Nones prayers to mark 900th anniversary of Merton Priory

A number of churches around the country will be holding special prayer services this week to mark the 900th anniversary of the founding of Merton Augustinian Priory - the foundations of which can still be seen near Colliers Wood in southwest London. (The actual date of the anniversary is 3rd May, but most churches will be commemorating the date on the 7th - which occurs on a Sunday)

Merton Priory was a major Augustinian house from 1117 - 1538 AD. One of its students was Saint Thomas a Becket. The only English Pope, Adrian IV , also studied here. The Priory founded Holyrood Abbey, refined Magna Carta into the Eleven Statutes of Merton and established Merton College, Oxford. Two royal coronations took place at Merton: Eleanor of Provence in 1236, and Henry VI in 1437.

With a church nave longer than Westminster Abbey, the monastic complex was one of the largest and most important in England and a major provider of employment, education and social welfare for the surrounding community for more than 400 years. Its work ended abruptly at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538 on the orders of Henry VIII. The superstructure of the church was dismantled and the stones used in the construction of nearby Nonsuch Place. But the foundations of the monastery complex, excavated by archaologists most recently in the 1980s, remain largely intact.

Friends of Merton Priory have been holding prayer services at the site for several years and supporters are campaigning for a heritage and information centre to be established at the site.

Shelia Fairbank from Friends of Merton Priory told ICN: "This year we are asking all churches everywhere to light a candle on the 3rd or 7th May in memory of the Canons of Merton Priory." Sheila said she feels the Nones service is an important way for Christians to reconnect with their past and common heritage.

Churches that have already joined include:

St Thomas of Canterbuiry, Tangley (Hants)
St Peter de Merton, Bedford.
St Mary Magdalene, Duns Tew, (Oxon).
St George, Clyst St George, (Devon)
Launde Abbey (Leics.)
St Thomas a Becket, Northaw (Herts.)
St Mary's, Berry Pomeroy (Devon)
St Andrew's, Owston (Leics)
Merton. Trellis House.
St Thomas of Canterbury. Chapel of Ease. Brentwood (Essex)
St Mary's, Kenilworth. (Warcs)
St Thomas the Martyr, Pensford. (Somerset)
St Mary's,Petworth (Sussex)

Sheila said: "If your parish is dedicated to St Thomas Becket, or you would like more information, please email friendsofmertpri@aol.com."

"The Chapter House is closed this year but Nones will be said in Trellis House, 1 Mill Road, just past the Savacentre but still on part of the site," she said.

For more information email: friendsofmertpri@aol.com

See a short documentary on Merton Priory here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoSbvZJuKjI