Montacute Priory

Montacute Priory stands in the village of Montacute in Somerset. It was a Cluniac priory founded between 1078 and 1102 by William, Count of Mortain. At its peak in 1262 it housed 25 monks, though by the time of its dissolution in 1539 there were a prior and 16 monks. The priory once owned five manors in Mudford, including the largest which became known as Mudford Monachorum. It also held the Church of St Michael in Creech St Michael and once controlled Tintinhull Court. The priory had a dependent cell at Kerswell Priory near Cullompton and land in several nearby villages. After the dissolution the site became Abbey Farmhouse, built in the 16th century and now a Grade I listed building. By 1633 the farmhouse was almost desolate, but by 1782 it had been restored as a working farm. The only other remains are earthworks about 90 metres east south east of the farmhouse, possibly the claustral range, which include a fishpond. The village church of St Mary was granted by the priory to the Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1339. The priory’s history reflects the shifting power between local lords, the Crown and the Church. Today visitors see the farmhouse and earthworks, silent witnesses to centuries of monastic life and change.