St. John the Baptist priory,
Ardee
Niall C.E.J. O’Brien
The hospital of the priory of St. John the Baptist at Ardee was founded
about 1207 by Roger Pipard, lord of Ardee.[1] It
was originally dedicated to St. Mary and St.
John .[2]
Later the Carmelite Friary took on the dedication to St. Mary while the priory
retained that of St. John
as its chief dedication. Yet the chapel of the priory retained or adopted the
dedication to St. Mary the Blessed Virgin.[3]
An inspeximus of the foundation
charters was made in 1340 and provide much detail on those early days. Roger
Pipard founded the hospital for his own soul and that of his wife Alice,
William his father, Joan his mother, Gilbert and peter his brothers along with
his ancestors and successors. Pipard gave the Hospital two carucates of land in
the tenement of Ardee on both the north and south sides of the river with part
of the island in the river. The Hospital got the fisheries pertaining to the
land once held by Machudi. The parish church of St. Mary
By another charter Roger
Pipard gave the Hospital one carucate of land held by Osmund Dubleday in the
parish of Senlis and to hold this land after the death of Osmund. The Hospital
alos got the rights to use a stream which came from the land
of Walter le Hauberger and two streams
which came from the land
of Reginald Niger land of William Carpenter Armagh , Gilbert Pipard parson of Ardee,
Peter de Repentin and Geoffrey Hadsor among others.[5]
The monks were of the order of
Fratres Cruciferi yet they adopted the rule of St. Augustine .[6] It is not clear when the
priory of St. John changed from operating as a
hospital under the canons regular of St.
Augustine to adopting the additional order of Fratres
Cruciferi. The priory of St. John the Baptist
outside the Newgate of Dublin originally was organised as a hospital canons
regular of St. Augustine .
At sometime before 1276 the hospital adopted the additional order of Fratres
Cruciferi.[7]
The order of Fratres Cruciferi
The origins of the order of
Fratres Cruciferi are shrouded in obscurity. Some say that the order was
founded in the early Christian times while others say it developed from a
hospital monastery in Crusader Jerusalem. At the latter time it was known as
the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Yet this name is not to be confused with
the military order of Knight’s Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. From the
twelfth century many different congregations of the order were formed under
varying names. These names include the Canons of the Order of St. Augustine of the Holy Cross, Fratres
Cruciferi or Crucigeri, Crosier Canons, Cross-bearers and in England Crutched
or Crouched Friars.[8]
The crusades or military
expeditions to recapture the Holy Land which
started in 1095 were the impetus to revive the order or its birth place. The
Arabs, under the banner of Islam, had conquered the Holy
Land in the seventh century. Christians regarded the Holy Land as the birth place of their religion and made
pilgrimages there since earliest times. The Arab rulers allowed these
pilgrimages to continue. It was only after the Seljuk Turks from Turkestan had
captured the Holy Land in 1071 that a complete
change of attitude came. Christian pilgrims were interfered with or stop.
In response Pope Urban II held
the Council of Clermont to help the Byzantine Empire to free Asia Minor from
the Seljuk Turks while the crusaders would free the Holy
Land . In the summer of 1099 the First Crusade captured Jerusalem and established
Latin Kingdoms along the east Mediterranean coast. The Europeans held much of this
region for the next eighty years.[9]
Christian pilgrims could once
again visit the Holy Land without
interference. To provide accommodation for these pilgrims’ religious orders
such as the Knights Hospitallers were formed while other orders such as the
Knight’s Templars were there to defend the country against Arab attack. The
Fraters Cruciferi was part of this formation period.
The earliest national
congregation appears to have been the Italian Congregation. This group had a
hospital at Acre in the Holy Land . By 1159
there were several houses established across Italy . Pope Alexander III found
refuge in some of these houses during the persecution of Frederick Barbarossa.
In 1169 Pope Alexander granted the order a rule and a constitution. Much of this
rule, which was strictly enforced, was based around that of St.
Augustine and thus the order were sometimes referred to as canons
regular of the order of St. Augustine
or Augustinian Hospitallers.[10]
The order not only established
monasteries but also operated hospitals for the poor and sick. A brief note of
the medieval idea of a hospital is possibly warranted at this stage. The first
hospitals were more hotels than places where sick people went to recover their
health. The Medieval Latin word hospitale
means an inn while the plural word hospitalia
means guest rooms.[11]
Within a short few years there
were over two hundred houses across Italy . In 1245 Pope Innocent IV
added to the rules at Lyon and ordained that
the order should carry a cross in their hand. It is from this time that the
order became known as the Fratres Cruciferi or Friars of the Holy Cross.[12]
Statue of some Cruciferi Friars
About 1109 a group called the Bethlehemites came into existence. Their name came from the fact that they were governed under the titular bishop of
Yet at least one of the Irish
houses of Fratres Cruciferi had adopted the Bethlehemite rite. In a document of
1501 the Fratres Cruciferi hospital at Newtown Trim, Co. Meath was referred to
as the ‘hospital of the Cruciferi Sancti
Johannis cum Stella’ of the Order of St.
Augustine .[15]
The stella or star is here referring to the Star of Bethlehem. Other hospitals
of the Bethlehemite order were referred to in this manner. The hospital at
Newtown Trim was said to be founded by Bishop Simon Rochford of Meath sometime
after 1202.[16] It is
unclear when the hospital adopted the Bethlehemite order.
The Flemish congregation of Fratres Cruciferi
was founded by Theodore, son of the baron of Celles near Liege in around 1211. Their first house was
at Clair-Lieu near Huy. Pope Innocent III is aid to have given oral approval to
this congregation in 1216. In 1244 a group of Flemish Fratres Cruciferi came to
a synod at Rochester in England . They
requested to be allowed to establish houses in England . It would appear that two
or three Cruciferi hospitals existed in England before 1244 but were
unorganised. Formal approval to operate in England was granted and the
congregation became known as the Crotched Friars. The house in London was their main
priory with about four or five other unimportant houses.[17]
The houses of Fratres
Cruciferi established in Ireland
operated hospitals as well as religious houses. Many of these houses preceded
the English houses by many decades and were earlier than the Flemish
Congregation. The Ardee house was in existence about four years before that in Belgium . Most
scholars now believe that the Irish Congregation was established from the
Italian Congregation. Both were of the monastery-hospital type and the Irish
Congregation early foundation fits in with the Italian dates.[18]
The physical evidence of the
Fratres Cruciferi in Ireland
is mixed. About seventeenth houses of the order were established according to
the list produced by Gwynn and Hadcock.[19]
Harold Leask in his book on Irish churches and monastic buildings only assigned
twelve houses to the order.[20]
The best preserved remains are at Rindown in Roscommon. The priory at Newtown
Trim, County Meath
Early years of St.
John the Baptist Priory
In 1211 Archbishop Eugene of
Armagh granted confirmation to the hospital
of St. John St. John’s priory by the Pipard family. This
is in contrast to the Carmelite friary at Ardee where a charge of £6 per annum
was made on the manor of Ardee to support the friary. This charge was continued
for a few years after the crown took over the Pipard estates in Ireland .[23]
The management of the hospital
was in the care of sisters as well as brothers.[24]
At least three houses in Ireland
had sisters as well as brothers, namely: at Dublin ,
Dundalk and Ardee. The sisters worked in the
hospital and had a say in the general management.[25]
An entry in the Dublin exchequer roll of
receipts has an entry at Easter 1281 which records the payment of a fine by the
prior of Ardee. The fine was 10 marks for having peace.[26]
On 21 November 1302 a royal
letter was issued to Brother Robert de St. John of Ardee. Brother Robert was
constable of the castles at Ardee and Dovenaghmayn for the Pipard family. These
castles had come into royal hands when the Pipard lands were transferred to the
crown. The royal letter asked that Brother Robert to surrender the two castles
into the royal stewards.[27]
In November 1315 an
inquisition post mortem was held into the lands of Benedict Pippard. In the
district of Adwalath, Co. Louth, Benedict leased 4½ acres from the priory of St. John with fealty for
all services.[28]
In 1317 Sir Thomas de
Mandeville was killed some distance from his parish church. His enemies
prevented the safe recovery of his body. This did not prevent the prior of Drogheda from instructing two friars’ preachers, William
Aubrey and Florence de Ardin, to successfully recover the body. Consequently de
Mandeville was buried in Drogheda . The
guardian and Friars Minor of Carrickfergus were not happy with this situation.
They petitioned the Pope for redress. This resulted in a mandate issued to the
prior of St. John’s
and two others. They were to judge the issue.[29]
In the third year of Edward II
the barony of Atrio-Dei (Ardee) and the town of Mandeville was granted by the king to Richard
de Tuyt.[30] It is
not clear if the patronage of St.
John’s priory was in any way affected by this grant.
Another hospital of Fratres Cruciferi at Athy (the priory of St. Thomas the Martyr of Acre) was in 1491 said to be of
lay patronage.[31]
The Knight’s Hospitallers house of St. John’s
at Kilmainham held a house in Ardee and the rectory of Tallanstown while the
altarage of that church belonged to St.
John the Baptist priory, Ardee.[32]
Buildings of the priory
Very little of the fabric of
the priory survives today. Even its exact location is unknown. The discovery of
burials in the vicinity of Moore Hall in 1956 and 1963 suggests that the priory
could have been close by. The National Monuments Service place the priory
between the River Dee and some gain stores at Moore Hall and west of the
Parochial House.[33]
The church of St. John the Baptist, sometimes referred to as a chapel,
was dedicated to St. Mary the Blessed Virgin. The church contained a nave and chancel
along with a high altar.[34]
This last point would suggest that there were other altars in the church like
you find in large parish churches and in cathedrals. The church was sometimes
used by the archbishop of Armagh as a location
for sittings of the archbishopric court. This occurred in 1407 and 1408.[35]
Like many religious houses St. John’s priory had a
cloister. This was used in 1412 by the brothers when sending the results of
their election of a new prior.[36]
Somewhere around this cloister was the priory’s main hall. This place was used
in 1476 as a neutral venue to hear an excommunication case against the vicar of
Carlingford by three senior members of the priory of St. John of Jerusalem of
Kilmainham.[37]
The chapter house was also
somewhere surrounding the cloister. This room was used by Archbishop Octavian
on his ordinary visitation of the priory in 1482.[38]
The room was also used by the convent when conducting the administration of the
priory. In 1494 the convent agreed in the chapter room to give an annual
pension in clothes and victuals to a cleric in return for his services.[39]
The prior had a private
chamber for his living and sleeping. Yet this privacy was sometimes used for
important meetings. In 1425 the chamber was used for an important meeting
between James Butler, Earl of Ormond and lieutenant of Ireland and the McMahon brothers of
south Monaghan.[40] Somewhere near the priory was
a dovecote.[41]
Hospitality at the priory
In April 1378 Brother Walter
Benge was priory of St. John’s
yet he was not a happy man. The priory had been reduced to poverty by the
quartering of soldiers upon its hospitality. Prior Benge requested permission
from Archbishop Milo Sweteman of Armagh to hold the chapel of Shanlis along
with retaining the priorship. This request was granted in August 1378 and Prior
Benge was to have rule both of the chapel and the souls of the parishioners.[42] The
parish of Shanlis is the next parish immediately to the south west of Ardee and
so was within easy reach of the priory.
If the royal soldiers were a cost upon the hospitality of St. John’s priory and at
times unwelcome the priory did make an effort for special guests. Towards the
end of the summer of 1405 Nicholas Fleming, the newly appointed and consecrated
archbishop of Armagh , came to live at the
priory. In a letter to Pope Innocent VII, written from the priory on 20
September 1405, we learn that Archbishop Fleming held a number of benefices
before his provision to Armagh and which
enabled him to live ‘honourably’.
Yet for the lack of papal bulls the
temporalities of the archdiocese still remained in the king’s hands and
Nicholas couldn’t lawfully deal with the spiritualities. The letter also states
that the church
of Armagh
It would seem that Archbishop
Nicholas could have stayed in the priory until at least 20 November 1406 as many
archbishopric letters are dated from Ardee up to that time. The Archbishop then
moved on the primal seat of Armagh .[44] There
was held a convocation of the archbishop’s clergy was held at Ardee some time
before January 1408 but we don’t know if this was held in the Priory of St.
John or elsewhere in the town.[45]
Brothers in the priory
In March 1406 William Say; a Crouched Friar of the house of St. John the Baptist, Ardee received a papal
dispensation. The dispensation was due to the illegitimacy of William as the
son of a priest and an unmarried woman. By the dispensation William was allowed
to hold dignities, even if conventual and elective, administrations and other
offices of his order.[46]
William Say was still a brother in the priory in 1412 when a new prior, John
Broun, was elected.[47]
It would appear that William say later succeeded Broun as prior of the
Hospital.[48]
Another brother who was at the
1412 election was John Paker. A few years before, in 1407, a number of people
were ordained by Archbishop Nicholas in the church of St . John
By 1470 the fortunes of the
priory had declined such that there were only two brothers in the priory. These
were Brothers Richard Harvey and William Algode.[50]
In 1479 Stephen Hasard and
William Bane were described as brothers of St. John’s priory.[51]
Later in 1487 Stephen Hasard and William Penkystone were noted as brothers of the
priory at which an enquiry was held concerning endowments to the collegiate
church at Ardee. The document relating to this matter described the priory as
part of the Order of Fratres Cruciferi.[52]
Papal Mandates and Letters
Several papal mandates were
issued to the priors in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. In December
1418 the prior of St. John the Baptist was asked
to assign the rectory of Archlacachliuga in the diocese of Armagh
to Thomas Oluchurean who had a previous claim to the rectory. Thomas was to
resign all claims and then be assigned no matter how the rectory was originally
vacant.[53]
In November 1427 the prior of St. John the Baptist was
given a papal mandate along with the prior of Newtown Trim and the bishop of
Adria. They were asked to assign the archdeaconry of Armagh to William Hadesor,
a priest of the diocese of Armagh . Hadesor had
previously got a papal dispensation, as the son of a married man and an
unmarried woman, to be promoted to all holy orders. Following this he got the
parish church of Darver ,
diocese of Armagh and the three judges were to
assign the archdeaconry notwithstanding the parish provision and Hadesor could
hold both for life.[54]
In September 1450 the prior of
St. John the Baptist
was asked to adjudicate in a papal mandate along with the dean of Clogher and
Maurice O’Lergassa, a canon of Clogher. This mandate concerned the canonry and
prebendary in the diocese of Armagh formerly
held by John Leche. Thomas Oculan, clerk of Armagh ,
got an unnamed papal delegate to pass sentence against John Leche. Thomas
Oculan then occupied the prebend for some time and took its fruits. Later the
two parties were summoned to appear before the archbishop of Armagh
but Thomas Oculan didn’t appear so that the prebend was given to Leche and
Oculan was told to leave the prebend. This he refused to do and the papal
mandate to the prior of St. John
was examine the case. They were to remove Thomas Oculan if they found his
occupation to be illegal and to publicly excommunicate him if he did not leave.[55]
Towards the end of the
fifteenth century St. John’s
priory in Ardee disappeared from the papal registers. Other houses/hospitals of
Fratres Cruciferi continued to appear such as the priory of St. Mary de Urso,
Drogheda in 1494 and the priory of St. Leonard , Dundalk in 1506.[56]
Parishes of the priory
The priory of St. John the Baptist was located on the south
side of the River Dee surrounded by its own parishes. The parish of Ardee was
situated north of the river and encompassed the town and surrounding area. It
would appear that the advowson of the parish of Ardee remained with the lord of
the manor. Up to 1302 Ardee was owned by the Pipard family. In that year Ralph
Pipard gave most of his Irish lands to King Edward I including any advowsons he
had to various churches.[57]
The advowson to the parish of Ardee seems to have remained with the future
lords of the manor. Yet for a number of decades in the fifteenth century the
priory of St. John
claimed to have the presentation.
In about 1431 the priory of St. John contested the
right of Thomas de la Faunte, lord of Ardee, to have the presentation and
claimed it for the priory. An inquisition was held at Drogheda in September
1431 before John Prene, archdeacon of Armagh .
Here nineteen jurors found that de la Faunte was the owner of the advowson and
Prene issued a certificate to that effect.[58]
Subsequently the vicar of Ardee, William Smith, resigned the position and was
granted a pension out of the parish of £10 per annum. Because Thomas de la
Faunte was under age at the time it was the king who held right of presentation
and by this authority William Core was appointed vicar.[59]
William Core served as vicar
of Ardee for nearly fifty years. He died around January/February 1479. On 19
March Henry Corkeran, archdeacon of Armagh ,
held an inquisition at Ardee into the vacancy and patronage of the vicarage.
Two brothers of St. John’s
priory came to say that the proposed vicar, John Cashel, could not be
instituted unless by presentation of the priory. Twenty jurors found the
vicarage to be vacant for more than a month following the death of Core. Yet on
the question of patronage the juror’s decision was not recorded. Shortly after this
John Cashel was made vicar of Ardee.[60]
Nearly thirty years later the
priory had secured strong title to the parish of Ardee but the conditions of
the title were not always pleasing. John White, the vicar of St. Mary’s, Ardee,
was entitled to a pension of £10 from the parish. The one time vicar, John
Cashel, now prior of St. John’s ,
refused to accepted responsibility for the pension. Archbishop Octavian
published a decree that the priory had to pay. Prior Cashel protested that the
archbishop’s decree was unfair as John White had refused to abide by previous
judgements. In June 1508 Prior Cashel sent an appeal to Rome to decide the matter.[61]
To find the parishes that the
priory did have better title to we have to look in various documents. In 1546
the then archbishop of Armagh, George Dowdall said that the archbishopric of
Armagh had a number of procurations and synodals from property belonging to St. John’s priory. These
charges included a procuration from the priory along with a synodal from the
rectory of Ardee. A further synodal was due from each of the seven chapels
belonging to the priory. These chapels were Mosstown, Knock, Shanlis, Charleston , Mapstown,
Arthurstown and Tallanstown.[62]
An undated document from the time of Archbishop Milo Sweteman (1361-1380) said
the synodal charge on these chapels was 6d each while the procuration charge
was 9 marks.[63]
We are told in a document of 1411
that from time immemorial the priory of St. Mary’s of Louth and St. John’s priory at Ardee
had joint interest in two parishes in the diocese of Clogher. These parishes
were Dounaghmayn (Donaghmoyne) and Rosse (Maghcross). The papal taxation of
1302 valued these parishes as 20s and 10 s respectively.[64]
In 1411 Gilbert Oscheyg, a
clerk in Clogher diocese, disputed the title of both priories to the parishes.
The priories took appealed to the court of Armagh and to the Apostolic See. In
February 1411 Archbishop Nicholas of Armagh
issued a mandate to the clergy of Clogher to inhibit Oscheyg from disturbing
the parishes while the appeal is pending.[65]
Many years later before 1456
other people began to disturb the rights of St. Johns in its Clogher parishes. Gerald and
Peter O’Bryn were the perpetrators as they usurped the incomes in the parishes
of Donaghmoyne, Maghcross and Clone. Prior Alan Ashe was unable to evict the
invaders. Instead he got Brother James Lyndessey, prior of St. Mary’s prior,
Louth as subcustodian of the spiritualities of Armagh, to issue a mandate to
Roger Maguire, bishop of Clogher and the clergy of both diocese to help.[66]
In 1443 the vicarage of Donaghmoyne in County Monaghan
The first half of the fifteenth
century
At the beginning of the
fifteenth century Brother John Palmer was prior of the Hospital of St. John the Baptist at Ardee. Some time before January
1412 Prior Palmer resigned. On 27 January the brothers of the priory met and
with the help of the Holy Spirit they were animously inspired to elect John
Broun, a priest, as their next prior. A decree of the election sent to
Archbishop Nicholas was signed by Brothers William Gernon, William Say and John
Paker. They prayed for confirmation of the election and the installation of the
new prior by the archdeacon of Armagh . This
decree was signed in the cloister of the priory which seems a strange place to
sign letters in the middle of winter.[70]
The joy of the occasion must have warmed their hearts and dispelled the cold.
The community selected their
senior brother, William Gernon, to act as proctor in seeking the confirmation
from Archbishop Nicholas to the election of John Broun.[71]
The Gernon family were of long standing in the land of Louth
On 12 May 1425 a large group
of important people, both locally and nationally, gathered in chamber of the
prior in the Hospital
of St . JohnIreland for McMaghon
transgressions.[72]
At some time in the first half
of the fifteenth century John Broun was succeeded as prior by William Say.[73] He
was followed Brother Richard Ashe who served as prior until his death in 1431.
Henry Cusack, a cleric from outside the priory, was then unanimously elected
prior.[74] By
1447 Alan Ash had succeeded as prior. In January 1447 Prior Alan was appointed
proctor for the clergy of Armagh at the
parliament called for Trim in that month.[75]
Brother Alan was still prior in around 1456.[76]
The second half of the fifteenth
century
Brother Reginald Dovane was
the prior of St. John’s
priory up to his death before June 1470. Under Prior Reginald the number of
brothers in the priory reached a very low level. This caused problems in the
election of his successor as by June 1470 there were only two brothers left,
namely; Brothers Richard Harvey and William Algode. The two brothers came
before Archbishop John Bole in the chapel of the priory to resolve the issue of
a new prior. The archbishop stressed the need for a new prior in order to
safeguard the possessions of the priory. Yet with only two brothers they could
not hold an election.
To add further complications
to the situation, the two brothers could not agree on a compromise candidate.
Instead they were assigned John Stackpole and Henry Corkeran as legal counsel. After
hearing what the legal counsel had to say the two brothers recited the Veni
Creator before the high altar. They then returned to the Archbishop and agreed
to comprise on a suitable prior.[77]
We are not told who the successful suitable prior was but John Stackpole seems
to be the winner. Master John was described as prior of Ardee in January 1471.[78]
Although the name of St. John the Baptist is not
written in the document it is usually implied that when talking about a prior
of Ardee that St. John’s
is house and not the Carmelite friary.
The difficulties in electing a
new prior present us with information about the priory of St. John that we may not otherwise have
discovered. An inventory of goods belonging to the priory was made by four
appointed officials.[79] The disputed election also
offers us a picture of some debts of the priory in 1470.[80]
Brother William Water was
prior of the St. John’s
priory in 1476. In that year Prior William was first witness at a hearing held
in the main hall of the priory into a sentence of excommunication against Peter
Roger, vicar of St. Mary’s, Carlingford.[81]
In February 1482 Archbishop
Octavian of Armagh made an ordinary visitation upon St. John’s priory. It was customary for
bishops and archbishops to make visitations upon the religious houses in their
dioceses so as to see that proper management was in place. The archbishop first
read proofs to his authority and then proceeded to read out some injunctions
against the priory. The nature of these injunctions has not survived but the
some were not acceptable. The prior issued a protest and lodged an appeal
against the injunctions. Archbishop Octavian was not concerned by the
protestations. Instead, as he near the end of his visit, he commanded that the
priory pay all the procuration fees that it owed.[82]
This latter request for
payment of procurations was not that St.
John’s was a slow payer of its bills. The archbishop
requested the same money on his visits to other houses.[83]
By 1485 the former vicar of
St. Mary’s parish, Ardee had become prior of St. John’s priory. John Cashel had served as
vicar from 1479 until 1481 and his appointment to the vicarage was possibly by
way of approval from St. John’s .
In January 1485 Prior Cashel presided over a synod of the clergy of Armagh in the English area along with Henry Corkeran.[84]
During the Parliament of Henry
VIII held at Dublin
in June 1493 an Act of Resumption was passed. The members of Commons complained
that the they were reduced to penury and poverty due to robberies, extortions,
war and other reasons such that they were unable to fund the Dublin government. They requested that all
royal grants of castles, manors, revenues, fee-farms, etc., made since 1422
should be taken back into crown ownership. By this means the crown revenue
would be increase to pay for its expenditure and by result the commons members
would have less taxation. A great body of boroughs, religious houses and
individuals were excluded from the implications of the Act. Prior John and the convent
of St. John the
Baptist at Ardee got an exemption to protect all gifts they received since
1422.[85]
Ardee manor
In May 1319 John de Bermingham
of County Louth
In the 1340s the manor of
Ardee was held by Eustace le Poer in right of his wife Maud. During this time
le Poer leased the manor to Roger and Robert de Preston for life. At the same
time le Poer pledged mainprise for Maurice, Earl of Desmond but when the Earl
did not appear le Poer’s lands were declared forfeit and taken into the king’s
hand. But le Poer died soon after and the king’s ministers were instructed to
deliver the manor to Maud le Poer.[88]
In the time of Richard II the
manor of Ardee was held by Walter Lenfaunt as tenant in chief. Following
Walter’s death the manor was taken into the king’s hands during the minority of
Walter’s son, Thomas. In the 7th year of Richard II Philip de
Courtenay agreed to pay Walter Reynell £106 13s 4d for the custody of the manor
and marriage of the heir.[89]
Ardee castle
The manor of Ardee was held of the king by Lavallan Nugent of Braklyn in the first quarter of the sixteenth century. His widow, Elizabeth Plunkett, held her one third dower share until her death on 3 January 1529. Before her death the two thirds portion of Ardee manor was held by Robert Barnewall of Dromnagh.[90] In 1555 Thomas Nugent of Bracclyn, Co. Westmeath was found to hold one third of the manor of Ardee at his death in 1553.[91]
In February 1569 Edward
Barnewall of Dromnagh granted two parts of the manor of Ardee to Christopher Barnewall
of Gracedieu, Sir Patrick Barnewall of Stacullen, Mark Barnewall of Dunbro,
John Barnewall of Brymore and John Barnewall of Lespopell.[92]
In May 1597 Maurice O’Cullen
of Dromnagh, yeoman, granted to Sir Patrick Barnewall of Gracedieu and others
two parts of the manor of Ardee along with other property. This land was given
for the use of Mark Barnwell who died in July 1597 leaving a daughter
Elizabeth, wife of James Barnewall of Brymore.[93]
The final years
In January 1509 Prior John
Cashel journeyed to Termonfeckin to defend the rights of the priory to the
tithes of Toryeslondes. John Nangle, vicar of Kildemok and Richard Kelly appeared
before Prior Cashel on that matter.[94]
George Dowdall was the prior in
1524.[95] On
20 June 1536 George Dowdall was a party with Christopher Dowdall of
Arthurstown, Patrick Fleming, James Taaffe of Lyaghestown, and Richard Taaffe
of Cokeston along with Janico Taaffe, horseman to a charter concerning property
of Patrick Fleming of Kells, Co. Meath. The wording of this charter has not
survived.[96]
In 1536 Prior George Dowdall
was described as ‘a papistical fellow (able to corrupt the whole country’. The
priory was at the same time described as ‘serveth to no purpose’. At that time
the priory was valued at £100.[97]
In May 1537 it was found that
William Mann, rector of Maudlynstown and Ardee was absent from his parishes
since June 1534. The two parishes were valued at 40 marks per annum. A later
enquiry in 1541 found William Mann still absent from the vicarage of Ardee. The
vicarage was valued at £10 per annum.[98]
Prior George Dowdall
surrendered the priory on 6 December 1539 and got a pension of £20.[99]
Around the same month O’Neill attacked the priory. He made waste of some property
while burning other parts. When the valuation jurors came to St. John’s priory a year later much of this
destruction was still waste and was excluded from the priory’s valuation.[100]
On 30 September 1540 the
valuation jurors arrived at Ardee. They said that the church could be thrown
down while all the other buildings were necessary for the farmer. The
possessions included over 780 acres, a castle, numerous messuages and cottages
along with eight chapels. The gross value of the priory was £125 19s while the
net value was £107 17s.[101]
During 1540 dispositions were
taken from members of the king’s council in Ireland
and from many others concerning the treasons and misdemeanours committed by
Lord Leonard Grey while Lord Deputy of Ireland . George Dowdall, as prior
of St. John’s ,
gave evidence against Grey.[102]
On 18 May 1542 George Dowdall,
the late prior of St. John’s ,
Ardee was assigned to work with three others, namely; Lord Louth, Sir John
Plunkett and Sir James Gernon to settle disputes between leaders of the O’Neill
country. Bryan O’Neill took prey from his father, Lord O’Neill and took them to
Phelim Roe O’Neill who consumed the prey. The four persons were to adjudicate
the matter.[103]
On 21 June 1542 the late prior
George Dowdall was a juror at Trim in the arbitration between Lord O’Neill and
Phelim Roe O’Neill.[104]
Later in Tuesday after the feast of St. Peter, George Dowdall and the Baron of
Louth were to sit before a number of people to determine the meters and bounds
of Lord O’Neill’s territory in Tyrone.[105]
In 1544 George Dowdall was
appointed archbishop of Armagh by Henry VIII.[107]
Archbishop Dowdall did not long enjoy his new position. The dignity of the
primate position was always the pride and joy of the archbishop’s of Armagh for many centuries. But the new government King
Edward VI took away the primacy and gave it to the archbishop of Dublin . Soon Archbishop
Dowdall came under attack and was forced to flee the country. In his absence
the property of Armagh was taken by various
persons.[108]
Shortly after the Protestant
King Edward VI died, and was succeeded by the Catholic Queen Mary. George
Dowdall sensed an opportunity and renounced his schism from the Catholic
Church. As a reward Queen Mary granted him the priory of Ardee for life in
1554.[109] The
priory property was at that time valued at 80 marks.[110]
On 3 March 1571 Edward Moore
was granted a lease on the priory of St. John’s
along with the eight attached chapels, namely; Moorestown, Knock, Richardstown,
Stickillen, Shanlis, Charlestown ,
Mapstown and Tallanstown in Co. Louth. This grant was for 21 years at a rent of
£79 3s 4d per annum.[111] In
1579 the site and property of St.
John’s priory was granted to Edward Moore for 41 years
from the end of the 1571 grant. This grant was at the reduced rent of £35 17s
4d per year. As part of the grant a detailed inquisition was made of the former
priory’s property.[112]
The property included the
former hospital site along with a temple (or former church), a garden, a
dovecote, 11 acres beside the New Mill, 15 acres called Ashfield, 10 acres
beside the Friar’s Gate, 1 acre called Little Park, a field of 1 acres beside Keith’s
Bridge, 15 acres beside Knockony, 5 acres beside Arreballagh, and a field
opposite the West Gate. Moore
also got a field of 2 acres beside the mill and a mill along with 14 acres at
Killymocke, the fish weir of Babesland and an eel pass called Curraghweir.
There was also 17 acres in
Atherdee, 2 acres in Ardballagh with 16 messuages and 5 gardens in same, the
custom of the toll booth at Mansfieldtown, 26s 8d out of 40 acres in the grange
of Shanlies, 213 acres and 8 cottages in the manor of Shanlis and the customs
of the tenants of same. There was 30 acres in Purchestown, 80 acfes in
Mullaghclo with the customs of same, 40 acres in Knock, 15 acres in Hurlestown,
1 messuage and 1 acre in Pohellstown, 120 acres in Blackstown and 60 acres at
Babestown with the custom of same.[113]
An enquiry taken in August
1605 found that Edward Moore was in arrears of his rent by £235 2s 8d. The Dublin government declared
the remainder of his term was forfeited.[114] Yet
the site of the priory remained in the Moore
family. In 1616 Sir Garret Moore, baron of Mellifont, transferred the priory
along with other property to his sons Thomas and Charles Moore.[115]
Over the succeeding centuries the site of the priory of St. John the
Baptist at Ardee was built upon with houses, corn mills and tan yards. Today (2017)
the site of the priory, bounded by Bridge Street and William Street, shows
little trace above the ground of its former religious life. This article will
hopefully bring some of that life back from the pages of the past.
=============
End of post
=============
[1] Aubrey Gwynn and R.
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[2] Calendar of the patent rolls, Edward 3, vol. 4, p. 444 – accessed
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[3] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), Registrum
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[4] Calendar of the patent rolls, Edward 3, vol. 4, pp. 444-5
[5] Calendar of the patent rolls, Edward 3, vol. 4, p. 444
[7] Eric St. John Brooks (ed.), Register of the Hospital
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[9] Nigel Heard, The Dominance of
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[11] Clarence L. Barnhart (ed.), The
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[14] Anne P. Fuller (ed.), Calendar
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[15] Anne P. Fuller (ed.), Calendar
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[20] Harold G. Leask, Irish
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[23] Philomena Connolly (ed.), Irish
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[27] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar
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[28] J.E.E.S. Sharp (ed.), Calendar
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[33] www.archaeology.ie/NationalMonuments/FlexViewer
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[36] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[37] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[38] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[39] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[40] Paul Dryburgh and Brendan Smith (eds.), Handbook and Select Calendar of Sources for Medieval Ireland in the
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[41] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 1991), no. H VIII 28/27
[42] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[43] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[44] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[45] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[46] W.H. Bliss and J.A. Twemlow (ed.), Calendar
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[47] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[48] W.G.H. Quigley and E.F.D. Roberts (eds.), Registrum Iohannis Mey: The Register of John Mey Archbishop of Armagh , 1443-1456 (Stationery Office, Belfast, 1972),
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[49] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[50] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[51] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[52] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[53] J.A. Twemlow (ed.), Calendar
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[54] J.A. Twemlow (ed.), Calendar
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[55] J.A. Twemlow (ed.), Calendar
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[56] Anne P. Fuller (ed.), Calendar
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[57] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar
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[58] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[59] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[60] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[61] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[62] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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[63] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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1361-1380 (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 1996), no. 248
[64] H.S. Sweetman (ed.), Calendar
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[65] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[66] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[67] J.A. Twemlow (ed.), Calendar
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[68] Michael J. Hearn (ed.), Calendar
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[69] Anne P. Fuller (ed.), Calendar
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[70] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[71] Brendan Smith (ed.), The
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[72] Paul Dryburgh and Brendan Smith (eds.), Handbook and Select Calendar of Sources for Medieval Ireland in the
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[73] W.G.H. Quigley and E.F.D. Roberts (eds.), Registrum Iohannis Mey: The Register of John Mey Archbishop of Armagh , 1443-1456 (Stationery Office, Belfast, 1972),
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[74] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[75] W.G.H. Quigley and E.F.D. Roberts (eds.), The Register of John Mey of Armagh ,
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[76] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[77] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[78] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[79] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[80] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[81] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[82] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[83] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[84] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[85] Philomena Connolly
(ed.), Statute rolls of the Irish
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[86] Charles McNeill (ed.), ‘Harris: collectanea de rebus Hibernicis’,
in Analecta Hibernica, no. 6 (1934),
p. 340
[87] James Hogan (ed.), ‘Miscellanea of the Chancery, London
[88] Philomena Connolly (ed.), ‘Irish material in the class of ancient
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[89] Calendar of the patent rolls, Richard 2, vol. 2, p. 544
[90] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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[91] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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[92] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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[93] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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[94] Mario Alberto Sughi (ed.), The
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[96] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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[98] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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[102] J.S. Brewer and William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew manuscripts preserved in the Archiepiscopal
library at Lambeth (Kraus-Thomson, Liechtenstein, 1974), vol. 1, p. 171
[103] J.S. Brewer and William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew manuscripts, vol. 1, p. 188
[104] J.S. Brewer and William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew manuscripts, vol. 1, pp. 190-1
[105] J.S. Brewer and William Bullen (eds.), Calendar of the Carew manuscripts, vol. 1, p. 192
[108] Charles McNeill (ed.), ‘Harris: collectanea de rebus Hibernicis’,
in Analecta Hibernica, no. 6 (1934),
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[110] Charles McNeill (ed.), ‘Harris: collectanea de rebus Hibernicis’,
in Analecta Hibernica, no. 6 (1934),
p. 361
[111] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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[113] Margaret C. Griffith (ed.), Calendar
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