We love a good story about rebellious nuns.
During a 2015 archaeological dig near Oxford, England, excavators found 92 bodies buried in and around a priory that had been dismantled during the reign of Henry VIII. Observers believed these were deviant burials and connected to the nuns who populated one of the worst nunneries ever recorded.
The Priory of Benedictine nuns at Sandford had a longstanding reputation as a place of ill repute when it was visited by Dr. John Derby on behalf of the Bishop of Lincoln. Derby was horrified to find the dormitory in disrepair and the nuns eating meat every day. Money was so tight the nuns had sold most of their furniture and were now sleeping two to a bed. During interviews, Derby learned that the nuns entertained male visitors, including at dinner and overnight. The fact that the visitors were male relatives, monks, and chaplains didn’t seem to ease the scandal any. The nuns also levied cross complaints about the others work ethics. The nuns were forbidden to have male company or to continue sleeping in pairs.
A later scandal involved Katherine Wells, a prioress who pawned the priory’s silver to raise money for her daughter’s dowry and leased tenements and pocketed the money. The current bishop arrived to set things aright and found the priory in worse conditions. Wells had been selling wood from the priory’s lands and at least three of the nuns were found cavorting with men. Eventually the priory was closed and the nuns released from their vows.
So who was in the graves? Hard to say, but archaeologists identified male, female, and children’s bodies. One body of a female was buried face down, holding the body of a 6-month old infant. A prone burial was usually reserved for sinners or witches, but could have been conducted at the request of the deceased, who wished to show penitence or humility.
Stories of rebellious nuns aren’t uncommon. What happened here?
