How to look for records of... Religious houses and their lands c.1000-1530

How can I view the records covered in this guide?

How many are online?

  • None

1. Why use this guide?

This guide will help you to find records, now held at The National Archives, of religious houses such as:

  • monasteries
  • nunneries
  • priories
  • friaries
  • hospitals or colleges

The National Archives’ records on religious orders are predominantly financial or legal.

For Cardinal Wolsey’s dissolution of the monasteries 1524–1528 please read our Dissolution of the monasteries guide.

For monastic seals read our Seals research guide.

It is best to start with published and printed sources before searching for original documents. These publications not only contain histories of many religious houses but often provide National Archives document references and suggest places to start your search.

Consult the following publications held at The National Archives library (see also the further reading section):

  • Medieval Religious Houses, England and Wales by D Knowles and R N Hadcock (Longman 2nd ed, 1971). This lists all monasteries, friaries, nunneries, hospitals and colleges with their dates, an outline of their history and further bibliographical information
  • The Heads of Religious Houses, England and Wales, 940–1216 by D Knowles, C N L Brooke and V C London (Cambridge University Press, 1972) provides information about abbots and priors
  • The Victoria County History  covers most English counties and has more detailed histories of religious houses. Its footnotes can often provide useful document references
  • Monasticon Anglicanum by Sir William Dugdale, 6 vols (Record Commission, 1817–1830) prints a selection of charters and includes engravings of monastic buildings

If you have a document reference, you can request the document using Discovery, our catalogue (either to view the original document by visiting The National Archives at Kew or paying for copies to be sent to you). If you do not have document references, you can search our catalogue using keywords and dates to try finding some. Search using a range of keywords (separating each one with OR, AND or NOT) as religious houses have often been described in multiple ways. For example, search for Quarr AND convent OR abbey.

You can also use the advanced search of our catalogue to help structure your search. You can restrict your search by using the ‘search within’ option and entering some of the suggested departments or series mentioned in the sections below. For further search tips see our Discovery help pages.

A catalogue search, however, will not find everything. In some cases, your only hope of finding a record will be to use the calendars and indexes held at our reading rooms in Kew.

3. Founders and foundation charters

Charters confirm the grants of, for example, lands or privileges. For a time these would have been, in effect, a monastery’s title deeds.

Kings, as well as founding monasteries themselves, often confirmed the foundation charters of other religious houses.

Original foundation charters for monasteries rarely survive; most of the texts have been incorporated into later copies.

To identify relevant charters see:

3.1 1199 onwards – the Chancery rolls

From King John’s reign, royal charters of foundation and confirmation are enrolled in the various Chancery rolls. The Crown also issued many inspeximuses validating much earlier grants, some of which are the sole source for the original texts.

Deciding which type of Chancery roll to look at depends on the date and whether it was granted as a letter patent (see Patent rolls) or as a sealed confidential letter (see the Close rolls).

The Cartae Antiquae rolls in C 52 are medieval transcripts of earlier charters (some spurious) and include many foundation and confirmation charters.

3.2 1279 onwards

From 1279 land could only be transferred to the Church after a licence of mortmain had been issued.

Before such a grant was made the Crown issued an inquisition ‘ad quod damnum’ to ensure that its interests would not be prejudiced. These are in C 143 which you can search by keyword.

Inquisitions ‘ad quod damnum‘ from 1485 are filed with Inquisitions ‘post mortem’. These are in C 142 – a separate list of the inquisitions ad quod damnum is available.

Mortmain licences are enrolled on the patent rolls in C 66. To search these use the calendars listed above.

Some payments made for the licences appear on the fine Rolls in C 53. Consult:

Once the licence was finished with it was returned into Chancery and cancelled. Many licences are now among cancelled letters patent in C 266 which you can search by regnal year.

3.3 Papal bulls

Papal bulls confirming monastic foundations can also be useful. From 1198 onwards see Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland: Papal Letter, 1198–1492, 14 vols (HMSO, 1894–1961). (See also the Miscellaneous section below).

4. Estates of the religious orders

Many of the sources described under Foundations also give useful information about endowments.

4.1 Deeds

Cartularies (registers of charters and deeds) are invaluable. Compiled by the monasteries themselves they frequently contain material which is very different from the government charters.

There is a fairly comprehensive list in Medieval Cartularies in Great Britain by R C Davis (Longmans, 1958). The National Archives has a substantial holding but there are many scattered in other public and private collections – search our catalogue and refine your results using the filters.

The Record Commission Transcripts, series II, includes a transcript of the ‘Cartulaire de la Basse Normandie’ (PRO 31/8/140B), a collection of charters granted by English benefactors to the religious houses in Normandy.

4.2 Ancient deeds

These are miscellaneous collections of deeds which contain material created by or relating to religious houses. They are arranged in chronological order and, depending on their age, size and whether they have seals, are organised into various letter codes across several different record series. Typing the keyword term ‘ancient deeds’ into Discovery will bring up all of the relevant series. Alternatively, please consult the table below:

 A = E 40  AA = E 41  AS = E 42  B = E 326
 BB = E 328  BS = E 329  BX = E 327  C = C 146
 CC = C 147  CS = C 148  D = E 210  DD = E 211
 DS = E 212  E = LR 14  EE = LR 15  F = WALE 29
 FF = WALE 30  G = DURH 21  H = PL 29  L = DL 25
 LL = DL 26  LS = DL 27  P = E 354  PP = E 355
 RS = E 213  WAS = E 43

Those series which begin with the letter code ‘B’ contain the largest collection of original deeds and other documents belonging to religious houses, which were inherited by the Crown following the dissolution. The other series, however, should also be consulted.

Many of these series are keyword searchable so try searching for terms relevant to your research combined with the phrase ‘ancient deeds’. For example abbot AND ancient deeds. Restrict your search also by date.

However not all the series are searchable in this way. Therefore if your search is unsuccessful also consult the Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds, 6 vols (HMSO, 1890–1915). There is also a catalogue of Christ Church, Canterbury deeds and charters in E 36/138. Other deeds have been recorded in book form in Augmentation Office Miscellaneous books (E 315/29–54).

4.3 Other records

Rentals and surveys in SC 11 and C 12 contain rent rolls, registers and valuations of the lands of many religious houses. They are described in Public Record Office Lists and Indexes, XXV.

Conventual leases are leases of lands, offices and other profits made by individual religious houses. Both originals and copies, are in:

Court Rolls and related documents of manors owned by monastic houses are in SC 2 and listed in Public Record Office Lists and Indexes, VI. Similar material is in:

  • WARD 2. For the earlier period refer to The 6th Deputy Keepers report; for the later period search WARD 2 by keyword.
  • the Chancery Masters’ Exhibits (C 103-116). These include the Duchess of Norfolk deeds in C 115 and the Court Rolls in C 116.

Manorial accounts and related documents of lands owned by religious houses are in SC 6 and listed in Public Record Office Lists and Indexes, V, VIII, XXXIV, all available in the reading rooms, Kew. The supplementary List and Index of the lands of dissolved religious houses provide a comprehensive list of manors held by each monastery before the Reformation.

5. Royal benefactions to religious houses

Royal charters and monastic cartularies provide information about royal grants of lands, rights, pensions and so on.

Royal pensions to the religious orders paid out by the sheriffs are noted by county in the ‘elemosina constituta’ section of the Pipe rolls in E 372. For further information see our Pipe rolls research guide.

Alms dispensed by monarchs on their travels are noted in the wardrobe books in Exchequer Various Accounts in E 101. See Public Record Office Lists and Indexes XXXV, under ‘Wardrobe and Household’.

Early Liberate rolls in C 62 contain numerous orders for royal gifts. See Rotuli de Liberate ac de Misis et Praestitis, regnante Johanne (ed) T D Hardy (Record Commission, 1844); and Calendars of Liberate Rolls, 1226–1272, 6 vols (1917–64). Grants of wine are in the butlerage accounts in E 101.

6. Taxation

Most religious houses were liable for taxation and some of the larger ones made sizeable contributions to the Exchequer.

From c.1070 many larger houses which held their estates by feudal tenure were subject to feudal levies, particularly military service or scutage. A useful list of quotas in 1166 is in the ‘cartae baronum’ in the Red Book of the Exchequer (E 164/2 with a few original returns in E 198). This is printed in The Red Book of the Exchequer, Vol I (ed) H Hall, (Rolls Series, HMSO 1897).

Material about their later contributions is in:

In 1253 the clergy, including the religious orders, first paid a subsidy to the Crown on the annual values of their benefices: this was repeated in 1288–1291. A record has been preserved in the ‘taxation of Pope Nicholas’ – E 164/13-14. Another copy is in C 270/16 with subsidiary documents in E 179. Use the E179 taxation database to search E 179 by criteria such as place name and type of taxation.

From 1294 clerical subsidies became a regular levy. Records of payments – which were normally tenths – are in the clerical series of E 179. Search for these by diocese on the database. Enrolled accounts of subsidies are in E 359.

6.1 Accounts and returns

Accounts of the temporalities of vacant or forfeited abbeys and monastic bishoprics taken by the Crown until c.1368 are recorded on the Pipe Rolls in E 372.  Subsequently they are in E 364. The Pipe Rolls to the 1220s have been published by the Pipe Roll Society, and there is a useful list of the accounts of temporalities in Public Record Office Lists and Indexes XI, pp 131–40, available in the reading rooms, Kew.

Extents and inquisitions are in several series:

  • up to 1377 they are in E 143. Read the E 143 series description to find out what they can contain
  • after 1377 they are in E 153 and are also in Exchequer Inquisitions post mortem in E 149. These are calendared in the Calendars of Inquisitions Post Mortem, available in the reading rooms, Kew

The accounts of the keepers of the lands are in SC 6. For these refer to List and Index 34 List of Original Ministers Accounts preserved in the Public Record Office.

Chancery certiorari files (C 269/16/1–12) include returns to an enquiry made in 1371 to establish the number of parishes in the kingdom. There is related material in Ancient Correspondence in SC 1. This is indexed in Public Record Office Lists and Index, Supplement, XI.

For other records about ecclesiastical taxation:

6.2 Corrodies

Many monastic houses had to provide pensions (corrodies) to royal staff and servants. Some are in the patent rolls in C 66, others in Chancery files (C 202, corrodies). They are calendared in Rotuli Litterarum Patentium in Turri Londiniensis Asservati, 1201–1216 (Record Commission, 1835) and continued in Calendars of Patent Rolls, 1216–1509, 55 vols (HMSO, 1901–1916).

7. Miscellaneous

Within Exchequer Ecclesiastical Documents in E 135 and Chancery Ecclesiastical Miscellanea in C 270 you can find a range of material. Many items are connected directly with royal interests – legal, financial and administrative. Others are purely internal to the monasteries. Matters include:

  • visitations
  • corrodies
  • pensions
  • appropriations
  • foundation licences for chantries
  • indulgencies
  • tithes

You can search E 135 by monastic house. For C 270 you can only search by date and by letter range. The letter range refers to the first letter of the name of the monastic house.

For writs to ecclesiastical dignitaries inquiring about livings, tithes, litigation and so on as well as the replies to them, browse C 269 by regnal year.

There are household and similar accounts of a number of religious houses in SC 6 and some inventories of the goods and chattels of religious houses are in E 154.

Significations of excommunication record people who were reported to the king because they remained disobedient after being excommunicated. Click on C 85 and use the search box to search by date and province or name of religious house. They contain little personal information about the individuals.

There are a number of papal bulls issued to religious houses in England in SC 7. Search these using keywords.

8. Alien priories

In 13th century England there were about 70 priories and numerous cells dependent on abbeys in France and Flanders. Their lands were seized by the Crown during wars with France. In 1404 the Crown permanently seized their revenues, and in 1414 the priories were formally taken into royal hands. However, the majority of their lands were used to endow new monasteries and colleges both royal and private.

Start by searching our catalogue for keywords such as ‘alien priories OR monasteries’ or ‘alien clergy’. More specifically though:

  • E 106 contains much material including extents and inquisitions of their lands, and documents about their administration on the Crown’s behalf
  • accounts are in SC 6 and are listed in Public Record Office Lists and Indexes, V
  • the accounts of the sheriffs for the lands are on the Pipe Rolls in E 372; see list in Public Record Office Lists and Indexes, XI
  • see also C 47/38/5, E 135/22/3 and C 47/30/6
  • for alien clergy also see C 269/15 and C 270/17

9. The Knights Templar

The military order of the Knights Templar came to own considerable possessions in England. A survey of its lands in 1185 is in E 164/16 and is also printed in Records of the Templars in England by B A Lees, British Academy, (1935).

When its lands were seized by the Crown in 1307 extents were taken. You can search these by keyword in E 142. The revenues went to the Exchequer: there are accounts in E 358/18–20, with a contemporary index in IND 1/7029.

Some of the lands were subsequently given to royal favourites, but the bulk was transferred to the Knights Hospitaller in 1313. The Patent and Close Rolls are valuable sources for these land grants (see the Foundations section).

10. Further reading

To set the religious houses in their context, D Knowles, the Monastic Order in England, 940–1216 (Cambridge University Press, 2nd edn. 1963) and The Religious Orders in England 3 vols (Cambridge University Press, 1948–59) are invaluable.

Monographs, articles and archaeological reports have also been produced on many monasteries; find these in large local reference libraries.