| Where | Great Broughton Village Hall | Type of Event | Talk |
| When | Monday21st July 2025 at 7.30 pm | Tutor | Lucy Beckett |
The lecture was delivered by Lucy Beckett, who has lectured to the Local History Group before. Lucy is the author of several books and has the reputation of erudition on the subject of religious history. Lucy is an informative and entertaining speaker. We had a good-sized audience, given the fine weather and time of year. Lucy’s presentation was lively and well organised, and this was a well-researched and mastered subject.
Lucy introduced the lecture by stating it was not the usual story of church history. The usual story is about monks, and this was different as it was about nuns. We know very little about ordinary nuns, but this story begins with a grand lady.
The lady in question is Hilda (or Hild). Hilda was the grandniece of King Edwin of Northumbria. Women at this time were treated with more respect than happened later and were regarded as guardians of Anglo-Saxon tradition. Hilda was well educated and baptised in York by Paulinus who had travelled north from Canterbury. Hilda was trained in Celtic monasticism by Aidan of Lindisfarne as she took up her religious life. Hilda had a recognised talent for organisation and became superior in a nunnery in Hartlepool in 649. Later, she founded Whitby Abbey (657) and defended the practices of the Celtic church at the synod (664), which she hosted. The argument was decided in favour of the Roman church and the Celtic church began to follow those practices.
Significantly, Hilda was abbess at a double monastery inhabited by monks and nuns: one church and other facilities shared. There were other double monasteries. Notably, Barking Abbey, also of 7th century foundation, regarded as a most important nunnery. The first nunnery exclusively for women, however, was founded by Alfred the Great at Shaftesbury in the 9th century which became very wealthy. Lucy took pains to explain that most nunneries were small houses and relatively poor.
Nunneries became more usual under the Normans and particularly in association with Cistercian monasteries. The nunneries were, however, separate houses. Nunneries founded locally included those at Baysdale and Rosedale. Both have been described as abbeys, but neither was. Rosedale was the first to be suppressed. After dissolution most nuns chose to remain in their religious lives. Generally, nuns were not well educated. The houses were small.
The evening concluded with references to contemporaneous reports on the running of nunneries. The behaviour of nuns was sometimes a matter for consideration.
The material was absorbing, and the audience was attentive. The time passed easily, and the audience was informed and entertained. There were questions. An enjoyable evening.