dissolved in 1536 and Robert Dyxson, the last prior, was granted a pension of £16 a year. Relics During the 1536 inspection of the priory by Richard Layton and Thomas Legh, it was noted that the priory housed the milk and "the girdle of the Virgin Mary and part of a candle which she was said to have carried at her Purification", and oil from both the True Cross and Saint Katherine. Priors of Shelford Alexander, occurs 1204 William, occurs c. 1225 John de Nottingham, occurs 1271, resigned 1289 Robert de Tithby, 1289 Laurence, died c. 1310 Thomas de Lexinton, c. 1310 Robert de Mannesfield, 1315 William de Breton, 1320 William de Leicester, 1340 Stephen de Bassyngborn, 1349 Thomas de Chilwell, 1349 (Alexander de Insula, elected 1358) Roger de Graystock, appointed 1358 William de Kynalton, 1365 Robert Lyndby, 1404 William de Righton, 1408 Walter Cutwolfe, died 1459 John Bottesford, 1459 Richard Stokes, 1479 Robert Helmsley, 1491 Henry Sharp, 1498 Robert Dickson Shelford Manor The first manor On 25 March 1536 Archbishop Cranmer wrote to Thomas Cromwell asking for "the farm of the priory of Shelford" for his brother-in-law:—'I desire your favor for the bearer, my brother-in-law, who is now clerk of my kitchen, to have the farm of the priory of Shelford, or of some other house in Notts, now suppressed.' However, in 1536 or 1537, the crown granted "nearly all the manors and advowsons" to Sir Michael Stanhope (second son of Sir Edward Stanhope (d.1511) of Rampton, Nottinghamshire), for 60 years at a rental of £20. In November 1537 Stanhope, and his wife Anne, were granted the priory site, including the priory church, belfry and churchyard, and "a good deal of land". Michael Stanhope was executed in 1552 and the estate passed from father to son: Sir Thomas Stanhope (1540–1596) Sir John Stanhope (1559–1611) Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield (1584 – 1656). Shelford Manor was built on the former priory site c.1600. The architect was "probably" Robert Smythson or John Smythson. Siege and destruction Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield was summoned to Parliament in 1640 and took the side of King Charles I in the threatening conflict. When the English Civil War broke out he and his sons took up arms. From around January 1643, Shelford Manor was garrisoned under the command of his son Philip Stanhope. The manor was fortified during the war, and "traces of