The Wayward Nuns of Baysdale Abbey

This rickety cairn seems to teeter precariously over Baysdale but it has stood for at least half a century. A former resident once informed me that it was constructed by Roland Close, an estate worker and renowned local archaeologist who grew up in Shepherd’s House, the ‘last’ house in the dale. Close would pass by this way on his journey to school in Kildale.

Yet long before Roland Close, Baysdale was the residence to a more curious group: the nuns of a small Cistercian priory at the top of the dale.¹British-history.ac.uk. (2022). Houses of Cistercians nuns: Priory of Basedale | British History Online. [online] Available at: <a href=”” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”></a> [Accessed 8 Jun. 2022].²NYM HER No: 2488/7008/17667. Between 1189 and 1536, this remote establishment was home to about twelve nuns and their prioress, all hailing from wealthy families. They were, by all accounts, a rather unruly lot. Records suggest they were often disobedient, with one prioress reprimanded for her “excess and perpetual misdeeds.”

Baysdale was actually the third site for this troubled nunnery. It was initially established at Hutton Lowcross, where the nuns quickly fell into disgrace and conflict with their neighbours. The priory was then relocated to Thorpe, near Stokesley, a place that eventually became known as Nunthorpe. Yet, their behaviour did not improve, and soon they were moved again, this time to the isolation of Baysdale—a classic case of being hidden away.

One wonders what these nuns were truly up to. In 1307, an order was issued for the removal of Prioress Joan de Percy due to her “dilapidation of the goods of the house, and her excesses and perpetual and notorious misdeeds.” The following year, the archbishop banished Joan to the convent of Sinningthwaite “for disobedience” at Baysdale.

In 1308, the archbishop wrote again, this time concerning the “miserable” state of one of the nuns, Agnes de Thormondby. He had learned that, on three occasions, she had been “deceived by the caresses of the flesh.” Agnes left the order but eventually returned, repentant and humble.

The final blow to this wayward community came from Henry VIII, who ordered the dissolution of the nunnery. And so, the tale of Baysdale’s nuns came to an end.

• 1
  British-history.ac.uk. (2022). Houses of Cistercians nuns: Priory of Basedale | British History Online. [online] Available at: <a href=”” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”></a> [Accessed 8 Jun. 2022].
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  NYM HER No: 2488/7008/17667.