William Paston visits Bromholm Priory

In medieval times there were monasteries and priories throughout England. The monks who lived there followed strict rules of life and worship; the Paston family was associated with the Priory at Bromholm, near the village of Bacton. William Paston maintained the family's link and responsibilities, and we use his visit to explore religious life in medieval times.

The Paston Letters include several aspects of relations between the family and the Priory and a detailed account of the funeral of John Paston I, the son of William, who died in London and was brought to be buried at Bromholm with great ceremony.

We're adding pupil and teacher materials to this page over the coming weeks. The information sheets and the Activity Sheets are designed for use in pairs, e.g. Info01 and Act01 go together.

The Language of Christianity - Info01

The monks of the Christinan monasteries were those responsible for copying and translating the text of the Bible over the centuries. The Greek word 'Biblos' simply means book.

Bromholm Priory - An Example - Info04

Monasteries were generally built to the same pattern, so Bromholm Priory serves to give us an example of abbeys and priories across the country. Over the years the layout of Bromholm Priory has been mapped; the 19th century maps have served as a base for the building of the computer model.

Matching Languages - Act01

Here's a little bit of detective work, to see if you can spot words in three of the languages of the Bible - Greek, Latin and English. The words are from the Christmas story.

Places in the Priory - Act04

Here's a picture of Bromholm Priory developed from the 3D model created for this web site. Can you identify some of the features of the Priory using the details on Info Sheet 4?