(NT 95540271) Holystone Priory (Remains of). (1)

Augustinian: Nuns or Canonesses. (Houses which existed until AD 1500). (2)

Priory of Augustinian Nuns, or Canonesses at Holystone. (3)

'Hollystone ... At present there is nothing to be seen of the Nunnery but the rubbish of the walls over-grown with grass and the little church is sunk so deep in the ground that the tops of the doors are almost level with the surface of the earth and so out of repair that the parson has only a heap of stones for a pulpit. It is preached at quarterly by the vicar'. (4)

Although Dugdale states this to have been a Benedictine nunnery, most authorities agree that it was an Augustinian. The date of foundation and the founder are not known, but a petition, undated, from the nuns to an un-named king of England suggests the Nunnery to have been founded during Alexander I, King of Scotland's reign, 1107-1124. It was certainly in existence in the reign of his brother and heir, David I, 1124-1152. As the lordship of Redesdale belonged to the Umfravilles the Nunnery was probably the work of Odinel de Umfraville I, or his predecessor Robert.
In 1213 the nuns entered into an agreement with Helias, rector of Old Roxburgh, from which it appears they founded a grange in Roxburgh at a place called Hetun. In 1312 Richard de Umfraville is mentioned as the founder of the convent. He may have refounded or largely endowed it, in fact. In this year, the nuns had been reduced to such poverty from the Border wars, that Bishop Kellawe of Durham granted them the chapel Harbottle and the church of Corsenside. The last important endowment was Alwinton church in 1375 appropriated by the Bishop of Durham on Pope Gregory XI's authorisation. There were many other smaller gifts made from time to time. In 1944 the patronage passed from the Umfravilles to the Tailbois. In 1535 the yearly revenue of the house was given as £11.5s.7d and it therefore came under the act 27 HEN VIII cap. 28 for the dissolution of religious houses with revenues of less than £200 pa (List of Prioresses c.1230-1432).
Nothing certain is known about the buildings. They lay immediately to the south of the choir of the parish church and it would appear as if this choir had been used as the convent chapel. That the nunnery was so situated is shown from the fact that the graveyard is on the north side of the church, and the land between church and Holystone burn is very suitable for the purpose. On it can be seen foundations of comparatively modern cottages grouped in a manner very suggestive of the plan of the Angustinian nunnery at Iona.
The connection of the nuns with their fellow Augustinians the canons of Hexham is architecturally evident from the fragment of late 13th century stone panelling built into the churchyard wall. The conventual buildings seem to have been destroyed after 1541 to provide material for the 'new work' at Harbottle castle. (5)

Of the Benedictine Priory of Holystone there remains today scarcely a vestige. Only in the roadways in some part of the village, more especially near the church, large stones are visible, evidently old foundations, from which we may infer that the church was within the precincts of the Priory. An arch in the mill stable may be part of the domestic buildings of the Priory. One or two place names in the district are direct connections with the site, 'The Nuns Close', a field on the adjoining farm of Low Farnham and 'St Mungo's Well' on the south bank of the Holystone burn. (6)

The sisterhood of the Benedictine Priory numbered from six to eight. The remains consist of the end wall of a cattle-byre in which the outlines of a pointed arch, built up, may be traced. (7)

Holystone, Northumberland, Augustinian Priory Founded pre-1124. Dissolved 1539. (8)

The portion of pointed arch and springer of a doorway built into the end wall of what was formerly the mill stable appears to be late 13th or early 14th century.
Two sculptured figure heads placed above a doorway in the farmbuildings at High Farnham are said to have come from Holystone nearly a century ago. They are probably from a secular building formed out of the ruins of the Nunnery. It is doubtful if they are pre-Reformation date. (9)

At the Dissolution there were eight religous at Holystone. (10)

The remains of the doorway referred to by authorities (6)(7) and (9) are incorporated into the west wall of a house called The Kennels. The fragment of arch now remaining is segmental in form and shows no ecclesiastical characteristics. It appears to be part of a type of wide arch often found in farm buildings and used to span openings wide enough to admit carts and other vehicles. The antiquity of this fragment must therefore be considered extremely doubtful.
The north wall of this building has its lower part (up to 2.5m high) constructed of large well dressed squarish blocks. It is quite different from the remainder of the building and of others in the vicinity. Masonry of this type has been previously encountered in a 12th and 13th century context and it may be that this wall is the remains of one of the converted buildings of the Nunnery or constructed of material from its site.
The level ground south of the church is almost certainly the site of the main conventual block. The only remains now visible are those of cottage foundations, probably of fairly recent date. One row of foundations, probably of three or four dwellings is parallel to the axis of the church and some 20m distant. This position suggests that the cottages were built on the site of the southern range of conventual buildings, with the intervening space representing the cloister garth.
The only other features that could be associated with the Nunnery are incorporated into the south wall of the house called The Kennels. They are not in situ and consist of fragments of window surrounds, grave covers and columns. (11)

As described by F1. (12)

The features built into the south wall of The Kennels, mentioned in report of 27/5/57, along with a large millstone which stands at the west corner of the building, were dug up from a depth of 2-3ft on the land approximately 30m to the east, in 1929 (a) and this site is known locally as that of the priory mill.
A modern conduit carries water immediately to the south of The Kennels from Lady's Well (NT 90 SE 19) which is thought to have had Roman origins, and a corn mill has existed on this site until quite recently. This suggests that this was the probable site of the mill associated with the priory. (13)

Geophysical survey of land around the church detected a number of anomalies but these mostly appear to correspond with wall foundations of cottages depicted on the 1848 Tithe Map and other structures. None of the anomalies is thought likely to reflect features associated with the priory. (14)

NT 955 026. Holystone Priory (site of). Scheduled No ND/296. (15a)