Despite Henry VIII’s systematic destruction of the monasteries the nave survived in tact allowing the local people to continue to  worship there:

What a debt we owe, however, to Prior Moone, who, with great foresight, made pastoral provision for the 200 or so people who worshipped in the nave by securing that nave intact for them as their new local church! So, with, new clergy, a new English Bible, new forms of worship and a new east wall blocking off the now ruined choir, the people quietly continued to worship and trust in God. *

Today the Priory Church is a thriving Church of England parish church.

The Priory Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert

*From the Bolton Abbey guidebook.

10 Comments CherryPie on Sep 23rd 2011

10 Responses to “The Priory Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert”

  1. Glad it survived. THat is one impressive doorway Cherie

  2. jameshigham says:

    That was an appalling thing Henry did. Wonder if he’s in heaven or hell.

  3. Diane says:

    Interesting stuff again Cherry, my Anglican parish priest always maintained that Henry VIII did not establish the Church of England, but merely made himself head, of an already established Anglican Church. Apparently the church was established by St Cuthbert and he and his flock secretly practised their religion away from the Catholicism that already ravaged the country. Henry, hearing of this, conveniently, made himself head of St Cuthbert’s church so that he could carry on with his adulterous behaviour…A bad man indeed, who has left a stain, on the already established Church of England, albeit a secret worship, of the same god, but with different ethics!

    Off topic Cherry, I do hope you are well and thought I’d let you know that I have booked for us to stay at The Coach House at Crookham, in October to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We have been allocated room 5, which, I am assured by Leona, will be suitable for our needs. I mentioned your name and she spoke warmly of you, so it sounds like we are in for a treat!…Di..xxx

    • CherryPie says:

      Oooh! I am excited for you, I hope you have a great time there. I know you will be looked after well :-) I can’t wait to hear what you get up to when you are there xx

  4. Diane says:

    On reflection, Cherry, I think i may have got my information wrong, I’m almost certain that St Augustine esablished the first Anglican church, not St Cuthbert….I’ll have to do a bit of research to correct my information on your item about Bolton Abbey…Di..xx

  5. J_on_tour says:

    On my travels around the UK, I have found a few flaws in the policies of Henry VIII, how he allowed certain buildings to survive …. because they didn’t meet the criteria !! It seems that he was a little out of his depth at times with the the destruction policy at times.

    • CherryPie says:

      I wonder if it is because certain people were in his favour and therefore their properties were allowed to survive. Those with influence, corruption etc.