I was on a walk with Colin last Monday and it appears that there was a Greyfriars monastry on St Faiths Lane, which runs parallel to Prince of Wales Road. But who were the Greyfriars?
The Greyfriars were Franciscan friars, a Roman Catholic order founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209, named for the grey clothing they wore. Arriving in England in 1224, they were known for taking vows of poverty, living simply in towns, preaching, and relying on charity. They were highly influential until Henry VIII's Dissolution.
Key facts about the Grey Friars:
Order Name: They were officially known as the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans).
Arrival & Lifestyle: The first nine friars landed in Dover in 1224, quickly establishing themselves in cities like Canterbury, London, and Oxford. They focused on serving the poor and living in poverty, often settling in crowded, urban areas.
Appearance: They were nicknamed "Grey Friars" because of the grey habits (cloaks) they wore, which were often tied with a knotted rope.
Role in Society: Unlike monks who lived in secluded monasteries, friars were mendicants who lived in the community. They were preachers and often educated, with some becoming influential scholars. Mendicant friars are members of Catholic religious orders founded in the 13th century (e.g., Franciscans, Dominicans) who vowed poverty, lived in cities, and survived by begging or donations rather than owning land.
Famous Connections: King Henry III was a patron to them in the 1230s/40s. Notably, the Greyfriars in Leicester is where King Richard III was buried after the Battle of Bosworth.
Dissolution: Their houses were suppressed and confiscated by King Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s.
They established numerous friaries throughout England, with many locations today still holding the name "Greyfriars" or "Grayfriars”.
This article goes into a little more detail regarding the Greyfriars monastry at existed in the area of St Faiths Lane:
https://eaareports.org.uk/publication/report120/
