Spring Talk: Harriet Tait ‘The Prior, The Prince and The Peasants: Michelham Priory’s Place in Medieval Sussex’

What do John of Gaunt, an Augustinian canon from Willingdon and the Peasants’ Revolt have in common?

Sussex Past heritage property Michelham Priory was one of the most influential religious houses on the south coast in the medieval era: owning swathes of Sussex, raising local militia to fight the French, fending off marauding noblemen out to steal the Priory’s treasures and overseeing local legal disputes, all while serving the local community in their religious capacity. The extent of Michelham’s influence and that of one of our priors, John Leem (fl. 1374-1417) remains largely unknown outside of Michelham’s history, yet he held a highly important position as tax collector for Prince John of Gaunt.

No original work on Prior Leem has been published since 1901 and he is left as a mere footnote to history. Is his a story that needs to be told and should his name be appearing in indices to books about Sussex and John of Gaunt? This talk forms part of new research for a Master’s (M.Res) thesis on Medieval History at the University of Exeter.

About the speaker

Harriet Tait: BA (Hons.), M.A., GDL, PGDip, AKC. Harriet has a background in working at Westminster on think tanks, journalism, literary agenting and consulting,  has been on various boards and has founded and chaired a charity. When not lost in 14^th century Sussex / Leemology, she can be found fundraising for local heritage bodies and working out ways to try and save old buildings.

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More about the event

Date: Tuesday 18th February
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Tickets: Free for Members of The Sussex Archaeological Society or £5 for non-members.

Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. View our ticket terms and conditions here.

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