Blackfriars Friary

A Bit of History…

Blackfriars was a medieval Dominican friary founded sometime before 1246, possibly as early as the year 1200. The Dominicans were known as the Black Friars due to the dark colour of their robes.

The friary took an unusually long time to build. In 1246 Henry III granted the Dominicans ten oak trees and gave them permission to extend their building. In 1319 King Edward II and several others made some land contributions to the friary. The friary was established in 1322 when a chapel and monastic buildings were built. Edward III granted the Dominicans another five acres of land in 1331. The church wasn’t completed until 1386, at which point it was consecrated in a ceremony witnessed by King Edward III and his son, the Black Prince.

Blackfriars Friary was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The remains of the friary consist of monastery ruins, a cemetery, and the 14th-century stone preaching cross. The medieval preaching cross is the only surviving example of the type of cross erected by the friars in their burial grounds.