Brooke Priory

Brooke Priory was a small Augustinian monastery near the village of Brooke in Rutland. It stood beside the River Gwash, which gave the parish its name. The priory was founded before 1153 by Hugh de Ferrers, lord of Oakham. It was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and built to support only three canons. The house struggled with poverty and poor management throughout its existence. The priory became so run down that in 1298 the Bishop of Lincoln urged the Prior of Kenilworth to intervene. By 1535 it was described as ruinous with an annual income of less than £47. The last prior, Roger Harwell, surrendered the priory to Henry VIII’s commissioners and secured himself a pension of £10. After dissolution the site passed to Anthony Cope, and later to the Noel family who built Brooke House. Today only earthworks and crop marks remain where the priory once stood. A 13th-century Limoges reliquary, found in the cellar of Priory House in about 1805, is now in Rutland County Museum. The casket is decorated with enamel scenes of Christ and two saints, though much of its gilding has worn away. The ruins lie close to the river, where traces of fishpools and outbuildings can still be seen.