Abbotsbury Abbey
Abbotsbury Abbey remains and the abbey barn
Abbotsbury Abbey is located in Dorset
Abbotsbury Abbey
Location within Dorset
Monastery information
OrderBenedictines
Established11th century
Disestablished1539
Dedicated toSt Peter
Site
LocationAbbotsbury, England
Coordinates50°39′52.1″N 2°35′55.4″W / 50.664472°N 2.598722°W / 50.664472; -2.598722
Visible remainstithe barn, parts of a building (possibly the abbot's house)
Public accessyes

Abbotsbury Abbey, dedicated to Saint Peter, was a Benedictine monastery in the village of Abbotsbury in Dorset, England. The abbey was founded in the 11th century by King Cnut's thegn Orc and his wife Tola, who handsomely endowed the monastery with lands in the area. The abbey prospered and became a local centre of power, controlling eight manor houses and villages. During the later Middle Ages, the abbey suffered much misfortune. In the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, the last abbot surrendered the abbey and the site became the property of Sir Giles Strangways.

Today, a small part of the former Abbey estate, including the abbey's remains, and those of the nearby St Catherine's Chapel, are in the guardianship of English Heritage.

Foundation

The first reference to the site of Abbotsbury may be in a charter of King Edmund (r. 939–946) recording a grant of five hides of land at Abbedesburi to the thegn Sigewulf.[1] The name (Abbedesburi) may suggest that the land had once belonged to an abbot.[1] During the reign of King Cnut (r. 1016–1035), the Scandinavian thegn Orc (also Urki, Urk) and his wife Tola took up residence in the area, having been granted land at Portesham.[2] Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–1066) also granted him Wootton and it was early in his reign that the couple founded a monastery at Abbotsbury, previously the site of a minor church.[2] Orc and Tola, who had no children, enriched the monastery with a substantial amount of land,[2] some of which was bequeathed after their deaths. By the time of the Domesday survey, Abbotsbury (itself worth 21 hides) was recorded to have held more than 65 hides of land TRE.[3] Orc also established his own guild, which according to the extant statutes, had its hall at Abbotsbury and protected the minster's interests.[2][4]

Last period and dissolution

During the 14th century the Black Death killed many villagers and also the abbot. Moreover, the village was repeatedly attacked from the sea, reducing the security of the abbey and its status. In addition, the area suffered depredations from the forces sent to man the coastal defences. Later that century and in the century following the Abbey's situation had started to improve somewhat. In 1535 and 1539 Henry VIII undertook the forcible Dissolution of the Monasteries. Under the last Abbot of Abbotsbury, Roger Roddon, the Abbey was dissolved in 1539,[5] following a visit from Dr. Thomas Legh (Leigh, Lee).[6]

Upon the surrender of the abbey, on 12 March 1539, Abbot Roger Roddon, along with the prior and eight brethren received pensions: the abbot, £80; the prior, Thomas Bradford, £9; Thomas Tolpuddle, £7; six other brethren, including William Grey and John Vynsant, £6 to £5 each; Thomas Holnest, 40s.[7] Sir Giles Strangways[8] (died 1546), the commissioner who had dissolved the monastery and who bought the abbey buildings, manor houses, water mills and Abbotsbury Swannery and much of the abbey's land for £1,906, 10s (equivalent to £1,360,000 in 2021).[9] On the one hand Strangways' own father had in fact been buried in the Abbey, and when he himself died in 1546 his will bequeathed £6 13s.4d. a year for two years for a priest to say Mass for the repose of his soul and the souls of his wife and son.[10]

Much of the land still belongs to Strangways' descendants, the Earls of Ilchester.

Remains

The abbey barn

As was customary in such cases, Abbotsbury Abbey was largely demolished to maximize profit from the sale and to allow its stone to be reused.

The 14th century Great Barn, which at 272 ft by 31 ft is reputedly the largest thatched tithe barn in the world,[11] was spared. Though now only half roofed, the still impressive structure has two porches, each surmounted by a watching chamber. Also spared from the general destruction was St Catherine's Chapel, used at one time as a lookout across the sea and conversely as a landmark for mariners. Both are currently Grade I listed buildings and scheduled monuments. In the churchyard to the south of the present parish church, traces of the old abbey church can be found. A further survivor is part of the end wall of what may possible have been part of the abbot's lodging, where two fireplaces can be seen. Other ruins visible on the site may have formed part of the guesthouse customary in monasteries. Often simple in style, these nevertheless offered much sought after safe shelter for travellers. Not far away, the Abbey's former swannery has become part of an internationally famous nature reserve.

Known Abbots of Abbotsbury

The Abbot of Abbotsbury
BlazonAzure three sets of two keys addorsed paleways bows interlaced wards in chief.[12]
Incumbent In office Comments
Æsuuerdus  ? appears in 1075[13]
[ Roger, bishop of Salisbury ] 1107–1139 [13]
Geoffrey 1140 [13]
Roger  ? appears in 1129 x 1150.[13]
Geoffrey II  ? appears in 1166.[13]
vacant 1175, 1–8 July [13]
Ralph?  ? [13]
Roger II  ? appears in 1201.[13]
Hugh  ? appears in 1204 x 1205.[13]
vacant 1213, 15 July [13][14]
Hugh II  ? – 1246? [14]
Roger de Brideton 1246–1258? [14]
Joan of Hilton (Helton) 1258–1284 [14]
Philip of Sherborne 1284–1296 [14]
[William of Kingston] [14]
Benedict of Loders (Lodres) 1297–1320 [14]
Ralph of Sherborne 1320–1321 [14]
Peter of Sherborne 1321–1324 [14]
William le Fauconer 1324–1343 [14]
Walter de Saunford 1343–1348 [14]
Walter de Stokes 1348–1354 [14]
Henry (of) Toller (or Tolre) 1354–1376 [14]
William Cerne 1376–1401 [14]
Robert Bylsay 1401–1426 [15]
Richard Percy 1426–1442 resigned in 1442[15]
Edward Watton 1442–1452 [15]
William Wuller 1452–1468 [15]
Hugh Dorchester 1468–1496 [15]
John Abbotsbury 1496 (elected) [15]
John Portesham 1505 (elected) [15]
Roger Roddon 1534–1539 last abbot, surrendered.[15]

Henry VIII granted the abbey site to Sir Giles Strangways.[15]

Burials

Notes

  1. 1 2 Keynes, "The lost cartulary of Abbotsbury", p. 207.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Keynes, "The lost cartulary of Abbotsbury", p. 208.
  3. ↑ Keynes, "The lost cartulary of Abbotsbury", p. 209.
  4. ↑ Dorothy Whitelock, English Historical Documents, no. 139.
  5. ↑ David Knowles; David M. Smith; Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke (13 March 2008). The Heads of Religious Houses: England and Wales, III. 1377–1540. Cambridge University Press. pp. 11–2. ISBN 978-0-521-86508-1.
  6. ↑ 'Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Abbotsbury', in William Page (ed.),  A History of the County of Dorset: Volume 2, London, 1908, pp. 48-53. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/dorset/vol2/pp48-53 [accessed 22 September 2020].
  7. ↑ 'Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Abbotsbury', in William Page (ed.),  A History of the County of Dorset: Volume 2, London, 1908, pp. 48-53. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/dorset/vol2/pp48-53 [accessed 22 September 2020].
  8. ↑ "Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Abbotsbury | British History Online".
  9. ↑ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  10. ↑ http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/strangways-sir-giles-i-1486-1546#footnote8_rohmb6j [retrieved 22 September 2020].
  11. ↑ "Abbotsbury". jurassiccoast.org. 2012. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  12. ↑ John Woodward (1894). A treatise on ecclesiastical heraldry.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Knowles, Brooke and London (2001), The heads of religious houses: England & Wales, I. 940–1216, p. 23.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Smith and London (2001), The heads of religious houses: England & Wales, II. 1216–1377, pp. 15–6.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Page, ed. (1908), The Victoria history of the county of Dorset, pp. 48–53.

References

  • Keynes, Simon (1989). "The Lost Cartulary of Abbotsbury". Anglo-Saxon England. 18: 207–43. doi:10.1017/S0263675100001496.
  • Knowles, David; C. N. L. Brooke; Vera C. M. London, eds. (2001). The Heads of Religious Houses: England & Wales, I. 940–1216 (2nd ed.). Cambridge: CUP.
  • Page, William, ed. (1908). The Victoria History of the County of Dorset. Vol. 2. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Online: archive.org (PDF) and british-history.ac.uk (pp. 48–53)
  • Pitt-Rivers, Michael (1968). Dorset. London: Faber & Faber.
  • Smith, David M.; Vera C. M. London, eds. (2001). The Heads of Religious Houses: England & Wales, II. 1216–1377. Cambridge: CUP.
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