Community: Littlemore
Alternate Names: S. Mary and S. Nicholas or Sandford Priory
Dedication: S. Mary and S. Nicholas / Edmund
Foundation Information: During the reign of King Stephen, Robert de Sandford, a knight of the Abbot of Abdingdon donated the land holding of Cherley to dedication of Littlemore.
Notable Heads: Maud, c. 1150
Amice, occurs 1219 and after 1221
Isabel de Henred, elected 1230
Isabel de Turribus, occurs 1265, died 1266
Amabilia di Saunford
, elected 1266, died 1274
Amice de Saunford, elected 1274, died 1277
Maud, elected 1277
Maud de Gloucester, died 1293
Emma de Waneting, elected 1293
Alice de Abendon
occurs 1303 and 1326
Agatha
occurs 1334 and 1335
Agatha de Oxford
died 1340
Maud de la Rye, appointed 1340, occurs 1343
Asselina Bulbek, appointed 1349
Maud Paunesfot, occurs 1374 and after 1392
Joan, occurs 1403
Agnes Pydyngtone
occurs 1409 and 1415
Alice Wakeley/Wakelyn
, occurs 1445 and 1457
Christina, occurs 1462 to 1489
Katherine Wells, 1507 and 1518
Notable Members/Residents/Guests: One of the nuns was a daughter of the founder. / In 1445 the community had 3 lay boarders. It is rarely mentioned after 1245.
Population Counts: There were more than 7 in 1445 and 6 in 1517.
Incorporated By: The priory was suppressd in 1525 for Wolsey's college at Oxford.
Visitations: In 1245 the community made a plea to the Pope for help in repairing the church. There was a visitation led by the bishop of the dicose (?) , in 1445, and again in 1517 to investigate the lax practices of the community and it's poverty. The accusations of laxity included allowing the dormitories and church to be in disrepair, eating meat daily, and that the Prioress drank with monks.
Patrons/Benefactors: After 1240 The Knights Templar became patrons and continued in that role until the end of the community in 1545. Benefactors included the founder and his family, the Pope, and Henry III, who in 1232 gave them the right to send a horse for fuel. The Pope provided indulgences to aid in building S. Mary and S. Nicolas.
Secular Political Affiliations: A boarder was supplied by Henry III from 1220-1222.
Assets Property: The community owned rural land in Oxford, Berkshire, and Cambridge. The community was generally poor, and in 1244 they petitioned parliament for rights to fish and haul wood. In 1524 their income was valued at over 33 pounds. /adversary chapter house /
Income: Income was derived from urban rents in Oxford. After 1435 they collected tithes and rents from schools in Oxford. In 1535 the community's net income was valued at over 141 pounds[this needs verification].
Charitable Work: Schools inside School Street, town, were rented out (see rent rolls).
Litigations: A boarder was supplied by Henry III from 1220-1222.
Early Documents: [1]Records the donation of land to the community by its founder; see
Dugdale's Monasticon Volume 4
, 490ff.
Art Artifacts: The seal is a pointed oval, representing a tabernacle or shrine with closed doors; below in adoration, a figure with a pastoral staff between two swinging censers. Legend:—
S' COE P'ORIE SCE MARIE ET SCI NICHI DE LITLEMORA . . . . . . ANNO DNI MCCCXVIII.
Manuscript Sources: Oxford, Bodleian MS Oxon Chartulary a8, no. 46.
Published Primary Sources:
Rotuli Hundredorum Temp.Hen.3 et Edw.1 in turr,Lond.et in curia receptae scaccarii West.asservati
Volume 2, Part 2:723a.
Secondary Sources:
Women Religious: The Founding of English Nunneries After the Norman Conquest
Medieval Religious Houses in England and Wales
, 214.
Dugdale's Monasticon Volume 4
Nunnery of Littlemore, sometimes called Sandford, in Oxfordshire
The Victoria History of the County of Oxford
2:75-77 available online at [Victoria County History]
Miscellaneous Information: The daughter of the founder, Robert de Sandford, seems to have been received into the house.
