{{Short description|Benedictine abbey in Dorset, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox monastery | name = Abbotsbury Abbey | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = AbbotsburyAbbey.JPG | alt = | caption = Abbotsbury Abbey remains and the abbey barn | full = | other_names = | order = [[Benedictines]] | established = 11th century | disestablished = 1539 | mother = | dedication = St Peter | diocese = | churches = | founder = | abbot = | prior = | archbishop = | bishop = | archdeacon = | people = | status = | functional_status = | heritage_designation = | designated_date = | architect = | style = | groundbreaking = | completed_date = | construction_cost = | location = [[Abbotsbury]], England | map_type = Dorset | coord = {{coord|50|39|52.1|N|2|35|55.4|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | oscoor = | remains = tithe barn, parts of a building (possibly the abbot's house) | public_access = yes | other_info = }}
'''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 house]]s 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, Abbotsbury|St Catherine's Chapel]], are in the guardianship of [[English Heritage]].
==History== ===Foundation=== The first reference to the site of Abbotsbury may be in a [[Anglo-Saxon charters|charter]] of [[Edmund I of England|King Edmund]] (r. 939–946) recording a grant of five hides of land at ''Abbedesburi'' to the thegn Sigewulf.<ref name=Keynes207>Keynes, "The lost cartulary of Abbotsbury", p. 207.</ref> The name (''Abbedesburi'') may suggest that the land had once belonged to an abbot.<ref name=Keynes207 /> During the reign of [[Cnut the Great|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]].<ref name=Keynes208>Keynes, "The lost cartulary of Abbotsbury", p. 208.</ref> [[Edward the Confessor]] (r. 1042–1066) also granted him [[Wootton, Dorset|Wootton]] and it was early in his reign that the couple founded a monastery at Abbotsbury, previously the site of a minor church.<ref name=Keynes208 /> Orc and Tola, who had no children, enriched the monastery with a substantial amount of land,<ref name=Keynes208 /> some of which was bequeathed after their deaths. By the time of the [[Domesday Book|Domesday survey]], Abbotsbury (itself worth 21 hides) was recorded to have held more than 65 hides of land [[Tempore Regis Eduardi|TRE]].<ref name=Keynes209>Keynes, "The lost cartulary of Abbotsbury", p. 209.</ref> Orc also established his own guild, which according to the extant statutes, had its hall at Abbotsbury and protected the minster's interests.<ref name=Keynes208 /><ref>Dorothy Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', no. 139.</ref>
===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 [[Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535|1535]] and [[Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1539|1539]] [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] undertook the forcible [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]]. Under the last Abbot of Abbotsbury, Roger Roddon, the Abbey was dissolved in 1539,<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Knowles|author2=David M. Smith|author3=Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke|title=The Heads of Religious Houses: England and Wales, III. 1377–1540|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jjqMN2G8fGoC&pg=PA11|date=13 March 2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-86508-1|pages=11–2}}</ref> following a visit from Dr. [[Thomas Legh (lawyer)|Thomas Legh (Leigh, Lee)]].<ref name="british-history.ac.uk">'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].</ref>
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.<ref name="british-history.ac.uk"/> Sir [[Giles Strangways (died 1546)|Giles Strangways]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/dorset/vol2/pp48-53 |title = Houses of Benedictine monks: The abbey of Abbotsbury {{!}} British History Online}}</ref> (died 1546), the commissioner who had dissolved the monastery and who bought the abbey buildings, manor houses, [[water mill]]s and [[Abbotsbury Swannery]] and much of the abbey's land for [[Pound Sterling|£]]1,906, 10[[shilling|s]] (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|1906|1539|r=-4}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/member/strangways-sir-giles-i-1486-1546#footnote8_rohmb6j|title=Strangways, Sir Giles I (1486-1546), of Melbury Sampford, Dorset|publisher=History of Parliament Online|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref>
[[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] granted the abbey site to Sir Giles Strangways.<ref name=Victoria /> Much of the land still belongs to Strangways' descendants, the [[Earl of Ilchester|Earls of Ilchester]].
===Known Abbots of Abbotsbury=== {{Infobox coat of arms |name = The Abbot of Abbotsbury |shield = Azure three sets of two keys addorsed paleways bows interlaced wards in chief.<ref>{{cite book|title=A treatise on ecclesiastical heraldry |author=John Woodward |date=1894}}</ref>}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" ! width="40%" | Incumbent ! width="25%" | In office ! width="35%" | Comments |- valign="top" | Æsuuerdus | ? | appears in 1075<ref name=HeadsI>Knowles, Brooke and London (2001), ''The heads of religious houses: England & Wales, I. 940–1216'', p. 23.</ref> |- valign="top" | [ [[Roger of Salisbury|Roger, bishop of Salisbury]] ] | 1107–1139 | <ref name=HeadsI /> |- valign="top" | Geoffrey | 1140 | <ref name=HeadsI /> |- valign="top" | Roger | ? | appears in 1129 x 1150.<ref name=HeadsI /> |- valign="top" | Geoffrey II | ? | appears in 1166.<ref name=HeadsI /> |- valign="top" | ''vacant'' | 1175, 1–8 July | <ref name=HeadsI /> |- valign="top" | Ralph? | ? | <ref name=HeadsI /> |- valign="top" | Roger II | ? | appears in 1201.<ref name=HeadsI /> |- valign="top" | Hugh | ? | appears in 1204 x 1205.<ref name=HeadsI /> |- valign="top" | ''vacant'' | 1213, 15 July | <ref name=HeadsI /><ref name=HeadsII>Smith and London (2001), ''The heads of religious houses: England & Wales, II. 1216–1377'', pp. 15–6.</ref> |- valign="top" | Hugh II | ? – 1246? | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Roger de Brideton | 1246–1258? | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Joan of Hilton (Helton) | 1258–1284 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Philip of Sherborne | 1284–1296 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | [William of Kingston] | | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Benedict of Loders (Lodres) | 1297–1320 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Ralph of Sherborne | 1320–1321 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Peter of Sherborne | 1321–1324 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | William le Fauconer | 1324–1343 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Walter de Saunford | 1343–1348 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Walter de Stokes | 1348–1354 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Henry (of) Toller (or Tolre) | 1354–1376 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | William Cerne | 1376–1401 | <ref name=HeadsII /> |- valign="top" | Robert Bylsay | 1401–1426 | <ref name=Victoria>Page, ed. (1908), ''The Victoria history of the county of Dorset'', pp. 48–53.</ref> |- valign="top" | Richard Percy | 1426–1442 | resigned in 1442<ref name=Victoria /> |- valign="top" | Edward Watton | 1442–1452 | <ref name=Victoria /> |- valign="top" | William Wuller | 1452–1468 | <ref name=Victoria /> |- valign="top" | Hugh Dorchester | 1468–1496 | <ref name=Victoria /> |- valign="top" | John Abbotsbury | 1496 (elected) | <ref name=Victoria /> |- valign="top" | John Portesham | 1505 (elected) | <ref name=Victoria /> |- valign="top" | Roger Roddon | 1534–1539 | last abbot, surrendered.<ref name=Victoria /> |}
===Burials=== *[[Humphrey Stafford (died 1413)]] and wife Elizabeth d'Aumale Mautravers Stafford *Sir John Mautravers *[[Humphrey Stafford (died 1442)]]
==Architecture and historic listing designations== 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 [[Tithe Barn]], which at 272 ft by 31 ft is reputedly the largest [[thatch]]ed tithe barn in the world,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jurassiccoast.org/visiting-the-coast/gateway-towns/445-abbotsbury|title=Abbotsbury|publisher=jurassiccoast.org|date=2012|access-date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060718/http://jurassiccoast.org/visiting-the-coast/gateway-towns/445-abbotsbury|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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, Abbotsbury|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 building]]s and [[scheduled monument]]s.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1305209|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Tithe Barn|grade=I|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> <ref>{{NHLE|num=1172576|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey St Catherine's Chapel|grade=I|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> In the churchyard to the south of the present parish church, traces of the north wall of the abbey are visible. These remnants are also listed at Grade I.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1118743|desc=North Wall of Abbey Church of St Peter|grade=I|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> Other Grade I listed buildings at the site include the [[Malt house|Malthouse]],<ref>{{NHLE|num=1118747|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Malthouse|grade=I|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> and the Dairy House.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1118706|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Dairy House|grade=I|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> There are four structures listed at Grade II*; the [[Dovecote|Pigeon House]],<ref>{{NHLE|num=1172244|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Pigeon House|grade=II*|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> a gable end section of wall called Pynion's End,<ref>{{NHLE|num=1172220|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Pynion End Gable|grade=II*|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> a gatehouse,<ref>{{NHLE|num=1118741|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Outer Gatehouse|grade=II*|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> and a run of cottages, the Abbott's Walk.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1118746|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Abbott's Walk|grade=II*|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> Grade II buildings include a gateway,<ref>{{NHLE|num=1118742|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Gateway|grade=II|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> Abbey House,<ref>{{NHLE|num=1118748|desc=Abbey House|grade=II|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> and a [[Granary]].<ref>{{NHLE|num=1118745|desc=Abbotsbury Abbey Granary|grade=II|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref> The Abbey's former [[Abbotsbury Swannery|swannery]] is an internationally famous nature reserve.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abbotsburyswannery.co.uk/history|title=Abbotsbury Swannery history|publisher=Abbotsbury Swannery|access-date=28 November 2024}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery widths="180px" heights="180px"> Abbey Barn, Abbotsbury.jpg|The Grade I listed Tithe Barn Part of North Wall of the Abbey Church of St Peter, Abbotsbury - geograph.org.uk - 4300273.jpg|Fragments of the Grade I listed abbey North Wall The Abbey Dairyhouse - geograph.org.uk - 6489641.jpg|The Grade I listed Dairy House Abbey House (geograph 6489683).jpg|The Grade II listed Abbey House, with the gable of the Grade I listed Malthouse on the extreme right All that is left of the abbey church of St Peter, Abbotsbury - geograph.org.uk - 4203066.jpg|The Grade II* listed Pynion End gable, with the tithe barn beyond Granary off Church Street Abbotsbury - geograph.org.uk - 4306002.jpg|The Grade II listed Granary St Nicholas's Church, Abbotsbury - geograph.org.uk - 889509.jpg|The Grade II listed gateway </gallery>
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== *{{Cite journal |last=Keynes |first=Simon |title=The Lost Cartulary of Abbotsbury |journal=[[Anglo-Saxon England (journal)|Anglo-Saxon England]] |volume=18 |year=1989 |pages=207–43|doi=10.1017/S0263675100001496 }} *{{Cite book |editor1=Knowles, David |editor2=C. N. L. Brooke |editor3=Vera C. M. London |title=The Heads of Religious Houses: England & Wales, I. 940–1216 |year=2001 |edition=2nd |location=Cambridge |publisher=CUP}} *{{Cite book |title=The Victoria History of the County of Dorset |editor=Page, William |volume=2 |location=London |year=1908 }} Online: [https://archive.org/details/victoriahistoryo02page archive.org] (PDF) and [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40138 british-history.ac.uk] (pp. 48–53) *{{Cite book |last=Pitt-Rivers |first=Michael |year=1968 |title=Dorset |location=London |publisher=Faber & Faber }} *{{Cite book |editor=Smith, David M. |editor2=Vera C. M. London |title=The Heads of Religious Houses: England & Wales, II. 1216–1377 |year=2001 |location=Cambridge |publisher=CUP}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/abbotsbury-abbey-abbotsbury-9892 Historical reconstruction of Abbotsbury Abbey from the air] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130811011945/http://www.abbotsbury.co.uk/abbotsbury-history.htm History of Abbotsbury] *[http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/abbotsbury-abbey-remains/ Abbotsbury Abbey at English Heritage] * [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/abbotsbury-st-catherines-chapel/ St Catherine's Chapel: English Heritage]
{{Benedictine houses of England and Wales}}
[[Category:Monasteries in Dorset]] [[Category:Anglo-Saxon monastic houses]] [[Category:Benedictine monasteries in England]] [[Category:History of Dorset]] [[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Dorset]] [[Category:Grade I listed monasteries]] [[Category:Scheduled monuments in Dorset]] [[Category:English Heritage sites in Dorset]] [[Category:11th-century establishments in England]] [[Category:1538 disestablishments in England]] [[Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1040s]] [[Category:Lists of abbots]] [[Category:Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation]]