Thoby Priory

Thoby Priory was an Augustinian priory established in Mountnessing, Essex, around 1141. Its foundation is attributed to Michael Chèvre, who granted lands and rights to Tobias, the prior, and the canons. The priory's name evolved over time, likely from its early forms like Ginges and Gingetobye, possibly after the name of a prior. It was situated east and north of the river Wid.

Foundation and Early History

Michael Chèvre's charter, addressed to Robert, bishop of London (1141–1150), is considered a potential foundation charter for the priory. This charter included a hide of land, pannage for forty pigs, and tithes of hay and mill. Later, Richard, bishop of London (1152–1162), confirmed further gifts of the Greate Woode of Thoby and the Church of St. Giles to the priory. The advowson of the priory eventually came into the possession of the Mounteney family.

Dissolution and Later Use

The priory faced dissolution on February 15, 1525, by Cardinal Wolsey's agent, John Alen. This action was part of a papal bull from Clement VII authorizing the suppression of numerous religious houses to fund Cardinal Wolsey's educational projects, including Cardinal College in Oxford. At the time of its dissolution, Thoby Priory had a prior and two canons. Its spiritualities were valued at £18 13s. 4d. and its temporalities at £56 13s. 6½d. annually. Among its possessions were the manors of Thoby, Mountnessing, Bluntswalles, and Cubfold, along with St. Giles' Church.

The transfer of ownership was complex, involving authorization to transfer parts of the endowments to Ipswich School and later forfeiture to the crown after Wolsey's indictment. The priory was granted for life to Richard Page in 1530, with permanent ownership later granted to William Berners and his wife Dorothy in 1539. Much of the priory's land remained with the Berners family and their successors for centuries. William Petre also acquired several landholdings, including the advowson and rectory of Mountnessing.

Architectural Survival and Site History

By 1556, the west range of the priory buildings had been adapted into a large secular house, featuring a hall, buttery, parlour, kitchen, and fourteen chambers. This mansion was enlarged in the nineteenth century but was severely damaged by fire in 1893. The house experienced a gradual decline throughout the twentieth century, was requisitioned by the army during World War 2, and finally demolished in 1953. The site subsequently served various industrial purposes, including workshops, storage, and a car scrap yard.

Today, only a fragment of the priory church remains, specifically about 15 meters of the south wall of the presbytery and nave arch, dating to the 14th and 15th centuries. Archaeological surveys have uncovered oak coffins, floor tiles, and a stone figure fragment. A 1934 discovery yielded a stone coffin with a skeleton. Later evaluations in 2002 and 2014 confirmed the presence of medieval foundations and graves, though much of the priory's building material was likely reused elsewhere.