Editing Monastic grange

{{Short description|Agricultural land shared by medieval clergy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2024}}
[[File:Abbey Barn Yeovil.jpg|thumb|400px|The Abbey Barn, [[Yeovil]], Somerset, England]]

'''Monastic granges''' were outlying landholdings held by [[Monastery|monasteries]]<ref name="OED">{{citation |url= https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/grange|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180219090157/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/grange|url-status= dead|archive-date= 19 February 2018|title=  Definition of grange in English |publisher= [[OED]]|access-date=4 July 2017}}</ref> independent of the [[Manorialism|manorial]] system. The first granges were owned by the [[Cistercians]], and other orders followed. Wealthy monastic houses had many granges, most of which were largely agricultural providing food for the monastic community. A grange might be established adjacent to the monastery, but others were established wherever it held lands, some at a considerable distance. Some granges were worked by lay-brothers belonging to the order, others by paid labourers.<ref name="EH">{{National Heritage List for England|num=1005786|desc=Iron mining shaft mounds and medieval earthworks south of Bentley Grange Farm|access-date=4 July 2017|mode=cs2}}</ref>

Granges could be of six known types: agrarian; sheep runs; cattle ranges and holdings; horse studs; fisheries; industrial complexes. Industrial granges were significant in the development of medieval industries, particularly iron working.<ref name="EH"/>

==Description==
Granges were landed estates used for food production, centred on a farm and out-buildings and possibly a mill or a [[tithe barn]].  The word ''grange'' comes through French {{lang|fr|graunge}} from Latin {{lang|la|granica}}, meaning a granary.<ref name="OED"/> The granges might be located at some distance. They could farm livestock or produce crops. Specialist crops might include apples, [[hops]] or grapes to make beverages. Some granges had fish-ponds to supply Friday meals to the monastery. The produce could sustain the monks or be sold for profit. While under monastic control, granges might be run by a steward and worked by local farm labourers or perhaps [[lay brother]]s.

==England==
At the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], all monastic land was seized by [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]. The lands were sold or given to Henry's followers. Granges often retained their names and many can still be found in the British landscape today.

== See also ==

* [[Vaulerent barn]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Schöneweis, Tobias (2020). ''Die Architektur zisterziensischer Wirtschaftsbauten.'' Berlin: Lit, {{ISBN|978-3-643-13140-9}}, esp. pp. 305–371.

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Farms by type]]
[[Category:Agricultural establishments]]
[[Category:History of Catholic monasticism]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Ireland]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Wales]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries in Scotland|*]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries in Wales|*]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries in Ireland|*]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic monasteries in England|*]]
[[Category:Christian monasteries in the United Kingdom]]