 | This articlemay need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia'squality standards.You can help. Thetalk page may contain suggestions.(October 2023) |
Abingdon Abbey (formallyAbbey of Saint Mary) was aBenedictine monastery inAbingdon-on-Thames in the modern county ofOxfordshire in the United Kingdom.[1] Situated near to theRiver Thames, it was founded inc. 675 AD and was dedicated toMary, mother of Jesus.[2] It was disestablished in 1538 during thedissolution of the monasteries. A few physical remnants of the Abbey buildings survive within Abingdon-on-Thames.
The name ‘Abingdon’ until the post Norman era related to an area of nearby Boars Hill, and it is thought the institution originated in that location, before relocating south to the valley location near the minster at what was originally known as Helenstowe.[citation needed]
The abbey is thought to have been founded in 675 either byCissa, viceroy ofCentwine, king of theWest Saxons, or by his nephewHean, in honour of theVirgin Mary, for twelveBenedictine monks.[3]Cissa was buried at the abbey.
Endowed by successive West Saxon kings, it grew in importance and wealth until its destruction by theDanes in the reign ofKing Alfred, and the sequestration of its estates by Alfred because the monks had not made him a sufficient requital for vanquishing their enemies. By the 950s the abbey was in a decayed state, but in about 954 KingEadred appointedÆthelwold, laterBishop of Winchester, abbot. He was one of the leaders of theEnglish Benedictine Reform, and Abingdon then became the second centre of the Reform (afterGlastonbury).[4] There is a collection of 136 charters granted to this abbey by various Saxon kings.[a] TheDomesday Book of 1086 states that the abbey was a wealthy and powerful landowner.[5][c][d]
TheChronicle of the Monastery of Abingdon (Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis) was written at the abbey in the twelfth century.[8]
InSutton Courtenay, Abingdon Abbey constructedThe Abbey as amonastic grange, used as an administrative centre for the abbey's land and tithe holdings.[9] However, the owner of thehide of land,Alwin the priest[10] (whose father[11] owned the land before him),[12] agreed with theabbot that he should retain Sutton with reversion first to his son and thereafter to the abbey, on condition of giving inMiltonchapelry immediately.[13] Almost certainly in the late twelfth century, Abingdon Abbey took two thirds of the tithes and therector the remaining third.[14] In 1258, following a dispute, the land was formally appropriated to the abbey and avicarage was ordained.[15] As it was close to Abingdon Abbey, it was probably run by the monks themselves rather than being left to a steward.[9]
In 1278Hugh de Courtenay, Lord of theManor of Sutton, sued the abbey foradvowson. In 1284 an allegedly biased jury was empanelled, presided over bySolomon of Rochester, the chief justice of theeyre. It found unexpectedly for Courtenay;[16] Rochester himself was the first to bepresented by the Courtenays.[17]
Subsequently the abbot of Abingdon Abbey alleged that in 1290 Rochester had seized the goods at the rectory belonging to the abbey. He also claimed that Solomon had extorted 40 marks from the abbey for alleged dilapidations to the rectory house.[18] He was not convicted of any offence.
Abbots after theNorman Conquest includedFaritius, physician toHenry I of England (1100–17), and Richard of Hendred, for whose appointment the King's consent was obtained in 1262. He was present at theCouncil of Lyon in 1272. The last abbot was Thomas Pentecost alias Rowland, who was among the first to acknowledge theRoyal Supremacy. With the rest of his community he signed the surrender of his monastery in 1538, receiving the manor ofCumnor for life or until he had preferment to the extent of £223 per annum. The revenues of the abbey (26 Hen. VIII) were valued at £1876, 10s, 9d.
Ælfric of Abingdon was originally buried here, before being translated toCanterbury Cathedral.Sideman, Bishop of Crediton, was buried here, too, as wereMargaret, Countess of Pembroke, andFulk FitzRoy.
There is nothing to see today of the abbey church. Apparent ruins in the Abbey Gardens are Trendell's Folly, built in the nineteenth century. Some of the stones may come from St Helen's Church.[19]
Associated monastic buildings do, however, survive, including the Abbey Exchequer, the timber-framed Long Gallery, the abbey bakehouse, (all in the care of the Friends of Abingdon Civic Society) the abbey gateway, St John's hospitium (apilgrims' hostel) and theChurch of St Nicolas. One of the original fireplaces was removed and is now still intact in Lacies Court,Abingdon School.[20]
The existing buildings include:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Abbey of Abingdon".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
51°40′14″N1°16′31″W / 51.67056°N 1.27528°W /51.67056; -1.27528
