Drax

Drax is one of those places hard done by progress.  It's been the home of a massive, ugly power station for years.  But once upon a time, a much prettier building stood - the Austin priory of Drax.  (There's still a handsome, largely Perp, church.)  The place name comes from the OE for 'portage', for this is where the Ouse meets the Aire.  (These rivers occasionally flooded, to the great detriment of the priory, and everyone else.)  The priory's arms show three drakes, so perhaps the origins of the name had been forgotten, or they just liked a good pun.

Drax was one of the many Austin foundations that saw the eminence grise of Archbishop Thurstan, although it was actually William Paynell who founded it.

By the later 12th century, standards at Drax were slipping.  It came out badly from Archbishop William Wickwane’s 1280 visitation.  The sub-cellarer Elias had been involved in a fight with another canon, and possibly a layman too; canons were keeping property and talking too much and letting far too many layfolk in, etc., and the prior seems to have been quite divisive.

Presumably this prior (was he Adam?) was replaced by Thomas of Campsall, who used this seal as his secretum (photo:  Durham cathedral.)  ✠ SIGILLUM : PRIORIS : DE : D.  You can get a really good impression (haha) of Augustinian dress from this - the outer cloak, which canons were required to wear inside and outside the cloister (and which was to be black - not blue or white or any other scandalous colour), and the almuce or rochet.  Thomas sports a great tonsure, too. You can read about Augustinian dress here (if you can get into JSTOR).

Thomas' successor was Elyas of Burton.  Is this the Elyas who lamped a fellow canon?  If so, I don't suppose anyone would argue with that father prior...

The seal itself shows St Nicholas, the priory's dedicatee.

He's vested for mass, as is usual with episcopal seals.  His crozier is a crook turned inwards, and he has a nicely tassled maniple.  He also wears a pall.  The folds are stylised, and the seal is very different from those of the priory's episcopal superior, the archbishops of York.  SIGILLUM CAPITUL[I] [SANCTI] NICH[OLAI] DE DRAX

For another episcopal priory seal, see Merton (which, I have to say, is much lovelier.)

Much later, around 1510, one of its canons was charged, along with several priests and laymen, with trying to obtain treasure by witchcraft; this canon had made a circle and tried to summon the spirit Belphares.   Needless to say, the whole enterprise failed miserably and the canon and his 5 cronies were made to walk through the streets of York being ridiculed and whipped.

Drax was dissolved in 1536.