Between around 1125 and 1215 some twenty-five houses were established for women in Yorkshire. To write their history raises some special problems: these were, on the whole, much smaller and poorer houses than male monasteries, and as such were not great generators of written records. Moreover, recent research has shown that different questions have to be asked about female monasticism, and the historian cannot assume that the labels which have traditionally been applied to male houses are applicable to female ones. This chapter will therefore assess the evidence for the dispersal of female houses in the county, and also seek to explore the nature of female monasticism and what – if anything – distinguished it from its male counterpart, through an examination of the founders and their endowments, and affiliation. This theme will be followed through into the general discussion in chapter 6 of issues of recruitment, internal organization, and government.

The Foundation of the Yorkshire Nunneries

An archiepiscopalfoundation: St Clement's, York

Although a date of around 1133 has been suggested for Handale, it seems likely that the earliest female foundation was that of St Clement's, York, founded by Archbishop Thurstan, who, as we have seen, was active in the encouragement of male religious houses within his diocese. The original of Thurstan's charter survives and its witness list dates it to between around 1125 and 1133. The site which he chose for the new community lay outside the city walls on the west bank of the river Ouse, in the area already known as Clementhorpe which, since the Anglo-Scandinavian period, had formed part of the patrimony of the archbishop of York.