The Priory
At the end of The Causeway, on the corner of Mill Street, stands the impressive timbered residence The Priory. It’s a reminder that for a period of 250 years during the medieval period, the Lords of Steventon were monks from Normandy.
During the 12th century, many of the great lords of England gifted land to religious houses: their portfolios of manorial holdings were so vast that the loss of one manor here or there made little difference to them, and would go some way to winning the pleasure of God and a place in heaven at the end of their days.
Henry 1st
At the top of this feudal pyramid sat Henry I, the youngest son of William the Conqueror. He was more Norman than he was English, spoke Norman French, and spent much of his time on the French side of the English Channel. Being king, Henry I could easily afford to give away even a relatively prosperous manor such as Steventon in order to supplicate God. For a recipient, he chose the Abbey of Bec in Normandy, the home of some of the great religious philosophers of the time, including Anselm, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
1121 a new landlord
Thus, in the year 1121, the villagers of Steventon discovered that no longer were they the tenants of the king, but of the Abbot of Bec, a man who couldn’t speak their language nor was ever likely to visit them. The situation was further confused for although the Abbot of Bec appointed the Prior who would live in Steventon and oversee the life and economy of the manor, the financial proceeds would be diverted to St Mary du Pré in Rouen, a cell of Bec Abbey.
Two to oversee Steventon
Our knowledge of Steventon under Bec is not as great as would be liked, for many of the records of the abbey were lost during the French Revolution. What we do know is that the various abbots decided two monks were sufficient to oversee Steventon, one of whom would act as prior. On arrival, they needed accommodation. What we can say for certain is that the accommodation was not the priory that we see today as this was built long after 1121. The most likely scenario was that at the time of their arrival, there existed a manorial farm complex on the site of the current Manor Farm House, comprising farm buildings, a residence and the church, all enclosed by a bank and fence. This would have been under the management of a reeve. It is most likely that it was here that the newly arrived prior set up home.
Priory House
At some point over the next two and a half centuries, the prior seems to have tired of living in the midst of a farmyard and built or acquired a residence over the road on the site of the current Priory House. At times, matters went very well for the prior: the sixty pounds sent each year to St Mary du Pré still left a tidy surplus; he had the right to appoint a vicar for the church and thus pick and choose his ecclesiastical work load; he had a reeve to run the manorial farming operations; and his line manager, the Abbot of Bec lived in another country across the sea.
Priors caught living it up
A survey carried out on behalf of the king in 1324 revealed that the prior of Steventon had avoided the deprivations of the monastic life that he had signed up to. The king’s officials found in the prior’s chamber a cash reserve of fortythree shillings, two bed covers, six sheets, and three chests. In his hall, there were six tables, three trestles, nine worn cushions, a bench, three chairs, three forms, two silver cups, twelve silver spoons, a silver bound drinking vessel, and a wash basin. The larder was well stocked with cheeses and salted pork. It seems almost certain that the rooms mentioned in this survey form part of The Priory we see today, dating at least some surviving features of it to the early 14th century.
Hard times for the priors
Thereafter, life became less easy for the priors of Steventon. Edward III’s arrival on the throne was followed by war with France – The Hundred Years War – and the so called ‘alien’ priories, including Steventon were, from time to time, confiscated from their Norman religious houses. By the 1370s, Bec had run out of steam and resources to support Steventon, and it was leased and finally sold to the war time hero, Sir Hugh de Calveley.
Expanding the portfolio
The priory building not only survived these turn arounds but thrived, with various extensions and upgrades resulting in an impressive range of buildings.
Richard Doo
With The Causeway becoming the fashionable place to live (what has changed there?) the property attracted the attention of a local up and coming resident Richard Doo, who between 1435 and 1456 acquired a row of at least four houses there, and probably a fifth. He rebuilt them as a single large mansion in 1443–4 and 1461–3, retaining only the west wing of the westernmost house, his first purchase on the site. It is the work of Richard Doo that is largely on show today, although subsequent occupants made considerable internal changes in the 16th century. We even know what Richard Doo looked like: in the church there’s a brass commemorating him and his wives, Agneta and Johannes (right). He died in 1476.
The National Trust
The western most portion of the range of priory buildings is now in the custodianship of the National Trust and, as expected, the whole complex has been given ‘listed’ status by English Heritage. With these protections, The Priory forms a lasting connection between us and those Steventonians living all those centuries ago under the lordship of the Norman Abbots of Bec..
You might find the Ferguson's Gang article helpful.
The Doo brass memorial
