Monument record 600/4 - 16th Century Mansion (Cope's House)

At Dissolution the site and all the property of the former priory was granted to Sir Francis Bryan, from whom it passed to Sir John Cope. Cope is said to have converted the site into a residence, but the house apparently failed to find favour with his successors after his death in 1558. Before the end of the C17th it was divided into two farmhouses occupied by tenants, and was eventually demolished in 1710.

{1} At Dissolution of Monasteries - manor to Sir Francis Bryan, but by the 5th year of reign of Queen Mary it was in hands of Sir John Cope, 3rd son of William Cope of Banbury. [Elizabeth Cope married John Dryden a schoolmaster and learned but Bridges said this was improbable and had an estate himself. Dryden died 1584. Present possessor Sir John Dryden, inherited 1717 when father died.]

{2} Deserted 1450-1700 very shrunken. Manor already wholly enclosed, came at Dissolution to Sir John Cope - kept 2000 sheep there in 1547.

{3} In 1537 the Priory manor passed to Sir Francis Bryan, and in 1538 to Sir John Cope who built a new house to the south of the church, using the stone from the monastic buildings. This was superceded by the present house after the estate had passed to Cope's brother-in-law, John Dryden, in 1551. The remains of a 16th century house were recovered during an excavation in 1970. The house was demolished in the 18th century.

{4} At Dissolution the priory and the village was purchased from the crown by Sir Francis Bryan, who in turn sold it to Sir John Cope in 1538. At some time in the following thirty years the Dryden family appear to have held a considerable part of the manor form Cope, a lease which was modified in 1573, but apparently Cope retained the site of the priory which he had converted into a mansion. However the property did not find favour with later family members and by 1600 it had been subdivided and let out to several tenants. Most of the manor was acquired by the Drydens in 1665, and in 1669 William Foxley and Joseph Aris granted Robert Dryden “the stone and stone walls, lead, timber, tyle, glass, brick brands and materials in or about the capital messuage or mansion house in Canons Ashby, together with all buildings ib the ground or soil of the same.” The deed however excluded “so much as rangeth from the Great Hall dore towards John Painters dwelling and is occupied by John Painter” as well as “the outhouse, barns and stables belonging to the capital messuage.” The mansion itself, presumably still in essence the medieval structure, was finally demolished c.1710.

{7} After Dissolution a house which has now gone was made by Sir John Cope out of the buildings of the priory. Another house was built in the mid C16th, possibly on the site of the guest house of the priory, by the Dryden family, who married into the Cope family in 1551.

{8} At Dissolution the site and all the property of the former priory was granted to Sir Francis Bryan, from whom it passed to Sir John Cope. Cope is said to have converted the site into a residence, but the house apparently failed to find favour with his successors after his death in 1558. Before the end of the C17th it was divided into two farmhouses occupied by tenants, and was eventually demolished in 1710.

<1> Bridges J., 1791, The History and Antiquities of Northamptonshire, p.223 (unchecked) (Book). SNN77325.

<2> Allison K.J.; Beresford M.W.; Hurst J.G. et al, 1966, The Deserted Villages of Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Report). SNN39628.

<3> Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, 1981, An Inventory of The Historical Monuments in The County of Northampton, p.35 site 2 (checked) (Series). SNN77381.

<4> FOARD G.R., 1982, Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire: An Archaeological Report, 1982, p.4 (checked) (Typescript Report). SNN45382.

<5> AUDOUY M., 1982, Canons Ashby: The Woodyard, A Summary of The 1982 Excavations, (unchecked) (Report). SNN1934.

<6> Giggins B., 1991, Canons Ashby Survey, (unchecked0 (Report). SNN108748.

<7> Pevsner N.; Cherry B., 1973, The Buildings of England: Northamptonshire, p.134 (checked) (Series). SNN1320.

<8> Taylor S.J., 1974, An Excavation on The Site of The Augustinian Priory, Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire, p.57 (checked) (Article). SNN71340.

Record last edited

Jun 19 2024 12:40PM