Lived In A Tomb For Two Years | Bridgetown Priory

Bridgetown Priory was founded sometime after 1202 and before 1216 on land donated to the Augustinians by Alexander fitz Hugh. It was colonized with monks from Newtown Abbey, in County Meath. It was dedicated to Saint Mary of the Bridge. It is likely that around 1219 fitz Hugh's lands and his patronage of the church passed to the Roches of Castletownroche, through the marriage of Synolda fitz Hugh. The monks owned land on either side of the river, and two timber bridges existed to allow them to cross, neither of which are extant today, though foundation stones are still visible on the south bank of the river. In a Henrician survey, the value of Bridgetown priory was considered to be among the most valuable in the diocese, second only to that of the Cistercian priory at Abbeymahon.Following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, Bridgetown was officially dissolved between 1540 and 1541.Following dissolution, the monastery was finally suppressed in 1546.By this point the priory, consisting of "a church with belfry, dormitory, hall, buttery, kitchen, cloister, and cellar, wit divers [sic] other chambers", was in ruinous condition.

Sources differ in their account of what happened next: According to one account, the priory was surrendered to Sir Henry Sidney between 1576 and 1577, and was abandoned shortly afterwards - sometime between 1585 and 1600.These reports continue to claim that in 1595 Bridgetown was granted to Lodowick Bryskett, secretary to the Lord President of Munster to hold for fifty years - though by 1614, a survey carried by William Lyon, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, found that the priory was jointly owned by Lord Roche and Sir Daniel O'Brien.

According to a contradictory account, the Roches reclaimed the monastery in 1577, with it remaining under their control until 1592, and during this time the monks remained resident in the priory. By this account, the priory was seized by Sir Robert Cecil, before a Ladowich Brysketh (presumably the same person as Ludovick Briskett in the other account) was granted the priory and its lands in 1592. In 1597, the priory was supposedly bought by Edmund Spenser as a gift for his son.Spenser might have acquired it from Bryskett, who was a very old friend of his.

#history #grave #strange #cemetery

[Cathidee]

The 1600s is amazing enough but the history from the 1400s just blows me away. How well cared for this beautiful priory is. The craftsmanship is absolutely fascinating Sue!

[nrpittard]

Beautiful! Wouldn't you love to go back in time for a bit to see what life was like then.

[marierowe]

I'm a history nut .I love things like this .we should learn about the past it's so important

[John-wgxw]

Thanks Sue for taking us though there. It's just so old the sheer amount of stones to build that is mind blowing.

[cemeteryvisits]

Very beautiful Sue 👍 you all always find the best places 👍 truly excellent ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[jodouglas]

Another stunning place so full of history
I sensing tranquility from the spirits there
Just beautiful ❤

[ShelArmstrong]

Lovely video again sue amazing take care 👍

[jan]

Not only do I love your videos but I absolutely love your accent 🙂

[terrybarnhill]

Sue I really enjoy your videos and especially you done one with your husband with what they call I guess a ghost box would love to see some more of that cuz I definitely believe in ghosts this is Terry and Wichita Kansas USA be safe and thank you for all that you and your husband do as far as the videos go so they're wonderful

[SandraBugler-vqco]

You are so lucky to live where you have so much history at your feet. Beautiful stonework. Hard to believe its still standing. Thanks Sue for another great story.

[cathycollazo]

Thank you Sue, you are brilliant. Thank you so much for making it possible for me to see the most beautiful graves I have ever seen. God bless you in all that you do. 😘🌹🌺💕👍🏼🇵🇷🇺🇲

[beckiturbeville]

That place is really cool, imagine how beautiful is was in it's day. I can see the people who were there walking around. Thanks for sharing that beautiful place. Makes me want to really visit Ireland. It's in my bucket list.

[hazel]

Sue you are too brave for your own health! Don’t be climbing unsafe stairs, I’m glad they were walled off! What an amazing place. Maybe the lady who lived there was mentally ill and we know what institutions were like back then. The villagers might have wanted to protect her from that.

[janetslicer]

One of your top three Sue! Absolutely takes me back to roaming the countryside with my Dad in 1981 before having to go up into Northern Ireland where it was bad. I love Ireland so so much. Can't wait to see it again. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ♥️ 🇮🇪

[Corgis]

Breathtaking and massive. Can just visualize the nuns and monks walking thru their respective portions of the priority. As far as the lady with her two cats back in 1830, that is difficult to imagine how inclement the weather would have been at times during the 2 + years she lived there. Wonder where she is buried. RIP to all.

[beckysteffka]

The ruins are just stunning, Sue, and the monuments inside are so so interesting, great history lession! It's hard to imagine that it's as old as it is, I would have loved to see it back in the day, wouldn't you?

[pamelawooten]

Such a beautiful and historical place, Sue. Absolutely love this. Thank you Sue!

[paulsalmo]

Yaaay, Bridgetown Priory 😁brings back lots of memories walking through these magnificent ruins to fish the river behind.
When doing a piece to camera here for a tv fishing programme, I couldn’t for the life of me remember the benefactors name but 30 yrs on now I’ll never forget the name of William Fitzhugh Roche 😂😂 can’t wait !

[spacecowgurl]

I can't imagine how you must feel walking through such ancient times. It's already almost overwhelming in the beauty of it all. I can't thank you enough for this wonderful journey ❤️ 🎉

[paulsalmo]

The river Awbeg joins the Munster Blackwater just behind the Abbey, there’s a very deep salmon pool infront of a magnificent limestone cliff face formed by a huge stone croy reputedly built by the monks to facilitate their salmon catching. I bet they didn’t use fishing rods though hahaha!