History
The settlement of Hatfield was well established by the time of the Norman Conquest and the Domesday Book lists the presence of a Saxon church. At one time a royal manor of Harold I, it fell under the possession of William I. Popular for hunting in the neighbouring forest, its royal patronage led to its becoming known as Hatfield Regis.
The Benedictine monastery itself was founded by Aubrey de Vere II, Earl of Oxford in or before 1135, one of the five of that order to be founded in Essex. The monastery was a daughter house of the Breton monastery of St. Melanie in Rennes, and was dedicated to "God, St Mary, and St. Melanius Redonensis". The original deed, now in the possession of Trinity College, Cambridge is unusual in that instead of a seal it has a "short black-shafted knife".
Hatfield Broadoak, Essex, lay next to Hatfield Regis, and "Broadoak" was often replaced with "Regis" in reference to the priory. The confusion was enhanced by a dispute over tithes from the royal manor of Hatfield granted to the Augustinian canons of St. Botolph, Colchester, by King Henry I. The dispute was settled in 1194.
John Lydgate, the poet, was elected prior in 1423 but resigned the office a few years later to concentrate on his travels and writing.
Read more about this topic: Hatfield Regis Priory
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