| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Augustinian |
| Established | 1217–1220 |
| Disestablished | 1463 |
| Site | |
| Location | Ilchester, Somerset, England |
| Grid reference | ST520228 |
Ilchester Nunnery, in Ilchester, Somerset, England, was founded around 1217–1220 as the "White Hall Hospital of the Holy Trinity", (Latin: Alba Aula, French: Blanche Halle/Blanchesale) after the gift of a house and other property by William "The Dane" of Sock Dennis manor, Ilchester (Norman-French: Le Deneis etc., Latinised to Dacus (the adjectival form of Dacia being mediaeval Latin for Denmark) modernised to "Dennis").[1] From this family was probably descended the influential Denys family of Devon, (arms; three Danish battle axes) seated at Orleigh in the 16th century.[1][2] By 1281, it had been converted into an Augustinian nunnery.[1][3]
In the early 14th century concerns were raised about the management of the nunnery and the poverty of the nuns.[4] The building was expanded in 1370. By 1463 the nunnery had been dissolved and its chapel become a free chapel,[5] which itself was dissolved in 1548.[6]
A ruined building still existed in 1791 but the stone was then used to build the nearby Castle Farm.[6]
- ^ a b c Page, William (1911). "Hospitals: Ilchester and Langport'". A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 2. British History Online. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
- ^ The Battle Abbey Roll by The Duchess of Cleveland, Vol.1, "Denise"
- ^ James Stevens-Cox, A History of Ilchester, the ancient county town of Somerset nos. 1-6, 8 & 9 (1958), p. 129
- ^ Power, Eileen (1988). Medieval English Nunneries, c. 1275 to 1535. Biblo & Tannen Booksellers & Publishers Incorporat. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-8196-0140-7.
- ^ "Chapel, Whitehall hospital and nunnery, High Street, Ilchester". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
- ^ a b "Augustinian nunnery, High Street, Ilchester". Somerset Historic Environment Record. Somerset County Council. Retrieved 9 January 2010.