The charters and other documents recorded in the thirteenth-century Cartulary of the Augustinian priory of Sts Peter and Paul, Ipswich, donated to the public library of Lexington, Kentucky, in 1806, and purchased for Ipswich Record Office in 1970, throw light on an institution whose early history was mostly shrouded in obscurity. They are an important source for the study both of the expansion of the priory estates and the consolidation of its holdings bythe gift or purchase of adjoining parcels of land in common fields, and a mine of information for the student of place-names.
The charters presented here, with full explanatory notes, complement the contents of the priory'scartulary published in 2018. They illuminate the religious life of the priory, its community, spiritual rewards for its benefactors, steps taken to safeguard its assets, and the circumspection sometimes shown by the convent in itsdealings with the powerful.