Dunstable Friary

Dunstable Friary was a Dominican friary in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. It was located to the west of Watling Street, between the present-day High Street South and the road that is called Friary Field.

For the Augustinian priory in the town, see Dunstable Priory.

The "Black Friars" came to Dunstable in 1259.[1] The Augustine canons of Dunstable Priory, who themselves were facing economic hardship at the time, were not welcoming towards the Dominicans.[2] The prioress of Markyate, though her own house was not a wealthy one, helped the friars with a dole of loaves until their church should be finished; a kindness ill-repaid, for they insisted on the continuance of the gift after the immediate necessity was passed, and when the nuns were almost as poor as themselves.[1]

The grounds were surrendered in 1539.[3]

Parts of the site were excavated in the 1920s.[4] From 1965 to 1967, the Manshead Archaeological Society carried out excavations of the monastic buildings, during which the Dunstable Swan Jewel was discovered.[5][6][7] Parts of the church were excavated by the Department of the Environment in 1972 and by Bedfordshire County Council in 1988.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. "Friaries: The Dominicans of Dunstable | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. Garrod, Hugh. "Dunstable Friary", Medieval Dunstable
  3. Historic England. "Monument No. 359864". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  4. T. W. Bagshawe and A. R. Martin, "The Dominican Priory of Dunstable, with an account of some recent excavations on the site", Journal of the British Archaeological Association, n.s. 33, 321-342, 1927.
  5. C. L. Matthews, "Excavations on the site of the Dominican Friary, Dunstable 1965", Manshead Magazine, 16, 1966.
  6. C. L. Matthews, "Dominican Friary Excavation - Season 1966", Journal of the Manshead Archaeological Society, 17, 1967.
  7. C. L. Matthews, "The 1967 Excavations on the site of the Dominican Friary, Dunstable", Journal of the Manshead Archaeological Society, 18, 20-23 and 30, 1968.
  8. C. L. Matthews, "Friary Field Excavations 1972", Journal of the Manshead Archaeological Society, 22, 19, 1973.
  9. R. Clark and A. Maull, "Dunstable Friary Excavations 1988", Journal of the Manshead Archaeological Society, 29, 26-28, 1989.

The Medieval Dunstable project website has sections on Friary History and Friary Archaeology.

51.8841°N 0.5204°W / 51.8841; -0.5204

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