Geoff Gillham : Farleigh Priory - From Foundation to Dissolution
Geoff Gillham : Farleigh Priory - From Foundation to Dissolution

4pm Sunday 18 October 2026

Farleigh Priory, near Bath, was founded in or about the year 1125 by an Anglo-Norman noblewoman, Maud (or Matilda) de Bohun, and her son, Humphrey de Bohun. They founded it as a Cluniac house, a Benedictine monastery affiliated to Lewes Priory in Sussex, which was in turn linked to the Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, France. So, who were the Bohun family; how did they come to Wiltshire; why the link to Cluny; and, perhaps most importantly, why found a Priory in the first place? Drawing wherever possible on primary sources, this talk will suggest some answers, and will trace how the link to Cluny, a source of strength in the 1100s and 1200s, thereafter became a weakness that the Crown and local magnates exploited. The talk will then look at how events unfolded in the 1520s and 1530s; how the last Prior of Farleigh, Lewis Brecknock, was complicit in the destruction of his Priory; and how Thomas Cromwell's principal agent, Richard Layton, used Farleigh as a stepping stone to attack Lewes Priory, the head house of the Cluniac Order in England and Wales. The talk will end with a note on the last years of Prior Brecknock, and a surprise discovery.

Geoff Gillham is an independent researcher and former diplomat with a life-long passion for history, and a particular interest in Tudor England. His published work includes The Farm of the Monks (2017), a history of Monkton Manor, Broughton Gifford, and a journal article (2024), Mistress Longe and Master Stephen: a businesswoman navigates mid-Tudor London, that explores some unexpected connections of a Wiltshire clothier family. Geoff first came across Farleigh Priory while researching Monkton Manor: the Priory held that manor from its foundation through to the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536.




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The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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