Autumn Talk – The Cistercian Nunnery of Stixwould, its Archaeology and History

Founded by Lucy countess of Chester, possibly as early as 1135, Stixwould Priory is part of the remarkable concentration of monastic houses that cluster along the Witham Valley. The priory has an intriguing history with the Bishop’s inspection reports noting that the nuns were sub-letting their accommodation and, ‘some of the boarders said to be of suspicious character . . . especially one Janet Barton’.

Dave Start will present the story of what little we know of Stixwould Priory from its foundation c.1135 to its unusual three-stage suppression between 1536 and 1539.