Dunstable Friary

For the Augustinian priory in the town, see Dunstable Priory.

Dunstable Friary was a Dominican friary in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. It was located to the west of Watling Street, between the present-day High Street South and the road that is called Friary Field.

The "Black Friars" came to Dunstable in 1259.[1] The Augustine canons of Dunstable Priory, who themselves were facing economic hardship at the time, were not welcoming towards the Dominicans.[2] The prioress of Markyate, though her own house was not a wealthy one, helped the friars with a dole of loaves until their church should be finished; a kindness ill-repaid, for they insisted on the continuance of the gift after the immediate necessity was passed, and when the nuns were almost as poor as themselves.[1]

The grounds were surrendered in 1539.[3]

Parts of the site were excavated in the 1920s.[4] From 1965 to 1967, the Manshead Archaeological Society carried out excavations of the monastic buildings, during which the Dunstable Swan Jewel was discovered.[5][6][7] Parts of the church were excavated by the Department of the Environment in 1972 and by Bedfordshire County Council in 1988.[8][9]

## See also[edit]

* List of monastic houses in Bedfordshire

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Friaries: The Dominicans of Dunstable | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
2. ^ Garrod, Hugh. "Dunstable Friary", Medieval Dunstable
3. ^ Historic England. "Monument No. 359864". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 8 October 2015.
4. ^ T. W. Bagshawe and A. R. Martin, "The Dominican Priory of Dunstable, with an account of some recent excavations on the site", Journal of the British Archaeological Association, n.s. 33, 321-342, 1927.
5. ^ C. L. Matthews, "Excavations on the site of the Dominican Friary, Dunstable 1965", Manshead Magazine, 16, 1966.
6. ^ C. L. Matthews, "Dominican Friary Excavation - Season 1966", Journal of the Manshead Archaeological Society, 17, 1967.
7. ^ C. L. Matthews, "The 1967 Excavations on the site of the Dominican Friary, Dunstable", Journal of the Manshead Archaeological Society, 18, 20-23 and 30, 1968.
8. ^ C. L. Matthews, "Friary Field Excavations 1972", Journal of the Manshead Archaeological Society, 22, 19, 1973.
9. ^ R. Clark and A. Maull, "Dunstable Friary Excavations 1988", Journal of the Manshead Archaeological Society, 29, 26-28, 1989.

## External links[edit]

The Medieval Dunstable project website has sections on Friary History and Friary Archaeology.

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