The last monks of worcester cathedral priory

Abstract

This paper traces the history of the Benedictine community of St Mary’s Cathedral Priory, Worcester, from 1534 until its surrender in 1540, with the aim of determining the number and identity of the monks of Worcester at the time of the dissolution. No deed of surrender survives for the priory that would record the names of the monks, and it is argued here that previous studies have underestimated the size of the conventual community during its final days. Using pension lists as well as a hitherto unstudied document preserved in Bishop Bell’s Liber Visitationis, a more accurate figure for the convent can be offered and the fortunes of many of the monks in the years after the dissolution determined.