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Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Dodnash Priory?

 On the admirable PAS site is this seal. 


 

It is probably late thirteenth century, and reads

*S.MARIE.DE:SAUMFORD

The PAS identifies this as Samford, Suffolk and suggests that it was from Dodnash Priory. It has the common iconography of the BVM and Babe under a trefoiled arch, with two pinnacles either side, and a suppliant underneath.

Dodnash seems to have been founded by a Wimer, chaplain of Henry II, on lands belonging to the Tosny family. It held lands locally in Bentley, Chelmondiston and Bergholt. A tiny house, it was worth £44 18s 8½d in 1525, when (consequently) it was suppressed by Cardinal Wolsey, so that he could use it in his foundation project in Ipswich.

There's a photo of the scant remains on the East Bergholt Society website.

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