Marrick Priory

Description

Marrick Priory MYD4492 (c) YDNPA, 2023

Marrick Priory was a Benedictine nunnery founded about 1154. It was the richest nunnery in Yorkshire, although still poor in comparison with the great male houses. It had a prioress and 16 nuns and a gross income of £64.18.9 at the time of the Dissolution. After the Dissolution it became the centre of a small estate while the priory church continued in use as the parish church. A detailed survey and map of about 1585 shows that most of the original buildings were still standing at that date. Now only the church, part of the prioress’s house, short lengths of the precinct wall and a farmhouse which incorporates part of the refectory survive above ground. Earthworks indicate the remains of other buildings to the east of the church. The area around the priory contains fishponds and traces of earlier tofts and crofts (farm enclosures). The main complex has been converted into an outdoor centre for visiting educational groups.

Source:

White, Robert (2002) The Yorkshire Dales. A Landscape Through Time. Ilkley: Great Northern Books [‘The monasteries’ pp56-62]