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HurleyCradle of the Revolution
St. Birinus is said to have inspired the building of the parish church here, around 700. The Danes forded the Thames at Hurley in 894 when marching from Essex to Gloucester and may have destroyed this early building. It was rebuilt as Hurley Priory in the mid-11th century as a memorial to Athelaise, the first wife of the great Geoffrey De Mandeville who was Lord of the Manor. It was dedicated by St. Osmund. Geoffrey’s second wife, Lasceline, had persuaded him to establish the monastery, and she was later buried there. Queen Edith, wife of Edward the Confessor was supposed to have joined her. Her ghost still haunts the grounds. The aisless parish church was once the priory church where these two were laid to rest. It is mostly Norman, but excavation has revealed the Saxon predecessor. The 13th and 14th century refectory and other monastic buildings around the lost cloister are now private homes. To the west are a dovecote and tithe-barn. The Old Bell Inn is thought to have been the Priory’s guesthouse, established in 1135. The sanctus bell hung above its door, and was rung to announce the arrival of new guests. One such was Henry IV who arrived here just after murdering his predecessor, Richard II. He came to pray for the soul of his late wife, but ended up discussing the monastery’s privileges.
The Priory’s Infimary, to the east, was built upon by Ladye Place, the home of the Lovelaces from 1545. It was named after the Virgin Mary to whom the priory had been dedicated. Richard Lovelace sailed with Sir Francis Drake and greatly improved his house with his share of the Spanish booty. He was created Lord Lovelace of Hurley in 1627, and his monument can be seen in the church. The crypt of this house (and the old infirmary) was the scene of plotting by John, 3rd Lord Lovelace and his friends who helped bring about the Glorious Revolution of 1688 (when William III came to the throne). The King later paid John a visit to express his thanks. The old Tudor mansion was demolished in 1837.