Holy Ground - Nottingham's Churches

Mediaeval Nottingham was served by Lenton Priory and three parish churches. There were also many religious houses and hospitals in the town.

The churches were a focus of worship and prayer. The town's religious guilds would also be centred here. Felons and others would seek sanctuary in the churches and religious houses.

St Mary's

The church of St Mary the Virgin is the largest in Nottingham. It is also the oldest. Founded in Saxon times, it served the English borough and dominated the surrounding area, now the Lace Market. Originally a Saxon minster, it was largely rebuilt in the fifteenth century in the Perpendicular style. Dominated by its square tower, it is a highpoint of mediaeval architecture in the whole county. The decorative design reflects the wealthy merchants and townspeople who worshipped at this church.

St Peter's

St Peter's church was founded after the Conquest to serve the Norman borough along with St Nicholas'. The present church was built largely between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. It has a tall, thin spire, battlements and buttresses and represents the style of a prosperous village church.

As St Mary's was the only church to hold its own land, St Peter's and St Nicholas' were quite poor.

St Nicholas'

This church was built in the Middle Ages to serve the Norman borough along with St Peter's. It was the poorest of the churches, relying only on tithes and offerings. Little of the medieval church survives as it was largely destroyed during a Civil War skirmish in 1643 and it was rebuilt during straitened times in a largely austere style.

Lenton Priory

The priory was situated two miles west of Nottingham and was a Cluniac religious house. It was founded by William Peveril in 1103-14. It was the most powerful ecclesiastical body and a major landowner. In 1109 it was given the right to appoint the priests of the three churches in Nottingham and derived a lot of income from them as well as from other chapels and hospitals in the town. Other rights it enjoyed included:

• Rights to hold an annual fair in November, granted in 1164
• A tenth of all game caught in the royal forests of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, including harts, hinds, bucks, does, wild boars and hares
• Rights to quarry in Nottingham Forest in 1229 for stone to repair the church tower.

The priory was very wealthy and was superior to all the parish churches.

Other religious houses

There were a number of other religious houses in Nottingham.

• The Carmelite or White Friars were established by Reginald Grey before 1271 on a site at St James' Street near the Saturday Market
• The Franciscan or Grey Friars were granted a site by King Henry III in 1230 at Broad Marsh; their stone church, complete with dormitory, chapter house and a wharf on a conduit off the river Leen, was finished in 1310.

Hospitals

Nottingham also had a number of hospitals which were run by religious orders. These were situated outside the town walls.

• The hospital of St John the Baptist was north of the town and was founded before 1208; it generated money from a windmill, arable land, meadows and rent from property in Nottingham and land in Stanton on the Wolds and Kirkby in Ashfield
• The hospital of the Holy Sepulchre was first recorded in 1267 and had land and a cemetery
• The leper hospital of St Leonard is mentioned in a number of grants in the thirteenth century
• The hospital of St Michael is mentioned in a grant of 1335
• The Hospital of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary or Plumptre's Hospital was founded by John Plumptre between 1390 and 1414 to look after the poor and widows.

At Nottinghamshire Archives

Nottinghamshire Archives holds:

• Churchwardens' account and rate books for St Mary's, 1582-1593, with gaps (reference: CA 4611-4615, CA 7468)
• Register of charitable gifts to St Mary's parish and leases made by trustees, 1524-1890 (reference: PR 2077)
• Copy of a charter of William Peveril granting lands to Lenton Priory, including Lenton and Radford, 1316 (reference: DD/P/48/8/1)
• Other records relating to Lenton Priory, including deeds, agreements and disputes (references: CA various)
• Grants to St John's Hospital: 1255 (reference: CA 4770; this grant also makes reference to St Leonard's Hospital) and 1550 (reference: CA 4593). Both St John's and St Leonard's Hospitals are also mentioned in a grant of land to John Samian in 1382 (reference: CA 1282)
• A grant to William de Amyas in 1335 mentions St Michael's Hospital (reference: CA 1262)
• A grant to John Plumptre in 1390 makes reference to Plumptre's Hospital (reference: CA 1291).

Illustrations

Top right: picture of St Peter's church (reference: X/PR/11/5). See this picture in more detail here [PDF 345KB]

Middle right: picture of St Nicholas' church (reference: X/PR/11/5). See this picture in more detail here [PDF 360KB]

Bottom right: picture of Plumptre Hospital as it appeared in 1750 (reference: X/PR/9/21). See this picture in more detail here [PDF 1929KB]