Mayne Preceptory

Mayne Preceptory was a medieval house of the Knights Hospitaller in Dorset. It stood in what is now Broadmayne parish, once part of West Knighton. The name of the settlement changed from Maine to Friar Mayne by the mid-14th century. The preceptory was established between 1290 and 1338. By 1533 it had begun leasing its bailiwick to support rectories and larger preceptories elsewhere. Its lands were taken by the crown during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the early 16th century. The preceptory owned property at Kingston in Stinsford, known as the ‘camera’ of Kingston. This estate had a house, a garden, 68 acres of arable land, an acre and a half of meadow, pasture for six oxen, eight cows and a hundred sheep. It also included the church of Stinsford. Further holdings were at Waye, now Westbrook in Upwey. Visitors today find a quiet rural setting where the preceptory once stood. The landscape around Broadmayne still reflects its medieval fields and pastures. The former estate at Kingston in Stinsford shows how the Hospitallers managed their lands. The church of Stinsford remains part of the area’s heritage. The name Friar Mayne keeps the memory of the preceptory alive in the village.