Binham Priory, Eastern England

In the tiny village of Binham lies the priory church of St. Mary and the Holy Cross, otherwise known as Binham Priory.  Work began here on the eastern, or monastic, end of the church in the 1090’s, although this is now in ruins.  Only the Nave stands today, but it is surrounded by the ruins of a once thriving Benedictine monastery.  As it was a Benedictine foundation, the Nave was traditionally used as the village church, and that fact is what saved it from complete destruction at the time of the dissolution. Binham’s appearance today is vastly different than it would have been in the middle ages, when its exterior walls were plastered and lime washed. 

The west window at Binham holds its own architectural fame, as it contains the earliest example in Britain of bar tracery, in which the design is made up of slender shafts and shaped stones, which branch out from the mullions to form a decorative pattern.  This design was first used at Rheims Cathedral, in France, in 1211, and then at Westminster Abbey, in the late 13th Century.  Bar tracery was an innovation that made it possible to build very large windows which would flood the interior with light.  This small, Priory church, may have once been one most advanced buildings of its day. Although isolated, its brethren were at the cutting edge of international architectural design. ­­The window was bricked up in 1809 to strengthen the wall. The bell-cote at the top of the building, is a 15th Century addition, which was installed after 1432, when it was agreed that the parishioners were allowed to have one bell, of a weight of less than 800 pounds, which was purchased at the cost of the parishioners, and it was to hang in the furthermost western part of the church.

Binham Priory was first founded as a cell of St Albans Abbey in 1091, by Peter de Valoines, who was the nephew of William the Conqueror.  He was given lands at Binham after the Norman Conquest which, according to the Domesday Book, had originally belonged to a freeman named Esket.  The Priory was endowed with the Manor of Binham, making the Prior also the Lord of the local Manor. The Priory was further endowed in the reign of Henry I, around 1104, when it was granted a Wednesday market, and annual fair of four days, as well as free warrens on all their lands. The building work on the Priory continued until the middle of the 13th Century.  The terms of the Priory’s establishment, intended for there to be no less than eight monks, and the heirs and successors of the founder were expected to remain patrons and protectors of the Priory.  While the plans were well laid out, no-one can control what happens in the future.

The first issues arose before the church had even been completed when, in 1212, the Abbot of St. Albans removed the Prior of Binham.  This led to Robert FitzWalter, who was a friend of the deposed Prior, to claim patronage of the cell. He impleaded (started proceedings against) the Abbot in the King’s Court, and charged him with coming to the Priory of Binham to lodge there, with more men and horses than was agreed in the foundation’s deeds.  He also accused him of extorting money from the men of the Priory, from which he was only entitled to one mark annually.  He also alleged that the Abbot of St. Albans had infringed his rights by removing the Prior.  He produced a deed of patronage, which may have been forged, which alleged that the Prior could only be removed with consent. 

When FitzWalter failed with the courts, he then laid siege to Binham Priory in order to remove the existing Prior, who was the Abbot of St. Albans' man.  The monks then in residence could not get anything to drink, except the rain water, which they collected from the down pipes, and were left to make bread from bran.  When King John heard about Fitzwater’s actions, he is said to have sworn ‘By God’s feet, either I or FitzWalter must be King of England’. He came to the Priory’s rescue and sent an armed force to relieve Binham, causing Fitzwalter to flee to the continent.  Fitzwalter was also one of the ringleaders of the baronial opposition to King John. He signed his letters as the self-styled ‘Marshal of the Army of God’. He may have felt unsupported by the King against the Abbot of St. Albans, but it is unclear what his motives were at the time. We only have St. Albans record of the events, which tells us that he was plotting against the King. The St. Albans chronicle goes on to tell us that FitzWalter argued with the Abbot of St. Albans, over his rights over the dependant house of Binham, with Fitzwalter alleging that the Priory’s foundation charter, granted by his wife’s ancestor, went against the Abbot of St. Albans actions, and that too many monks had been installed.  This however doesn’t seem to be enough of a reason to commit treason against the King. Although forgiven by King John in 1213, FitzWalter went on to be one of the twenty five Sureties of the Magna Carta, swearing to make sure the King upheld the Charter.

Matthew Paris, the 13th Century monk, wrote that the façade at Binham was built between 1226 and 1244, when Richard de Parco was the Prior. Prior de Parco hired a master mason, who had knowledge of the latest French methods of architecture, to create the west front of the church, but we do not know the name of the master mason. We do know that a man named Henry of Reynes (Reims), worked on the chapel of Edward the Confessor, at Windsor, in 1240, and Westminster Abbey in 1245. It is possible he worked at Binham also, or someone who worked with him took on the work at Binham. 

Shortly after the church was completed in the mid-13th Century, the one-time Prior of Wymondham, a man named Alexander de Langley, had moved to Binham Priory.  It is said that he went insane through overstudy, or perhaps it was just through the isolation of monastic life, but whatever the reason was, he had

‘outbursts of frenzy which could no longer be tolerated.’

The 13th Century thinking was, that he should be flogged.  When that surprisingly didn’t help, he was kept in solitary confinement at Binham until his death. When he died, he was buried in chains in the churchyard.

The early 13th Century round window, on the west front, is also thought to be the earliest of its kind in Britain.  It has been completely conserved.  The fractured tracery was repaired with stainless steel dowels.  The original iron armature was replaced with brass, and the window was reglazed in the 1990’s.  The original iron now hangs inside the church.

The Nave consists of seven bays, without aisles, as the aisles are no longer part of the Nave but have become instead part of the ruins. The arcades show the progression of the building work.  The work at Binham began on the Nave in the 1130’s, working from east to west. The earlier arches are richly decorated with zig-zag and billet mouldings, and as the archways progress to the west, they become more pointed and ribbed.  The change in architecture, from Norman to Early English, can be seen running diagonally upwards.  It is not often that we see so many different styles in such close proximity. 

Another episode of unrest occurred in the early 14th Century, shortly after the nomination by Abbot Hugh of St. Albans, of the new Prior of Binham, William de Somerton, in 1318. Prior William, it is said, spent vast sums on the pursuit of alchemy.  To furnish his hobby, he sold two chalices, six copes, three chasubles, seven gold rings, silk cloths, silver cups and spoons, and the silver cup and crown.  At the same time, it was said that Abbot Hugh of St Albans was making exorbitant financial demands on the Priory, which made it difficult for them to even buy food for the monks. It is possible that the sale of these items, is what enflamed the issues which escalated between Binham Priory and St. Albans.  They eventually grew to the point where King Edward I wrote to the Pope on the subject, in April of 1318. 

The Prior of Binham appealed to the Sheriff of Norfolk, and asked that he supply him with a lay force of men, which would be sufficient to resist the intrusion of the Abbot of St. Albans into the Priory, and this application was granted.  King Edward I intervened, and ordered the Sheriff to immediately withdraw the force, as the Abbot could lawfully exercise jurisdiction over the Priory.  The Abbot finally removed Prior William from his office, but the Prior, supported by his monks, refused to leave the monastery.  By October of 1320, the King ordered the Sheriff to proceed to the Priory of Binham, to arrest the Prior, William de Somerton. The deposed Prior, and all thirteen of his monks, were to be to delivered to the Abbot of St. Albans, to whom they were subject, and by him to be corrected, according to the Rule of St. Benedict.

It was later reported to King Edward I, by the Abbot of Ramsey, who had recently presided over the General Chapter of the Benedictines of Canterbury, that the chapter had found that the:

‘monks of Binham were living in disobedience and insolence and had taken up arms and made assemblies of aiders to fomont their boldness, and paid no heed to the canonical censures of the Abbot of St. Albans, and that consequently the chapter prayed it aid of the secular arm to repress the malice of the offenders.’

In response, the sub-Prior of Binham appealed to Rome, and in his letter of 1321, he states that William de Somerton, their Prior, had his cause committed to Arnold, the King’s Chaplain, and Papal Auditor, who sent his letters of commission to the Abbot.  Whereupon, the Abbot caused the messenger, and a notary who accompanied him, to be so grievously beaten that their blood was sprinkled on the walls of the church, and the letters were taken from them.  The Prior was also ejected, and some of the monks who appealed to the Pope were imprisoned, and kept without food for six days.  The Pope ordered the Archbishop of Canterbury to inquire into the matter, and if the allegations were true, to cite the Abbot to appear before the Pope. The King sided with the Abbott, and the monks of Binham did not prevail. It is difficult to take a side 800 years later, when the full reasoning and truth is so very clouded by time. What this does show, is the continual infighting which plagued the monastic communities throughout the medieval period, largely because they were so entwined with each other.

Little remains of the rood screen, and if you aren’t looking for it, you might miss it entirely.  All that remains are the painted dado panels, of what would have once been a very large screen. King Henry VI is shown on the screen, which indicates that it would have been painted after his death in 1471. It was painted over again after the Reformation, and the text from Cranmer’s Bile of 1539 was written. As some of the limewash flaked away, a few of the stains have begun to show through again. 

At the time of the dissolution, the King’s examiner had no trouble finding a pretext for suppression, it was stated that: 

‘As they levied fines, not naymyng the Abbot of Saynt Albanys, and granted leases under their own seal, not naymyng the Abbot.’

The site of Binham Priory and its possessions, were granted to Thomas Paston, in the 33rd year of the reign of Henry VIII.  The Paston Letters relate the sum of 13 pounds 71/2 d, which was paid to Sir Thomas in 1553, for ‘rubble and stone from Binham Priory’. This was then used to build a large house in the High Street, at Wells-next-the-sea. 

Today, Binham Abbey is around one/fifth the size it was when it was a working Benedictine Monastery.  There are still extensive ruins of the monastery surrounding the church, these are now in the care of English Heritage.  Only some of the ruined buildings have been identified, these include the Chapter House, warming room, refectory and kitchens. To the north west of the church there was once a fishpond and water-mill. The village of Binham today has a population of less than 250 people.