Ashridge Priory was a medieval abbey of the Brothers of Penitence. A priory is an ecclesiastical circumscription run by a prior. ...

The seventeenth century historian Polydore Vergil said that Edmund (son of Richard, Earl of Cornwall who had a palace there) founded in 1283^[1] a monastery at Ashridge, Hertsfordshire, for a rector and twenty canons of "a new order not before seen in England, and called the Boni homines".^[2] It was finished in 1285. Polydore Vergil or Virgil (c. ...

At the foundation of the abbey the Earl of Cornwall donated, among other things, a phial of Christ's blood, in honour of which the convent adjacent to the abbey was founded. This deposit proved fruitful for the abbey and convent, as pilgrims from all over Europe flocked to see the phial of blood. The abbey grew quite wealthy as a result.^{[citation needed]} Christ is the English translation of the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ... Monument to pilgrims in Burgos, Spain This article is on religious pilgrims. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ...

One such visitor was King Edward I. In 1290 he held parliament at the abbey while he spent Christmas in Pitstone.^{[citation needed]} Edward I (17 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), popularly known as Longshanks[1] and Hammer of the Scots,[2] achieved fame as the monarch who conquered Wales and who kept Scotland under English domination during his lifetime. ... Christmas is an annual holiday that marks the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. ... Pitstone (formerly Pightelsthorn) is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. ...

However in 1538 , during the Dissolution of the Monasteries the "blood" was publicly declared to be nothing more than honey with colouring added.^{[citation needed]} The last rector was Thomas Waterhouse, who surrendered the house to Henry VIII. The building ceased to be used as an abbey shortly afterwards. dissolution see Dissolution. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other meanings see Henry VIII (disambiguation). ...

The suppressed college was granted first to the king's sister Elizabeth Tudor.^[3] It later became the private residence of Princess Elizabeth, younger daughter of King Henry VIII. It was here that she was arrested in 1552, under suspicion of treason.^[4] Elizabeth Tudor (July 2, 1492 – September 14, 1495) was the second daughter and fourth child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York. ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ... For other meanings see Henry VIII (disambiguation). ... Traitor redirects here. ...

It later went to the Egertons, later created Earls and Dukes of Bridgewater. The church was destroyed under Elizabeth I; but in 1800 the last duke was living in a portion of the old college. He sold the great hall piecemeal, and pulled down the cloisters. The title Earl of Bridgewater has been created twice in the Peerage of England. ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ...

References

1. ^ "according to Tanner", from the Boni Homines article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
2. ^ POLYDORE VERGIL, Angl. Histor., lib. XVI (in ed. 1649, p. 402), cited in the Boni Homines article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
3. ^ Boni Homines article in the Catholic Encyclopedia
4. ^ MSN Encarta

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.