March 1239 A.D. Derby Blackfriars, Derby, Derbyshire, UK—Founded by Dominican Friars, Dissolved 3 Jan 1539; Diocese of Lichfield; Occupied by 18th Century Hotel Built on Site
March 1239 A.D. Derby Blackfriars, Derby, Derbyshire, UK—Founded by
Dominican Friars, Dissolved 3 Jan 1539; Diocese of Lichfield; Occupied by 18th
Century Hotel Built on Site; Converted to Public House 1996; Current Use as
Nightclub
Derby Blackfriars
Contents
History
Foundation
13th century
Frate Ruffolo
14th century
15th century
16th century
After Dissolution
Remains
Artifacts
Hauntings
References
Derby Blackfriars
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
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Derby Black Friary
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Coat of Arms of the
Dominican Order
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Location within
Derbyshire
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Monastery information
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Other names
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Derby Dominican Friary
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Blackfriars, Derby
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Established
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1224-1238
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1539
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Dedicated to
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The Annunciation of Our Lady
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Site
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Location
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SK 3480 3632
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Visible remains
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Remains of the cellar thought to have been
incorporated into the house known as "The Friary", and stonework
from the priory used in foundations. A single medieval wall remains at the
rear of this building.
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Derby
Black Friary, also known as Derby Dominican Priory, or Blackfriars, Derby, was a Dominican priory situated in the town of Derby, England. it was also named in different sources as a
Friary, Monastery and Convent, but was officially a Priory as it was headed by
a prior. The "Black" came from the colour of the
robes worn by the friars of the order.
The friary was founded in the
13th century and enjoyed both royal patronage and royal visitors until its
dissolution in 1539. It was constructed just outside the old town walls of
Derby, on the site currently occupied by a house known as "The
Friary" (formerly a hotel and currently a nightclub) on Friar Gate, just
south of the interaction with Ford Street and Stafford Street. The priory was
one of three in the immediate vicinity: A community of Benedictine nuns lived
at The Priory of St Mary De Pratis (also known as King's Mead Priory),
just under a quarter of a mile to the north-west; a community of Cluniac monks lived at St. James Priory (also known as Derby Cluniac Priory),
just over a quarter of a mile to the south-east.
Contents
History
Foundation
A representation of a Dominican Friar
The Friary was founded during Alexander de Stavenby's
reign as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield between the years 1224 and 1238.[1] The friary was constructed to the west of the town
of Derby, just outside the town walls, in the parish of St. Werburgh.[1] It was dedicated to "The Annunciation of Our Lady".[1]
The friars were known as
"The Friar Preachers of Derby", as brethren of the Dominican Order believed in going out and preaching to the public,
rather than cloistering and secluding themselves as other monastic orders did.
Houses of the order were also forbidden from holding landed property, other
than the sites upon which their priories were constructed; the friary did not,
therefore, attract the same sizable landed donations as other monastic establishments in Derbyshire.[1] Donations were, however, made towards enlarging the
site the friary stood on, allowing it to expand to an area over 16 acres. An
additional 3/4 of an acre of meadow land was added to the site c.1292.[1]
13th century
King Henry III is described as "a generous benefactor" to the friary.[1] In 1229 Henry gave 20 marks to the priors "as
a royal gift towards the building of their church."[1] The king made additional donations of 10 marks in
1242, and of £10 in 1244, which probably also went towards construction.[1] In 1291, the friary received £5 from the will of Queen Eleanor, wife of Henry III of England,
who was "a great patroness of the Dominicans".[1]
It is thought the church was
constructed bay by bay over a period of many years, for when Edward I visited the Derbyshire village of Tideswell on 21 August 1277, he made a donation of 5 marks
specifically for "subsidium ecclesie ibidem construende": to help build a church there.[1]
Frate Ruffolo
The Italian chronicles of the
Dominican Order record the unusual death of one of the brethren of the friary,
on 27 May 1257. The friar, recorded as "Frate Ruffolo" was a young
man who, whilst conducting business in the neighboring town ofNottingham became seriously ill.[1] He was taken in by the Franciscan friars at Nottingham Franciscan Friary.[1] Having been given the holy sacraments, he closed
his eyes and began to smile: saying his joy was because "the glorious King St. Edmundhas entered his cell; and that the whole chamber is
filled with angelic spirits", then claiming that the Virgin Mary "our great and blessed
Lady", had come.[1] Having then seen Jesus Christ come to judge him,
Frate Ruffolo is then described as screaming in mortal agony, whilst breaking
out in a powerful sweat and shaking from head to foot.[1] Frate Ruffolo then began to speak, as if replying
to questioning as part of his judgement: "It is true"... "O my Jesus, pardon
that offence, for it was slight".[1] The friars who were with Frate Ruffolo, witnessing
his unseen judgement, questioned him: "Are we judged for such small offences?"[1] "We must suffer the punishment for all", was his reply.[1] His judgement appeared to have gone well, as Frate
Ruffolo exclaimed "Assuredly, He (Jesus) is merciful, and I have
tasted of His mercy",
and with that he passed away.[1]
14th century
King Edward II
The Dominican Order held a
provincial chapter at the friary in 1310; King Edward II gave £10 for two days food for the event.[1] Further provincial chapters were held at the friary
in 1346 and 1376, for which King Edward III gave £15 and £20 respectively.[1]
King Edward II visited the area in 1323: staying in Nottingham from 9–24 November, and at the royal hunting lodge
at Ravensdale, in the Forest of Duffield, from 24 November to 16 December.[1] During this time he visited both Derby and the friary; making an order on 27 November 1323
for the payment of expenses the friary had incurred in receiving him.[1] In January the following year, Edward visited Derby
again, donating 8s. 8d. to the friars to provide a day's food for them.[1] A day's food for a friar was calculated as 4d,
which implies there were 26 friars living at the friary.[1]
In 1344 the friary was victim
of an "attack", when a large group of men broke into the friary and "cut down trees and carried off goods and
chattles, to the alleged value of £60".[1]Many of the friars and the friary's servants were beaten,
injured and wounded in the attack.[1][2] The prior obtained a writ which named 44 of the
alleged perpetrators, who included "two chaplains, and various tradesmen of the town,
such as linen-drapers, grocers, skinners, and shoemakers".[1][2] Nothing is recorded in the assize rolls with regard to these perpetrators, showing there
was probably some sort of "amicable termination" or out-of-court
settlement.[1]
The barns and outbuildings at
the friary were used as a royal wool-store.[1] In 1354, John de Bredon, one of the Derbyshire
wool-collectors charged with the care of around 80 stone of wool at Derby Black Friary, was convicted and
imprisoned at Fleet Prison in London for allowing most of that wool to rot, whilst
selling the remains for his own gain.[1]
In 1374, while staying at the
royal hunting lodge at Ravensdale, John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, donated the timber of three oaks to the friary.[1]
15th century
In July 1403, King Henry IV stayed two nights at Derby whilst traveling between Nottingham and Burton Upon Trent.[1] He gave 2 marks to the friary "in recompense for the various damages done by
the royal suite".[1]
16th century
Around 1534-1535, and with the
threat of dissolution looming, many English Dominican Friars left for Ireland, Scotland and
Flanders.[1] The Friary had an average of around 30 friars at
any one time; however, following this threat, the numbers reduced to only 6.[1]
On 3 January 1539, the friary
was surrendered to the Crown for dissolution.[1][3] At the time it was recorded as having an income,
after expenses, of £18 16s 2d. Attached to the document of surrender is the old
seal of the friary, used from the time of its foundation.[1] In shape a pointed oval or mandorla, it displays a representation of the Annunciation, with
the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel standing facing each other with the word
"Domini" (as in Ecce Ancilla Domini").[1] Below
them is displayed a trefoiled arch with the half-length figure of the Prior in
prayer.[1]
After Dissolution
The friary and its land were
immediately let to John Sharpe for a yearly rent of 54s.[1] The following year he was awarded a 21 year lease
with the condition that the building materials of all the superfluous buildings
(which were to be demolished) and all of the trees at the friary, were reserved
for the crown.[1]
On 18 January 1544, the same
John Sharpe took Richard Camerdaye (a labourer from Derby) to court, claiming
he had broken into the former friary and stolen the marble gravestones and
certain lead, iron, glass and timber, all valued as worth £4.[1]
Remains
The friary was located on the
street currently known as Friargate: the site was densely built over as the
town of Derby grew beyond the old town walls.[4] The street contains more buildings from the 1600s
than any other street in Derbyshire.[4] In the 1700s the street became a fashionable place
for the wealthy to live and many large Georgian houses were built, including
what is now thePickford's House Museum.[4] The street was also home to several schools, toDerby Gaol and later to Derby Friargate railway station.[4]
The site of the friary is
currently occupied by the Grade II listed building known as "The Friary"; built around
1730/1731 for Samuel Crompton, son of Abraham Crompton, founder of Derby's first
bank.[3][4][5] At the time of construction, a building, thought to
have been part of the original friary, but which had been converted into three
dwellings, still existed to the rear of the site of The Friary House, and
stones from the original friary building were used in the foundations of the
house.[6] These remaining friary buildings were demolished in
the early 19th century.[6] The house was extended in 1770 and then further
modified and extended in 1875, at which point it was owned by Henry Boden,
who's widow sold it to the Whitaker family in 1922.[5][7] To the annoyance of Mrs. Boden, the Whitakers
converted the house into the Friary Hotel; it was converted again in 1996, this
time into a pub; its current incarnation is as a nightclub.[4][5][7]
Behind the house are the remains of a much older wall, thought to be part of the old friary.[3] The cellars also incorporate the remains of a medieval building, thought to be part of the friary buildings (but not conclusively dated as such).[3]
Behind the house are the remains of a much older wall, thought to be part of the old friary.[3] The cellars also incorporate the remains of a medieval building, thought to be part of the friary buildings (but not conclusively dated as such).[3]
Artifacts
Medieval floor tiles found at the friary, showing a hare
riding a dog
Human remains and floor tiles
were found in the area around The Friary House, thought to come from the former
friary burial ground.[6][8]
Hauntings
The area formerly occupied by
the friary is thought by some to be haunted.
The building known as The Friary, built on the site of the friary buildings, is the location of several sightings of monks dressed in black (Dominican Friars wore black), including sightings of a headless monk.[9] The Friary is also a stopping point on several local ghost walks, with the ghosts of monks most frequently reported in its cellars, which are thought to incorporate part of the original friary buildings.[3][10]
The building known as The Friary, built on the site of the friary buildings, is the location of several sightings of monks dressed in black (Dominican Friars wore black), including sightings of a headless monk.[9] The Friary is also a stopping point on several local ghost walks, with the ghosts of monks most frequently reported in its cellars, which are thought to incorporate part of the original friary buildings.[3][10]
References
1.
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao apPage, William (1907). 'Friary: The Dominican friars of Derby', A History of the
County of Derby: Volume 2. pp. 78–80.
8.
Jump up^ Llewellyn Frederick William Jewitt, John Charles Cox, John Romilly Allen (1863). The Reliquary and Illustrated Archaeologist.
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