Beauvale Priory

Beauvale Priory, also known by the name Beauvale Charterhouse, was a significant monastery of the Carthusian order located in Beauvale, Nottinghamshire. Its establishment in 1343 by Nicholas de Cantelupe marked it as the third of nine Carthusian houses founded in England, following those in Somerset.

History and Significance

The priory was originally designed to house a prior and twelve monks, adhering to the austere Carthusian rule. Historical assessments, such as the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1534, indicate a modest annual income of £227 8s. for the priory, which also controlled advowsons of several churches. Beyond its material wealth, Beauvale Priory is suggested by some scholars to have been a hub for late medieval English spirituality. John P.H. Clark posits that the author of the influential mystical text, The Cloud of Unknowing, may have been a Carthusian monk from Beauvale, while Jonathan Hughes suggests the priory was important for the study of the mystic Richard Rolle.

Dissolution and Martyrdom

The Carthusian order's steadfast refusal to acknowledge King Henry VIII's supremacy over the Church led to its persecution. Robert Lawrence, the Prior of Beauvale, was among those who travelled to London in 1537 to protest the dissolution of religious houses. Along with other Carthusian priors, including John Houghton, Lawrence's predecessor at Beauvale, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Declaring his allegiance to the Pope as the head of the Church, Prior Lawrence was subsequently tried for "verbal treason" and sentenced to death. He, along with three other monks, was executed at Tyburn on May 4, 1535, in a manner intended to be particularly gruesome. Prior Lawrence became known as one of the Carthusian Martyrs and was later canonized as Saint Robert Lawrence by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

Despite efforts to postpone its closure by paying a substantial fine of £166 13s. 4d. in January 1537/38, Beauvale Priory was ultimately surrendered for dissolution on July 18, 1539. The surrender document was signed by Prior Thomas Woodcock and seven other monks. Following the dissolution, the priory and its possessions were granted to Sir William Huse.

Remains and Legacy

Today, Beauvale Priory exists as ruins, but substantial remains of its buildings are still present. The site is recognized as a scheduled ancient monument, highlighting the survival and rarity of its features as one of England's nine Carthusian houses. The Priory Church remains are designated Grade II* listed, and the Gatehouse and parts of the boundary wall are Grade II listed. Materials quarried from the priory were used in the construction of the Abbey Farmhouse, which itself dates from the 16th century and has seen later extensions.

Fragments of stained glass and tiles from the priory are preserved in St. Mary's Church, Greasley. Additionally, two manuscripts associated with Beauvale's library, containing works by Richard Rolle and lives of saints, are extant and held in notable collections. The ruin of Beauvale Priory also served as the setting for D.H. Lawrence's historical short story, "A Fragment of Stained Glass."