and the chants of prayers and music have been heard. It was quite busy when we were there including someone who had a drone!! zooming around - so not surprisingly we didn't see any sign of ghosts!
The churches at Brewood and Tong look well worth a visit in the future.
All photos taken by me with the Pansonic Lumix fZ330 bridge camera
(I haven't been able to upload any of D's photos as I can't find his camera card!)
Reference: English Heritage Guide to Boscobel House
Reminds me of the ruined church at Colston Basset where I played cricket
ReplyDeleteI love all the Romanesque arches
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a lovely setting for it, at times it seems like a shame to see a place in such ruins when you hear all the history behind it!
ReplyDeleteSimon Douglas Thompson - Thanks Simon - will look out for the church at cricket on your blog.
ReplyDeleteMargaret Adamson - Thanks Margaret. They are rather lovely.
Pam - Thank you - it does make you wonder what these buildings would now be like if it wasn't for the Dissolution and I think Oliver Cromwell and his troops destroyed a lot of stuff too :(
Whiteladies looks well kept now. When we visited a few years ago, not the last time when we visited Boscobel House and Tong church, the area surrounding the ruins seemed uncared for and there was a lot of litter and mess around. It certainly has an inteesting history, I love the arches and carved column capitals. Tong church is amazing inside and out so I hope you go back one day to visit it:)
ReplyDeleteRosie - Thank you. White Ladies did seem litter free on our visit although what annoyed me (going into moaning mode now!) were dogs running round off leaves, children climbing and the ruins and the perishing drone (all of which English Heritage ask you not to do I think although I think drones can be flown if you have permission?)!!
ReplyDeleteI spotted Tong church on your blog when I was checking your post on Boscobel so thank you. If my son and I had been on our own I think we would have gone on there as he loves anything connected with Charles Dickens but my husband had come along too and he definitely does not "do" churches!! The area isn't too far away so would like to go back but of course it all depends on traffic on the M6 North!!!
Thank you for your photographs.
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited many years ago there was a lot of litter from overnight picnics and drinking. It spoiled my visit because it detracted from the historical building and ambience of the site.
CherryPie - Thank you - Rosie in an earlier comment also mentioned the litter. I didn't see any when we went but the drone, dogs and kids clambering everywhere rather destroyed the ambience! (I am sounding like a grumpy old woman now!! :) )
ReplyDelete