Blackfriars, Leicester

The St Clement's church, and later the Dominican priory, would come to be established inside the far north west corner of the (now vanished) city walls of Ratae Corieltauvorum - the Roman town at the core of modern Leicester. The site is a few hundred meters north of the surviving Roman Jewry Wall, the old bathhouse. From the discovery of the three Blackfriars Pavements, some of the finest Roman mosaics to survive in Britain (see gallery below), it is clear there was a very wealthy Roman townhouse constructed on what would become the priory site, the Blackfriars Villa. == St Clement's Church ==

The Parish Church of St. Clement's (along with St Nicholas, St Peter's, St Mary de Castro, St Michael's, St Margaret's, and St Martin's) was one of the seven ancient parish churches of the Medieval Borough of Leicester (see also: Timeline of Medieval Leicester). In the mid-13th century its advowson was passed to the Order of Preaches (Blackfriars), who constructed convent buildings adjacent to it, and it became a priory church. Like St Peter's, and St Michael's, there are no longer any visible remains of it above ground. , and (29) St. Katherine's Priory, Austin Friars. The six other ancient parish churches depicted here are: (12) St Michael's, (13) St Peter's, (14) St Martin's, (15) St Margaret's (17) St Mary de Castro, and (18) St Nicholas In 2018 the structure of what is likely to have been the church of St Clement's was discovered on what is now All Saints Road. Many of the burials on the site can be dated between 1000 and 1100 - implying a burial site and possibly a church from at least the 11th century. Parish Church before Dominican Incardination Dedicated to St Clement of Rome , was an early Pope (88-99AD), the earliest Father of the Church, and a martyr. Here his martyrdom by drowning with an anchor is shown. The proximity of the church with the river Soar - a site where people still and presumably always have died by drowning - may be the reason he was initially chosen as patron. A large burial ground dating to the 11th century was discovered parallel to what are likely the archeological remains of the church in 2018. There were 456 unearthed burials with 254 in mass graves. The mass graves date to the 11th century at least three quarters of a century to a century and a half before the 1173 siege and nearly two centuries before the Black Death. Clearly buried with Christian honour and in a position parallel to the church, it has been suggested that the 254 are victims of a famine in 1087 reported by the Anglo Saxon Chronicle. Unusually 96 pairs of skeletons were found in double graves suggesting the site was used for the burial of married couples. St Clement's was probably the worst affected parish in the city and the church likely suffered damage. ” (Dominican Friar or Friar Preacher) Whatever happened to the geographical parish in the 13th century it is well documented that either the site of the priory or its site including the tiny ancient parish did not fall under any parochial jurisdiction of the Church of England until the late 19th century, the 1538 parish boundaries never being redrawn. By the time of the reformation there were numerous burials and fine funerary ornaments in St Clement's, aside from the burials discovered in 2018. In 1331 one Philip Danet sought to establish a chantry for his soul in the church, to be served by a chantry priest of the college of St Leonard's and there were likely a number of chantry chapels. In 1536 before the priory was dissolved and the church demolished John Leland, the antiquary, recorded this after visiting: John Leland's few lines constitute the only surviving witness testimony of the building. The Church was demolished not many years after the dissolution and many years prior to the rest of the conventual buildings. == St Clement's Priory (Blackfriars) ==

Background , the Austin Friars, some Whitefriars (an order not present in Leicester), and a group of lay mourners. The church depicted is the now demolished St Sepulchre outside the southern wall of old Leicester (now Leicester Royal Infirmary). The 13th century was a period of rapid and significant reform for both religious life and the wider church in Europe, marked by the establishment of many new communities. Notable among these were the new travelling mendicant monks known as friars. In Leicester this wider reform was felt by the arrival of the mendicant orders between the 1220s and the 1250s and the establishment of three new religious houses in the city: the Order of Friars Minor (Greyfriars) at the Friary of St. Mary Magdalene, before 1230; the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine (Friars Hermits or Austin Friars) at St. Katherine's Priory, in the year 1254; and at some point in the mid-13th century (see below and Discussion) the Order of Preachers (Blackfriars) at the parish church of St. Clement. These orders sought to bring the monastic example and a more professional spiritual ministry to the town, partly by observing the Liturgy of the Hours and monastic community life in accessible reach of townsfolk, and also by providing professional religious ministry and education, as well as medical and pastoral care to the growing urban population. The Blackfriars (also called Friars Preachers) were and continue to be focussed on prayer and liturgy, academic scholarship (primarily but far from exclusively philosophical, theological, and biblical), teaching and education, scholarly and rhetorical excellence in public preaching, and pastoral and charity work in urban areas. Of all the new orders they were most focused on promoting the normative teachings of the Catholic Church and came to have a significant role in inquisition and combating heresy throughout catholic Europe. Foundation, Site, & Governance , founder of St. Clement's Priory, on the Haymarket Memorial Clock Tower in central Leicester. It is very difficult to date precisely both the arrival of the first friars to Leicester and the subsequent establishment of their priory at St Clement's (see discussion). The order came to England in 1221 (not the date Nichols notes of 1217). Sources suggest they arrived in Leicester either before 1233 or in 1247. The establishment of the house has been dated to before 1252, and the founding charter does not survive. However it is almost beyond doubt that Simon de Montfort established the house given its founding grant involved lands from the castle, lands that only Simon could give. Leicester was under the visitation of Oxford Blackfriars Priory. History Queen Eleanor, wife of King Henry III, left £5 in her will to the priory. In 1301 the priory received another royal gift: seven oak trees (presumably the wood from which) from Rockingham Forest. Further monetary gifts from the royal family reveal that in 1328/29 there were 30 friars, and in 1334/35 there were 32. There are no visible remains of the priory. Nineteenth Century Reestablishment The Friars Preachers returned to Leicester in 1819 after over 280 years in exile. In 1882 they established a new foundation, The Priory of the Holy Cross, on New Walk to the south of the old city walls. They are still active in the city as of 2024 with no plan to leave. Priors of St Clement's Priory, Leicester List of known priors of Leicester Blackfriars: • John Garland O.P. occurs 1394 • William Ceyton O.P. occurs 1505 (variously recorded as Clayton, Layton, or Ceyton) • Ralph Burrell O.P. occurs 1538 == Civil parish ==

Leicester Blackfriars was a civil parish, in 1891 the parish had a population of 2512. The parish was formed in 1858, on 26 March 1896 the parish was abolished and merged with Leicester. == Gallery ==

Roman Remains at Blackfriars Blackfriars Site Today Post Reformation Dominican Presence in Leicester , new Dominican House in Leicester (on New Walk) of the new Priory (Image taken in 2014) == Sources ==