Christ Church Prior's House

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Venue Type & Location

Monastic residence

Site Name: Christ Church Prior's House
Location: Canterbury
County: Kent
Location Type: Town - in town at determined location

Overview

Located on the E side of the Green Court of the great Beneditine priory of Christ Church, little remains of the Prior's House other than the late 15th c. flint porch and study of Prior Sellinge above the entrance.

Performance History

A probable performance venue. Although relevant records do not survive, entertainers patronized by two priors of Christ Church Canterbury performed elsewhere in Kent in the 14th c.

Current Status

Demolished.

History of the Venue

1070 Building began on a new Norman priory on the site of a previous Anglo-Saxon monastery.

ca. 1090 Building completed on the cathedral and cloister.

13th c. Further work done, including the rebuilding of the Frater range, Prior's Chapel and Infirmary cloister.

late 13th/early 14th c. Separate residence built for the prior by Prior Henry of Eastry.

1390--1414 Great cloister, chapter house and other buildings renewed.

1540 Dissolution.

1541 The cathedral was refounded as a 'New Foundation' with a dean and chapter.

ca. 1570 Prior's house destroyed by fire.

Record Source

REED Kent: Diocese of Canterbury 2.314

Patrons who owned this venue

Name Dates Titles
Gillyngham, Richard 0-1376
Hathbrande, Robert 0-1370

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

  • Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales 1300–1500. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996–2006.
  • Hasted, Edward. The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. 1st ed [1778]. 12 vols. Canterbury: Printed for the author by Simmons and Kirkby, 1778.
  • Lambarde, William. A Perambulation of Kent. 1576. London: Baldwin, Cradock and Joy, 1826.
  • Newman, John. North East and East Kent. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth and New York: Penguin, 1983.
  • Tatton-Brown, Tim. 'Three Great Benedictine Houses in Kent: Their Buildings and Topography' Archaeologia Cantiana 100 (1984): 171–88.
  • Tatton-Brown, Tim. Canterbury: History and Guide. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1994.
  • Willis, Robert. The Architectural History of the Conventual Buildings of the Monastery of Christ Church in Canterbury. London: Kent Archaeological Society, 1869.