HOUSE OF AUSTIN NUNS
16. THE NUNNERY OF ROTHWELL
A small nunnery of the Austin rule was
founded here in the thirteenth century and dedicated to the honour of St. John the Baptist. The
founder cannot be ascertained, but Bridges is probably correct in assuming him to be one of the great
Clare family whose successors in the manor of
Rothwell were patrons of this foundation. (fn. 1) The
superiors entered in the Lincoln diocesan registers
were elected by the community with the consent
of the patron, and presented to the bishop for
confirmation and institution.
The house from the first appears to have been
but slenderly endowed. In 1318 Bishop Dalderby
licensed the nuns to beg for alms on account of
their poverty. (fn. 2) In 1385, during the rule of
Millicent of Kybworth, they obtained the royal
assent to the appropriation of the neighbouring
rectory of Desborough to the convent. (fn. 3)
The mandate of Pope Boniface IX. in 1392 to
the abbot of Pipewell to inquire and if necessary augment the portion assigned to the vicarage,
on complaint by the vicar that it was insufficient,
sets forth the almost abject poverty of the poor
nuns of Rothwell, and its causes. The pope's
letter recites that it was represented to Urban VI.
on behalf of the Augustinian prioress and convent
of St. John Baptist, Rothwell, that Richard
Clare, earl of Gloucester, founded the priory,
but died before he had sufficiently endowed it.
As he left no male issue his patrimony was
divided among his daughters, who neglected to
assign a fitting endowment, on account of which
the prioress and convent, fourteen in number, (fn. 4)
could not expend for their food and clothing and
that of their servants beyond four marks and the
produce of four fields (agris) of land, in one of
which the priory was situated, so that some of
them were compelled, for the support of themselves and the other nuns, to incur the opprobrium
of mendicity and to beg alms after the fashion
of friars of the mendicant orders, and for this
reason King Richard granted them his patronage
of Desborough in order that it might be appropriated to them, a fitting portion for a perpetual
vicar being reserved. (fn. 5)
The sisters rebuilt the priory church during
the latter half of the fourteenth century: in
1363 Bishop Bokyngham licensed it for celebrations, though it had not yet been consecrated. (fn. 6)
It was not till the year 1379 that we hear of its
consecration. The bishop ordered the day,
4 July, to be kept as the day of dedication. (fn. 7)
Very little is recorded of this small nunnery,
and nothing which throws light on its internal
condition. The Valor of 1535 shows that it
possessed no temporalities other than the site of
the buildings and a garden and orchard. The
rectory of Desborough produced £10 10s. 4d.;
out of this the outgoings were: 6s. 8d. pension to
the bishop of Lincoln, 10s. 7½d. in synodals and
procurations to the archdeacon, 20s. pension to the
vicar of Rothwell, and £2 13s. 4d. in a stipend
to the chaplain. (fn. 8) The clear annual value of the
house amounted to £5 19s. 8½d.: with the best
and most careful management these ladies could
hardly have contrived to live had it not been for
the offerings and bequests of the faithful, and the
'dower' probably brought by some of the inmates
of the house. Small bequests to each of the
sisters of St. John Baptist, Rothwell, are not infrequent among Northamptonshire wills in the
reign of Henry VIII. A quaint bequest to the
community occurs in one of 1521, 'to the convent
off Nunnys a Browne Kowe.' (fn. 9)
This nunnery furnishes another case, and there
are many in the county, of an apostate nun.
Bishop Repingdon in 1414 issued a mandate to
the prioress desiring her to re-admit Joan, an
apostate canoness, who had retired from the convent. The prioress at first declined to receive
the delinquent, alleging that she had by her own
confession lived for three years with one William
Suffewyk. The bishop thereupon cited the
prioress for disobedience and enjoined her to
receive the penitent Joan, who was to do
penance for three years confined with iron
chains within the priory; on Wednesdays her
fare should be bread and cheese and pulse, on
Fridays bread and cheese only. (fn. 10)
The house being of a less yearly value than
£200 came under the earlier measure for suppression of religious houses. The actual date is
not given, but Rothwell is entered in a list of
monasteries lately suppressed, returned 11 February, 1537-8. (fn. 11) The site of the priory and
plot of land around it was granted to Henry
Lee in 1545. (fn. 12) Bridges states that 'the site of
the nunnery was a high ground on that side
of the town nearest to Desborough, and was
then occupied by a house, the residence of
Mr. W. Stevens.' (fn. 13)
Prioresses of Rothwell
Agnes, (fn. 14) died 1305
Alice of Cravenho, (fn. 15) elected 1305, resigned
1313
Amicia of Navesby, (fn. 16) elected 1313
Catherine of Isham, (fn. 17) elected 1349
Catherine Grene, (fn. 18) died 1381
Millicent of Kybworth, (fn. 19) elected 1381
Alice Brimington, (fn. 20) died 1395
Alice Langton, (fn. 21) elected 1395
Margaret, (fn. 22) occurs 1476, died 1479
Joan Chase, (fn. 23) elected 1479
Mary Laffenham, elected 1498
Margaret Loftus, (fn. 24) occurs 1534 and 1535