The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Shrewsbury (commonly known as Shrewsbury Abbey) is an ancient foundation in
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, the county town of
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
, England.
The Abbey was founded in 1083 as a
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
by the
Norman Earl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Ireland ...
,
Roger de Montgomery
Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...
. It grew to be one of the most important and influential abbeys in England, and an important centre of pilgrimage. Although much of the Abbey was destroyed in the 16th century, the nave survived as a parish church, and today serves as the mother church for the Parish of Holy Cross.
The Abbey is a Grade I
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
and is a member of the
Greater Churches Group. It is located to the east of Shrewsbury town centre, near the
English Bridge
The English Bridge is a masonry arch viaduct, crossing the River Severn in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The present bridge is a 1926 rebuilding and widening (re-using the original masonry) of John Gwynn's design, completed in 1774. A bridge is kn ...
, and is surrounded by a triangular area which is today referred to as Abbey Foregate.
History
Foundation
![Historyofshrewsb1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Historyofshrewsb1.jpg)
Before the
Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...
a small Saxon chapel dedicated to St Peter stood outside the east gate of Shrewsbury; it had been built by Siward, son of Ethelgar and a close relative of
Edward the Confessor
Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066.
Edward was the son of Æt ...
.
[Ordericus, Le Prévost (ed)]
''Historiæ ecclesiasticæ'', Volume 2, p. 416.
/ref> There was still a landowner, known as Siward the Fat, in Shropshire at Domesday,[Owen and Blakeway, p. 2.]
/ref> although he had owned many more estates in 1066. He must have been the donor of the two estates the church is known from Domesday to have held in 1066: at Boreton near Condover
Condover is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is about south of the county town of Shrewsbury, and just east of the A49. The Cound Brook flows through the village on its way from the Stretton Hills to a confluence with the R ...
and Lowe near Farley. However, the Abbey had lost Lowe by 1087.
When Roger de Montgomery
Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...
received Shropshire from William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
in 1071, he gave the church to one of his clerks, Odelerius of Orléans,[ the father of the historian ]Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...
, who is the main source for the foundation of the Abbey and probably an eye-witness. Orderic stresses his father's role in persuading Earl Roger to commit himself to building a monastery and stresses that Odelerius from the outset wanted it to be Benedictine. The specific purpose was to benefit Earl Roger's soul.
On 25 February 1083 Earl Roger summoned his senior officials, including Warin, the Sheriff of Shropshire
This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire
The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the high sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibili ...
and Picot de Say, and publicly pledged himself to found a new Abbey, laying his gloves on the altar of St. Peter and granting the whole suburb outside the east gate for the construction. Reginald and Frodo, two monks from the great Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Martin-de- Séez in Southern Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, formed the nucleus of the new community, and began to plan and build the monks' lodging, working with Ordelerius and Warin.[Ordericus, Le Prévost (ed)]
''Historiæ ecclesiasticæ'', Volume 2, p. 421.
/ref>[Ordericus, Forrester (trans.)]
''Ecclesiastical History'', Volume 2, p. 202.
/ref> Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
found the abbey under construction: "In the City of SHREWSBURY Earl Roger is building an Abbey and has given to it the monastery of St Peter where the parish (church?) of the City was."[Morris et al]
''Domesday text translation'', SHR 3b,1.
at Hydra Digital Repository. This suggests that Siward's foundation was already a monastery before Earl Roger began building but it is fairly certain there was no more than a wooden parish church.[
When sufficiently complete (probably late in 1087), regular life began under the first abbot, Fulchred of Sées. The Abbey of Saint-Martin-de-Sées was closely associated with Shrewsbury in the early years because Earl Roger was its founder and he and the ]House of Bellême
House of Bellême also referred to as the Family of Bellême was an important seigneurial family during the 10th through the 12th centuries. Members of this family held the important castles of Bellême, Alençon, Domfront and Sées as well a ...
, into which he had married, were also major benefactors there, as were Roger's knights. A notification lodged at Sées in 1086 by Robert of Bellême
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, Roger's son, who was later to become 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, shows that they used the monks as witnesses in their property deals and custodians of the documents. About the time he recruited Abbot Fulchred or Foucher, Earl Roger made a huge grant of estates in England to Sées, for the soul of recently deceased William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
, as well as of Queen Matilda and of Roger himself and his dead wife Mabel de Bellême. Some of these were estates he had originally intended for Mabel. It seems that Sées Abbey for a time harboured plans to claim jurisdiction over Shrewsbury and it also contested some properties granted by Earl Roger; however, Shrewsbury became independent.
Once it was safely under the leadership of Fulchred, Ordelirius placed Benedict, one of his sons, in Shrewsbury Abbey as an oblate
In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service.
Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally liv ...
, with a gift of 200 silver livres
The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France.
The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 g ...
.[ Both Ordelirius himself and Earl Roger met their deaths as monks of the Abbey.
]
Difficulties and insecurity
Earl Roger and his associates added several estates and other sources of income to Shrewsbury Abbey's endowment, which had been valued at £46 18s. in 1086, before the first abbot was appointed. As well as rural manors, the abbey had urban property, mills, and the tithes
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...
and advowson
Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
s of many churches. However, Orderic, a shrewd observer, tells us that Roger only "moderately endowed with lands and rents" (''terris ac redditibus mediocriter locupletavit''). Moreover, there was a long wait ahead before some of the endowments were to materialise.
The abbey's modest but sufficient wealth was threatened, before many of the grants were confirmed by royal charter, when Earl Roger's son, Robert of Bellême, revolted against Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...
in 1102. The king exiled and expropriated his unruly vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...
and the patronage of the abbey escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a ...
ed to the Crown. This deprived the abbey of powerful local protection and gave the descendants and successors of donors an opportunity to wriggle out of their obligations. For example, Siward had given up any claims he might have to the abbey site in return for a life-time grant from Earl Roger of the estate of ''Langafeld'', now Cheney Longville
Cheney Longville ( ) is a small village in Shropshire, England.
It lies in the parish of Wistanstow, near to the small market town of Craven Arms.
It was called simply "Langfeld" in 1087, when it was owned by Shrewsbury Abbey. Roger de Cheney g ...
, which would pass to the abbey on his death. Siward's son, Aldred, refused to surrender the estate to the abbey until Abbot Fulchred gave him £15. This arrangement was engineered by Richard de Belmeis I, later Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, whom the king had sent to exercise viceregal powers in Shropshire after Earl Robert's expropriation. However, Richard was not to be trusted. On his death bed in 1127 he admitted to his confessors that he had lied about his tenure of Betton in Berrington, which really belonged to Shrewsbury Abbey – probably a grant from Robert de Limesey __NOTOC__
Robert de Limesey (died 1117) was a medieval cleric. He became Bishop of Chester in 1085, then his title changed to Bishop of Coventry when the see was moved in 1102.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 253
Robert was a ...
, then Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.
The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in ...
[Eyton, Volume 6, p. 182.]
/ref> His confessor tried to clear up the matter by stating the facts to the interested parties. Although Richard had directed that the estate be restored to Shrewsbury Abbey, its status was contested by his lay successors for decades. In 1127 Philip de Belmeis sued for the estate, although he quickly defaulted. His younger son, Ranulph, tried again a few decades later, but gave up in return for acceptance into the abbey's lay fraternity. As late as 1212 Roger de la Zouche launched a fresh suit, in which he persisted for years, unsuccessfully. These were only examples of a morass of complex litigation into which the abbey was drawn.
However, Henry I himself seems to have been supportive of Shrewsbury Abbey, especially when in the vicinity. He confirmed Robert's gift of land Baschurch
Baschurch is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.
It lies in North Shropshire, north-west of Shrewsbury. The village has a population of 2,503 as of the 2011 census. The village has strong links to Shrewsbury to the south-e ...
to Fulchred, perhaps while actually campaigning against Robert in Shropshire and Staffordshire. He also took Fulchred's side in a variety of disputes with officials of the royal forest
A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...
s in Shropshire and reminded local officials and barons that the abbey was exempt from all customs, as in the time of Earl Roger.
After this initial support, however, there was a long delay before the king took further action on the monastery's behalf. It is unclear when Abbot Fulchred died, but it was certainly some years before 1121, when Henry at last came to the support of Godfrey, the second abbot, with a series of charters. Some of these, at least, were issued within Shropshire: at Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079.
Histor ...
, Condover and Shrewsbury itself. These included a general statement of principle that the new abbot was to enjoy the same estates and privileges as his predecessor. Note was taken that the abbey had exchanged Henry de Say's manor of Brompton,[''Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum'', Volume 2, no. 1298.]
/ref> south of Shrewsbury, for Siward's former estate of Cheney Longville in an attempt to improve management and economise by concentrating resources. Two documents announced and confirmed Henry's own valuable gift of multure or mill-right to the abbey within Shrewsbury. As the monks were to receive the miller's fee for all grain ground in the town, they had a monopoly over milling and no one else was allowed to grind corn without their permission. As it was related to the water power of the Severn and its tributaries, the king attached to the grant a monopoly over fisheries at both of the town's bridges. The newly appointed Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.
The episcopal see is centred in the City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Cathedral Church of Sa ...
, the ambitious royal administrator Richard de Capella
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'str ...
, whose diocese included a large part of southern Shropshire, was specifically warned not to let the king hear of any complaints against himself in relation to the Abbey.
Robert of Shrewsbury and the translation of St Winifred
In 1137/38 Robert of Shrewsbury, who was prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be low ...
under the third and fourth abbots, Herbert and Ralph, negotiated and carried out the translation of the remains of St Winifred from Gwytherin in Wales. Robert is thought to have been a member of the Pennant family of Downing, a few miles north-west of Holywell, the main shrine and fountain of Saint Winifred
Saint Winifred (or Winefride; cy, Gwenffrewi; la, Wenefreda, Winifreda) was a Welsh virgin martyr of the 7th century. Her story was celebrated as early as the 8th century, but became popular in England in the 12th, when her hagiography was f ...
. He wrote a life of the saint shortly after the translation, adding an account of his mission to Wales, which is the main source of information about the events. The body was disinterred and borne ceremoniously to Shrewsbury, a week's journey on foot and thus encumbered. There it was laid in the church of St Giles to await the blessing of the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. Overnight a youth was enabled to walk again by the presence of the reliquary. It was taken in procession into the town. The expectation of an episcopal blessing ensured it was witnessed by "an incredible concourse of devout people" as it was taken to be placed on the altar of the Abbey church, where further miracles were reported. The relics were later enshrined in the abbey.
Robert is generally accepted as responsible for strengthening the cult of Winifred, who had hitherto been an obscure Welsh saint, so that she became the focus of pilgrimages from Shrewsbury and other centres from the 14th century to the present. Later he became the fifth abbot and, although little is known of his abbacy, he seems to have been zealous in pursuing the abbey's interests against local rivals. He was successful in recovering two portions of the tithes of Emstrey parish church which had been granted "against conscience and the consent of his convent" by Abbot Ralph to the church at Atcham
Atcham is a village, ecclesiastical parish and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It lies on the B4380 (once the A5), 5 miles south-east of Shrewsbury. The River Severn flows round the village. To the south is the village of Cross Houses and ...
. Emstrey was a large parish, which stretched from the western bank of the River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
opposite Atcham to the Abbey Foregate.[Eyton, Volume 6, p. 170-1.]
/ref> The Abbey cartulary
A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the f ...
contains an instrument by which the Archbishop, Theobald of Bec
Theobald of Bec ( c. 1090 – 18 April 1161) was a Norman archbishop of Canterbury from 1139 to 1161. His exact birth date is unknown. Some time in the late 11th or early 12th century Theobald became a monk at the Abbey of Bec, risi ...
, orders Bishop Walter to restore the tithes to the abbey.[Owen and Blakeway, p. 108.](_blank)
/ref> The underlying rivalry was not between the Shrewsbury Abbey and the little church of St Eata, but between the Shrewsbury and its Augustinian rival, Lilleshall Abbey which was tightening its grip on Atcham manor and parish, apparently to expand it across the Severn. Its ownership of the ferry crossing at Atcham was an important source of income for Lilleshall. It had recently acquired the advowson
Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
of Atcham church, and was later allowed to appropriate the church by Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and the ...
. By the beginning of the Plantagenet era Shrewsbury Abbey faced considerable competition for resources from major monasteries in the vicinity. As well as Lilleshall, technically a royal foundation, but effectively the creation of the brothers Philip and Richard de Belmeis II
Richard de Belmeis (died 1162) was a medieval cleric, administrator and politician. His career culminated in election as Bishop of London in 1152. He was one of the founders of Lilleshall Abbey in Shropshire.
Origins
Richard de Belmeis belong ...
, there was Haughmond Abbey
Haughmond Abbey ( ) is a ruined, medieval, Augustinian monastery a few miles from Shrewsbury, England. It was probably founded in the early 12th century and was closely associated with the FitzAlan family, who became Earls of Arundel, and som ...
, another large Augustinian house closely connected with the FitzAlan family, and Buildwas Abbey
Buildwas Abbey was a Cistercian (originally Savigniac) monastery located on the banks of the River Severn, at Buildwas, Shropshire, England - today about two miles (3 km) west of Ironbridge. Founded by the local bishop in 1135, it was spa ...
, a large Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...
house that received gifts from many of the local nobility, including the Belmeis and FitzAlans.
The quest for relics seems to have played an important part in the abbey's effort to maintain itself in the face of such competition. Abbot Adam, Robert's successor, is known to have visited Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
, probably with this aim, and it was probably he who brought back an entire rochet that had belonged to Becket, part of another which was stained with the blood of his martyrdom, another cloth stained with his blood and brains, and various items of his clothing, including his hair shirt, collar, girdle, cowl
A cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves, often worn by monks.
Originally it may have referred simply to the hooded portion of a cloak. In contemporary usage, however, it is distinguished from a clo ...
, shirt and glove. A document prepared in the reign of Henry II lists these relics along with those of many other saints. Second only to the relics of Winifred were those of St Elerius, St Winifred's spiritual director, then wrongly considered the author of a life of Winifred that is now thought to date from about 1100.[
]
Monastic life and management
The Benedictine Rule
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...
was not austere in comparison with the discipline of the Cistercians and Augustinians, and Shrewsbury Abbey was markedly less isolated than its competitors, located as it was in the suburbs of a major town. Because of good management, the abbey did not get into serious difficulties in the 12th century, despite the underlying problems with many of its endowments. Even in the early 12th century the abbey owned a number of properties in and around the town: orchards, a vineyard and a sand-pit. In the 13th century the integration with Shrewsbury became closer still, as the abbey expanded its holdings of urban property in the Abbey Foregate, the market, and elsewhere in the town. The great majority of the rural holdings were let to small farmers or cultivated as demesne
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
lands; only rarely did the community let entire manors to laymen, and it was reluctant to tolerate leases of more than one lifetime. The demesnes were managed by lay bailiffs and stewards on behalf of the abbey; there is no evidence that the monks themselves ever cultivated the land.
Within the bounds of this fairly comfortable provision, monastic discipline was apparently quite good. In 1323-4 Bishop Roger Northburgh
Roger Northburgh (died 1358) was a cleric, administrator and politician who was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1321 until his death. His was a stormy career as he was inevitably involved in many of the conflicts of his time: military, dynas ...
, recently appointed and at war with much of the ecclesiastical establishment in his diocese, instigated a series of canonical visitation
In the Catholic Church, a canonical visitation is the act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view to maintaining faith and discipline and of correcting abuses. A person delegated to car ...
s that took in all of the abbeys and smaller houses around Shrewsbury. While criticisms were, in many cases, severe, Shrewsbury's shortcomings were fairly minor or very general: too many monks were missing meals in the refectory
A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...
, novice
A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience.
Religion Buddhism
...
s were allowed out before they had properly learnt the Rule, and the accounts of the obedientiaries, the abbot's under-managers, were inadequate – this last a complaint made of nearly all religious houses in the diocese. Thirty years later, in the wake of the Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
, Northburgh found buildings on many manors were in poor repair, but this was a sign of the times, not the fault of the monks.
In the later Middle Ages the number of monks ranged from 12 to 18. Generally one was away, heading Morville Priory, a dependent monastic cell between Bridgnorth and Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England, situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford. The civil parish includes the villa ...
. In addition to the canonical hours
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers.
In ...
there was regular celebration of Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
in the growing number of chantries
A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings:
# a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or
# a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area i ...
and other chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
s. The chapel of St Mary, behind the High Altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...
, contained the tomb of Earl Roger and was endowed well from the early 13th century. A monk was appointed as its warden and it was initially used to celebrate Mass for visiting dignitaries. In 1343-4 a chantry was established there for the soul of Ralph of Shrewsbury
Ralph of Shrewsbury (died 1363) was an English medieval bishop and university chancellor.
Life
From 1328 to 1329, Ralph was Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
On 2 June 1329 Ralph was elected Bishop of Bath and Wells and consecrated on 3 ...
, the Bishop of Bath and Wells
The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England.
The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...
, funded from the revenues of Boreton. Another chantry was endowed for John Burley in 1414, and shortly afterwards Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
decided to establish a chantry in honour of St Winifred but, this had to wait until much later.
The abbey made some effort to develop its monks intellectually, as well as spiritually. In 1333, on the request of Edward III
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...
and Queen Philippa
Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Strickla ...
, the Pope allowed it to takeover the tithes of Wrockwardine
Wrockwardine (pronounced "Rock-war-deen/dyne") is a village and civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies north of The Wrekin and the M54/ A5, and west of Wellington.
There is a Chur ...
parish church and devote them to the education in theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
of two monks at a university, although the quota was later reduced to a single monk.
Abbots
The monarch was patron of the abbey, but there is no record of whether 12th-century monarchs actually played any part in the installation of Shrewsbury's abbots. Confusion has surrounded the election of Herbert, the third abbot. Orderic wrote that: ''Herbertus gubernaculum rudis abbatiae usurpavit.'' This has been translated to as stating that Herbert "usurped the rudder of the infant establishment" or that he simply "took the government of this rising community." He was consecrated by Archbishop William de Corbeil
William de Corbeil or William of Corbeil (21 November 1136) was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury. Very little is known of William's early life or his family, except that he was born at Corbeil, south of Paris, and that he had two brothers. E ...
but later removed by a legatine council A legatine council or legatine synod is an ecclesiastical council or synod that is presided over by a papal legate.Robinson ''The Papacy'' p. 150
According to Pope Gregory VII, writing in the ''Dictatus papae'', a papal legate "presides over all ...
and replaced by Ralph or Ranulf. In 1250, during the reign of Henry III, there was a major dispute over the succession in which the local candidate, the sacrist
A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.
In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretals ...
Adam, was rejected by the bishop, who appointed William the sub-prior of Coventry. Both were set aside by the Pope, who provided instead Henry, a monk from Evesham Abbey
Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in Worcestershire, England between 700 and 710 following an alleged vision of the Virgin Mary by a swineherd by the name of Eof.
According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the No ...
. A month after his appointment Henry was also granted the privilege of wearing the pontifical ring. The king had played no independent part in the drama: nevertheless the Benedictine chronicler of Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury–commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey–is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of No ...
accused him of intruding William into Shrewsbury Abbey. Thereafter, abbots were invariably elected from within the monastic community.
The abbots became increasingly important political figures. Since the confiscation of Earl Robert's lands by the Crown, each Abbot of Shrewsbury was a tenant-in-chief
In medieval and early modern Europe, the term ''tenant-in-chief'' (or ''vassal-in-chief'') denoted a person who held his lands under various forms of feudal land tenure directly from the king or territorial prince to whom he did homage, as op ...
, and with the summoning of Parliament in the reign of Henry III, compelled to attend.[Owen and Blakeway, p. 32.]
/ref> Abbot Luke bought a house in London to make it easier for himself and his successors to attend Parliament and perform other important political business. This was a good buy, as when the number of abbots summoned to parliament was fixed at 28 during the reign of Edward III, the Abbot of Shrewsbury was one of them.[ The ]Victoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...
asserts that the abbots were permitted by the Pope to wear the mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
from 1397. Abbot Richard Lye actually died in London while on parliamentary business in 1512 and was buried at St Bartholomew-the-Less in Smithfield.[Owen and Blakeway, p. 129.](_blank)
/ref>
List of Abbots
# Fulchred, c. 1087-x 1119
# Godfrey, x 1121-1128
# Heribert, 1128–1138
# Ranulf, x 1138-1147 x
# Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
, occurs 1150 × 1159-1168
# Adam, 1168 × 1173-1175
# Ralph, elected 1175-1186 × 1190
# Hugh de Lacy, fl. 1190 x 1220
# Walter, 1221–1223
# Henry, 1223–1244
# Adam, 1244–1250
# William, 1250–1251
# Henry, 1251–1258
# Thomas, 1259–1266
# William of Upton, 1266–1271
# Luke of Wenlock, 1272–1279
# John of Drayton, 1279–1292
# William of Muckley, 1292–1333
# Adam of Cleobury, 1333–1355
# Henry de Alston, 1355–1361
# Nicholas Stevens, 1361–1399
# Thomas Prestbury, 1399–1426
# John Hampton, 1426–1433
# Thomas Ludlow, 1433–1459
# Thomas Mynde, 1460–1498
# Richard Lye, 1498–1512
# Richard Baker, 1512–1528
# Thomas Boteler 1529–1540
Endowments
The abbey's lands and other income sources were found all over Shropshire, although sparse in the south-west, where Earl Roger had less power and influence.[Angold et al]
''Houses of Benedictine monks: Abbey of Shrewsbury'', note anchor 40.
in Gaydon and Pugh, History of the County of Shropshire, Volume 2. As well as landed estates, there were a number of lucrative churches, salt pans and fisheries. After the first spate of donations there was a tendency for endowments to become more scattered, with grants in Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
and even Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
. It was impossible to dispose legally of mortmain
Mortmain () is the perpetual, inalienable ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition. Historically, the land owner usually would be the religious office of a church ...
properties, as they were inherently inalienable
''InAlienable'' is a 2007 science fiction film with horror and comic elements, written and executive produced by Walter Koenig, and directed by Robert Dyke. It was the first collaboration of Koenig and Dyke since their 1989 production of ''Moon ...
: Church property could be lost only if there was doubt about its status. Billingsley was given up to Sées Abbey in exchange for recognition of Shrewsbury's rights in Lancashire. Part of Betton was surrendered to Hamo Lestrange, and is still known as Betton Strange
Betton Strange is a hamlet in the English county of Shropshire. It is only south of Shrewsbury town centre, situated in countryside just beyond the Shrewsbury bypass (the A5) and near the A458.
It is located in the civil parish of Berrington ...
. In 1286 Edward I ordered the surrender of lands at Mere in Staffordshire, a royal grant to the abbey, which Abbot Drayton had given away to William de Merton.
List of endowments
Late Middle Ages: crises, opportunities and felonies
The economic crisis of the early 14th century hit monasteries hard and Shrewsbury was no exception. One response was to evade the risks of demesne farming in favour of the secure income stream from leases: the Shropshire demesnes seem to have been contracted from 21 carucate
The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...
s in 1291 to 12 in 1355. There were other consolidations. Abbot Adam of Cleobury in 1344 traded the abbey's right to cut timber in the king's woods across the county, which was often hard to exploit because of poor communications, for 240 acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
s of nearby Lythwood, although the exchange cost £100 at the time and an annual rent of £3. The Black Death brought a much worse crisis. Repeated outbreaks of the plague reduced the labour force so that in 1354 Bishop Northburgh blamed the scarcity of labour for the disrepair of many buildings, although he warned the abbey to look after its investment in Lythwood. The next abbot, Henry of Alston, died after a short period of office and soon there were not even enough priests. In 1365 Abbot Nicholas Stevens and the prior of Coventry were each granted a faculty by the Pope to ordain
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...
ten to make up the numbers. Stevens seems to have been a fairly effective leader in consolidating the abbey's position.
During the 14th century considerable rebuilding took place at the west end of the Abbey. A sketch of the great west window made in 1658 by Francis Sandford shows a selection of coats of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...
that seem to suggest it was glazed around 1388, in the time of Stevens, who may also have been responsible for some of the other 14th century alterations. He was on good terms with the king, Richard II, who attributed his grant of a charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
in 1389 not only to his own devotion to St Winifred, but also "the sincere affection we bear and have to Nicholas the abbot, and for his merits."[Owen and Blakeway, p. 121.]
/ref>
This may help account for the abbey's relative impunity under Stevens, who sought, through a protracted series of manoeuvres, to annex Sandwell Priory
Sandwell Priory was a small medieval Benedictine monastery, near West Bromwich, then part of Staffordshire, England. It was founded in the late 12th century by a local landowner and was only modestly endowed. It had a fairly turbulent history and ...
, near West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, to Shrewsbury Abbey. In so doing he got away with near-murder. Initially he encouraged one Richard Tudenham to contest the position of the elected prior, John de Kyngeston. In 1370 Kyngeston took legal action against Stevens after suffering an arrow wound in the arm during an attack by five men. In 1379 Stevens, together with two monks and a secular cleric, abducted Kyngeston and held him at a house in Sleap, north of Shrewsbury, until he signed a resignation. Bishop Robert de Stretton installed as prior of Sandwell one of the Shrewsbury monks involved in the abduction, Brother Richard Westbury. However, the conspirators fell out over the spoils, with Tudenham challenging Westbury's appointment. On Westbury's death in 1397, a successor installed by Bishop Richard le Scrope Richard Scrope may refer to:
* Richard Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton (c. 1327–1403), English soldier and courtier, builder of Bolton Castle
*Richard Scrope (bishop) (c. 1350–1405), Archbishop of York
* Richard Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Bo ...
was driven out by an armed gang. Stevens seems largely to have escaped censure for his role in the affair. There can be little doubt, however, of his determination to protect and extend the interests of his abbey. It was apparently under Stevens that a party of Shrewsbury monks stole the relics of St Beuno, St Winifred's uncle and confessor, from Rhewl and installed them in the abbey church. Although the abbey was fined, it was allowed to keep the relics. It was also under Stevens that a new shrine was built for St Winifred herself.
Thomas Prestbury clearly had very different relations with Richard II and was committed to the custody of the Abbot of Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
in April 1399. He was elected Abbot of Shrewsbury in August, after the king had been imprisoned by Henry IV, which suggests he was suspected of Lancastrian sympathies. His efforts to mediate before the Battle of Shrewsbury
The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battle fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. The battle, the first in which English archers ...
in 1403 were in vain but he brought great prestige to the abbey as Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. However, even he seems to have lived under the cloud of an accusation of felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
.[
]
The veneration of Winifred and the associated cults of Beuno and Elerius seems to have been of increasing importance throughout this period. It was in the time of Stevens or Prestbury that John Mirk
John Mirk was an Augustinian Canon Regular, active in the late 14th and early 15th centuries in Shropshire. He is noted as the author of widely copied, and later printed, books intended to aid parish priests and other clergy in their work. The ...
, Prior of Lilleshall, composed his sermon for St Winifred's day, part of his much-copied and later printed ''Festial''. The chronicler Adam of Usk
Adam of Usk ( cy, Adda o Frynbuga, c. 1352–1430) was a Welsh priest, canonist, and late medieval historian and chronicler. His writings were hostile to King Richard II of England.
Patronage
Born at Usk in what is now Monmouthshire (Sir Fynwy) ...
, after recording the death and burial of Owain Glyndŵr
Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...
, noted that: "The king, with great reverence, went on foot in pilgrimage from Shrewsbury to St Winifred's well in North Wales." This journey is not recorded elsewhere but seems to have been in about 1416, and was probably the occasion of Henry V's proposal to install a chantry in honour of the saint at Shrewsbury. Nothing further was done until 1463, when Abbot Thomas Mynde was allowed by the Pope, in response to a letter from his predecessor Abbot Ludlow, to earmark the tithes of Great Ness
Great Ness and Little Ness are civil parishes in England, civil parishes in Shropshire, England.
Common Local Governance
The two parishes share a Parish councils in England, parish council. The parishes cover the area surrounding the village of ...
for the project, with the proviso that enough remain to support a vicar in the parish. By the time the permission arrived, the Yorkists
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...
were dominant and it was not until 1487 that Mynde was able to mobilise resources for the purpose. In line with the late medieval trend towards mobilising lay initiative for such work, he set up a guild of men and women to service the chantry. Two years earlier Margaret Beaufort
Lady Margaret Beaufort (usually pronounced: or ; 31 May 1441/43 – 29 June 1509) was a major figure in the Wars of the Roses of the late fifteenth century, and mother of King Henry VII of England, the first Tudor monarch.
A descendant of ...
, Henry VII's mother, had rebuilt the shrine at Holywell; William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...
had printed a translation of Robert of Shrewsbury's life of Winifred.[ Despite this late flowering of piety and pilgrimage, however, the abbey was entering on difficult times.
]
Decline and dissolution
Evidence from the reign of King Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...
seems to show the abbey suffering from neglect and maladministration in its later years. Abbot Richard Lye lavished the resources of the monastery on his own family. On 25 October 1508 he granted to his sister Joan and her husband, John Copeland, a large weekly ration of bread and ale, twelve wagonloads of wood annually from Lythwood, and tithes of corn and hay from the townships of Prescott and Stanwardine in the Wood, in Baschurch parish. They also received property: a dwelling house and a shop in Shrewsbury, and meadowland and another home in Colneham. It seems that this generosity with others' property had gone on for some time, as they were also given the reversion of further meadowland then occupied by Joan and the abbot's father, Lodovic Lye. The gifts were limited to Joan's lifetime, apart from the shop and houses, which were to pass to her husband for his lifetime if he survived her. Episcopal visitations from the time of Abbot Richard Baker complain of unpaid debts, poor accounting, buildings in decay and land leased without consulting the chapter. This apparently refers to the grants to Joan and John Copeland, which had been made nominally on behalf of abbot and convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
together. The infirmary was in ruins and Thomas Butler, the subprior, had taken its glass for his own chamber.
Initially prompted by a dispute over the annulment of the marriage of Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...
, the Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in 1534, and became the established church by an Act of Parliament in the Act of Supremacy
The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the En ...
, beginning a series of events known as the English Reformation
The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...
. In the same year there was a Visitation of the Monasteries, ostensibly to examine their character, but in fact to value their assets with a view to expropriation. The Valor Ecclesiasticus
The ''Valor Ecclesiasticus'' (Latin: "church valuation") was a survey of the finances of the church in England, Wales and English controlled parts of Ireland made in 1535 on the orders of Henry VIII. It was colloquially called the Kings books, a s ...
of 1535, however, was an entirely candid valuation of the income of the monasteries. The Crown was undergoing financial difficulties, and the wealth of the church, allied to its political weakness, made appropriation of church property both tempting and feasible. Shrewsbury Abbey's income was assessed by the Valor at precisely £527 15s. 5d. Of this, £414 1s. 3d. was contributed by the temporalities
Temporalities or temporal goods are the secular properties and possessions of the church. The term is most often used to describe those properties (a ''Stift'' in German or ''sticht'' in Dutch) that were used to support a bishop or other religious ...
; essentially, property rents drawn from estates in 26 manors of Shropshire and seven in other counties.
Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...
began the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, with the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries Act
The Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535 ( 27 Hen 8 c 28; 1536 in modern dating), also referred to as the Act for the Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries and as the Dissolution of Lesser Monasteries Act, was an Act of the Parliament of ...
affecting the smaller houses valued at less than £200 a year. This released a torrent of criticism of the larger monasteries that, like Shrewsbury, were comfortably above the threshold. The governance of Thomas Butler, now abbot, was subjected to a litany of complaint to the government by Thomas Maddockes, a London merchant tailor. Much was familiar: the infirmary was no more, numerous parts of the building were in disrepair, and accounting was slack. However, there were instances too of funds being misdirected: the Wrockwardine tithes were no longer funding studies at Oxford, and those of Great Ness did not find their way to Henry V's chantry. Even income intended to buy books for the choir was misappropriated. Boteler was criticised personally for high-handedness and factionalism. More generally, Madockes alleged that the word of God was never preached there since he was abbot."
In 1539 Cromwell moved to the dissolution of the larger monasteries which had escaped earlier, Shrewsbury among them. Henry VIII personally devised a plan to form at least thirteen new dioceses so that most counties had a cathedral (a former monastery). This plan included making Shrewsbury Abbey a cathedral, but, while new dioceses were established at Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
, Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
and Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
, the plans were never completed at Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, or Waltham. The 1539 legislation did not dissolve the greater abbeys, but only made arrangements for receiving on the king's behalf any "which hereafter shall happen to be dissolved, suppressed, renounced, relinquished, forfeited, given up, or by any other means come to King's Highness." Shrewsbury was one of the last to surrender, not because it put up any resistance, but because it lay at the end of the commissioners' circuit. Thomas Legh, one of the six clerks in chancery, officiated as the other commissioners demanded and received the surrender. The Abbey was dissolved on 24 January 1540, with a pension of £80 assigned to the abbot and £87 6s. 8d. to the 17 monks.
Post-Reformation
The abbey site and surrounding land seem to have been rented to Thomas Forster of Evelith, Shifnal, and his wife, Elizabeth, and it was they who had to account to the Exchequer
In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's '' current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government revenu ...
for the abbey temporalities around 1542. However, on 22 July 1546 the lands and site were sold to two property speculators, Edward Watson of Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
and Henry Herdson, a London skinner
Skinner may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Skinner (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with that surname
* Skinner (profession), a person who makes a living by working with animal skins or driving mules
*Skinner, a rin ...
. They had only a pecuniary interest in the abbey site and sold it the following day to William Langley, a Shrewsbury tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
. After five generations, the last of the Langley line left it in 1701 to Edward Baldwin, a Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
lawyer. As he died without issue, it was passed via his sister to the Powys family.
The western part of the Abbey (nave, side aisles, porch and west tower) was preserved as a parish church and the remaining buildings were either re-used or demolished. The building suffered severely from neglect after the Reformation. The lead from the roof was removed, leading to decay and eventual collapse. The Norman clerestory
In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
was still in existence in the 17th century but it was later taken down and the roof was rebuilt immediately above the triforium
A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locate ...
. Considerable portions of the monastic buildings were still standing in 1743 but most have since been demolished, particularly when Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...
built his A5 road
A5 Road may refer to:
;Africa
* A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan
* A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Francistown
;Americas
* Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada
* County Route A5 (California) or B ...
through the Abbey grounds c.1836, removing much of the remaining evidence of the monastic layout. The old refectory pulpit is still visible across the road from the church and a single wall of an Abbey building, now an integral part of another building, remains. In the late 19th century the possibility of the Abbey becoming a cathedral, for a Shropshire-wide diocese, was again considered, but legislation to that effect, drafted in 1922, was defeated by one vote in the House of Lords in 1926.
Holy Cross Church
The abbey's church had always doubled as the church for the Abbey Foregate parish, as it owed its origins to the church, founded by Siward the Fat. It was a vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
age controlled by the abbey community. Its title varied slightly through time. One William, is known to have served as ''clericus de Cruce'', clerk of the Cross, in the early 13th century.[Owen and Blakeway, p. 145.](_blank)
/ref> Around mid-century, Henry was the vicar of the altar of the Holy Cross. A late medieval reference in the records of the Diocese of Hereford
The Diocese of Hereford is a Church of England diocese based in Hereford, covering Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes within Worcestershire in England, and a few parishes within Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales. The cathedral ...
calls it ''Vicaria altaris Sancte Crucis, ecclesia paochialis de Foriete Monachorum'': Vicarage of the altar of Holy Cross, parish church of the Monk's Foregate. From the brief reign of Edward V (1483) comes a document that appends ''Sancti Egidii'' or Saint Giles' to the name of the parish.
The parish had its own bailiffs, burgesses and seal, distinct from those of Shrewsbury itself. However, Shrewsbury's renewed municipal charter
A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Traditionally the granting of a charter ...
of 1586 brought Holy Cross parish under its civic authority. Until the Dissolution, the right to present to the vicarage, or advowson, belonged to the Abbot and convent of Shrewsbury Abbey. Then it passed to the Crown. However, in 1797, legislation was passed to transfer the advowson to Thomas Noel Hill, 2nd Baron Berwick
Thomas Noel Hill, 2nd Baron Berwick of Attingham, FSA (21 October 1770 – 3 November 1832), was a British peer and art patron.
The first son of Noel Hill, who was created Baron Berwick in 1784, and his wife Anna Vernon, he was educated a ...
of Attingham Park
Attingham Park is an English country house and estate in Shropshire. Located near the village of Atcham, on the B4380 Shrewsbury to Wellington road. It is owned by the National Trust. It is a Grade I listed building.
Attingham Park was b ...
, in exchange for the patronage of some parishes he held in Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
.
The vicarage was fairly generously endowed with land and other income sources under an agreement made apparently by Abbot John Drayton in the 13th century. After the Dissolution of the Abbey, the parish church continued to be housed in the remains of the abbey church.
The church seems to have been damaged as a result of measures taken to fortify Shrewsbury after the Parliamentarians took the town in 1645. On 2 December 1646 the Parliamentarian County Committee instigated a survey and set aside timber for repairs. In 1649 the churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...
s paid Thomas Landford £10 1s. to repair breaches on the north side and east end, using stones from the old abbey buildings, and were able to offset against this 3s. they made by selling materials recovered from the damaged part of the church. In this period the church was generally called Abbey Foregate Church,[Auden, p. 290.]
/ref> as Puritans rejected the veneration of saints and relics. Under the ultimately abortive proposals for a Presbyterian polity
Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...
in Shropshire, dated 29 April 1647, Abbey Foregate parish was part of the county's first classis, along with most of the churches in Shrewsbury and the surrounding area. However, the minister was not appointed an elder of the classis and the parishioners remained uncooperative with Puritan church governance even after the collapse of the Presbyterian scheme.[
]
List of vicars
The following list is based on information in Owen and Blakeway's ''History of Shrewsbury'' and the Clergy of the Church of England database
The Clergy of the Church of England database (CCEd) is an online database of clergy of the Church of England between 1540 and 1835.
The database project began in 1999 with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is ongoing as a ...
. CCEd references are given where available – broadly post-Reformation, but not under the Commonwealth.
=Medieval
=
* William, known to have attested a deed during period 1216–28.
* Henry, first entitled vicar of the altar of the Holy Cross, witnessed a deed of which another witness was known to be living in 1241.
* Sir Gilbert, witnessed a deed in the time of Abbot William Upton, c. 1270.
* Sir William de Baschurch, vicar in the time of Abbot John Drayton, late 13th century.
* Sir Martin, died 1330.
* John de Hilton, occurs 1330.
* Roger de Humphreston, occurs 1334, left 1349.
* William Tandy, 1349–65.
* William le Bruys, occurs 1365.
* Sir Hamon, occurs 1398.
* William de Toonge (presumably of Tong, Shropshire
Tong is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located between the towns of Shifnal, Newport and Brewood. It is near junction 3 of the M54 motorway and A41 road. The population of the village which was included in the civil ...
), vicar in 1400, when he exchanged the parish with his successor.
* Sir Adam Tresale, 12 May 1400, resigned the free chapel of Greote in Hereford diocese to exchange for Holy Cross, which he exchanged again the following year.
* John Besselow, exchanged Wolstanton
Wolstanton is a suburban town on the outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.
History
The Roman road the Rykeneld Street passed through Wolstanton.
Wolstanton is mentioned in the Norman Domesday book where it is listed amongst the ...
with Tresale to come to Holy Cross, but died following year.
* Sir Thomas More, 8 September 1402. Resigned to take up Shrewsbury Abbey's parish of Wrockwardine, 16 March 1426.
* Sir William Kemsey, 24 June 1426, resigned following year to exchange with successor.
* Sir John Gomond, 9 May 1427, previously vicar of Stottesdon. Presented by Abbey to rectory of Berrington, 1430.
* Sir Richard Lye, 29 July 1430, resigned immediately.
* Sir William Marshall, 1 August 1430.
* Sir Thomas Morris, occurs 1483, died 1503.
* Richard Baker, 1503–30
* William Hordley, 1530–58.
=Post-Reformation
=
* Edmund Bennett, 24 May 1559 – 1610, also served as curate of Ballidon chapel in Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, 1561.
* Francis Gibbons, 16 February 1611 – 7 January 1640. Grandson of William Langley, he became a D.D.
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...
and chaplain to Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
. He oversaw the installation of an altar rail at Holy Cross in 1635, a clear sign of Laudian
Laudianism was an early seventeenth-century reform movement within the Church of England, promulgated by Archbishop William Laud and his supporters. It rejected the predestination upheld by the previously dominant Calvinism in favour of free will, ...
sympathies. His brother, Richard Gibbons, was elected as one of the bailiffs in 1628 and was a leader of the High Church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
opposition on the corporation to the Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
s around William Rowley.
* James Logan, instituted 4 May 1640, resigned 1663. However, he seems to have been ejected in February 1645, when Parliamentarian forces took Shrewsbury.
=Commonwealth and Protectorate
=
* Joshua Richardson, 1645–6, an Oxford graduate from Broughton, near Myddle
Myddle—also formerly known as Mydle, Middle, , M'dle, Meadley and Medle—is a small village in Shropshire, England, about 10 miles north of Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire. Myddle lies in the parish of Myddle, Broughton and Harmer H ...
, was installed by the new Parliamentarian regime. He soon left to become Rector of Myddle.
* John Beale, c. 1647–8.
* Moses Leigh, c. 1649-50
* John Bryan, c. 1650–59. A noted Puritan preacher and son of another, John Bryan of Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
. The corporation had tried unsuccessfully to recruit the elder Bryan for St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury and the younger's installation at Holy Cross seems to have been seen as a compensation. He found the congregation intractably conservative and for a time could not administer the Lord's Supper
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
because they refused to elect elders.[Coulton, p. 127.] Under advice from Richard Baxter
Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he ...
, he investigated a move to St Julian's before moving to Chad church in Shrewsbury to replace Thomas Paget.
* Moses Leigh again, appointed by Richard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell.
On his father's death ...
, under letters patent dated 3 May 1659.[
]
=Post-Restoration
=
* James Logan returned to office at Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
, 1660. Resigned 1663.
* Timothy Hammond, July 1663. Buried 2 May 1671. CCEd currently has no records of him beyond 1665.
* Moses Leigh again, according to Owen and Blakeway, after he was put out of Norton in Hales
Norton in Hales is a village and parish in Shropshire, England.
It lies on the A53 between the town of Market Drayton and Woore, Shropshire's most northeasterly village and parish.
Staffordshire is to the east of the parish and Cheshire to the ...
in the Great Ejection
The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England, following The Restoration of Charles II. It was a consequence (not necessarily ...
of 1662 but later conformed. This third incumbency is not currently mentioned in CCEd, which has a lacuna.
* Samuel Pearson, 1676–1727. He was ordained a priest on 7 October 1676 and was made vicar of Holy Cross only two days later. He seems to have been popular in the parish, as attested in address from the parishioners to the bishop after his death on 16 November 1727.
* John Latham, 1727–50. Instituted on 28 November 1627, he quickly offended parishioners by proposing to remove a painting of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
installed, according to the protesters, in the chancel by Pearson, although there is actually no chancel in the church. Bishop Chandler supported him and the painting was removed.
* William Gorsuch, 1750–82. Gorsuch was so meticulous in keeping records of births and deaths in the parish that his data was vital to the work of Richard Price, an important figure in the development of actuarial science.
* William Oakeley, 1782–1803.[CCEd Person ID: 157600](_blank)
/ref> Oakeley was already rector of Eaton-under-Heywood
Eaton-under-Heywood is a civil parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 171.
It is named after the small village of Eaton, which lies under Wenlock Edge and the woods along it. The village is also ...
and of Forton, Staffordshire when appointed to Holy Cross. In 1782 he became domestic chaplain to Bishop Cornwallis, who granted him special dispensation before instituting him vicar of Holy Cross. He did, however, resign the living at Eaton in 1786.
*Henry Lingen Burton, 1804–31, the first to be presented by Lord Berwick, also held at least two other livings while at Holy Cross: Atcham and Madeley, Shropshire.
Notable later vicars
*William Henry Draper (hymnwriter)
William Henry Draper (19 December 1855 – 9 August 1933) was an English hymnodist and clergyman who composed about sixty hymns. He is most famous for "All Creatures of Our God and King", his translation of "Canticle of the Sun" by Francis of As ...
- Vicar 1889-99
* Christopher Sidney Sims - Vicar 2002–2009, later Archdeacon of Walsall
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...
Notable curates
* Walsham How - later Bishop of Wakefield
The Bishop of Wakefield is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a Diocese, diocesan Anglican minist ...
and hymnwriter - Curate 1848-51
Present-day church
Much of the original Norman 11th century building survives in the present Abbey church, notably the short thick piers in the eastern half of the nave and the remnants of the original transepts. Stones with three sculptured figures, representing John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, Saint Winefride and St. Beuno, were found in a garden and have been restored to their original position in the screen. During the 19th century there were major restoration projects to restore the clerestory, and the east end of the church was redesigned by John Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency ...
to contain a chancel and sanctuary.
Inside the west end, on opposite walls, are stone war memorial tablets to parishioners who died serving in the separate World Wars. One name on the tablet for the First World War is war poet
A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...
Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC (18 March 1893 – 4 November 1918) was an English poet and soldier. He was one of the leading poets of the First World War. His war poetry on the horrors of trenches and gas warfare was much influenced b ...
(as Lieutenant W.E.S. Owen M.C., Manchester Regiment
The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...
). In the Abbey churchyard is a memorial sculpture entitled "Symmetry" and erected by the Wilfred Owen Association on his birth centenary (1993) by Paul de Monchaux
Paul de Monchaux (born 1934) is a Canadian-born English sculptor and teacher. He has created many public sculptures by commission, which stand in locations in Britain.
Life
De Monchaux was born in Montreal, Canada in 1934. He studied at the Art St ...
, incorporating a line from Owen's poem ''Strange Meeting'' inscribed by Paul's wife, Ruth.
In recent times, the area surrounding the Abbey has been prone to flooding.
Bells
At the Dissolution, the Abbey had two rings of five bells, one in the current tower and one in a central tower. In 1673, a ring of eight was cast by George Oldfield of Nottingham and these were replaced over time by the present bells. Nine peals were rung at the Abbey in the eighteenth century. The bells were rung full-circle until at least 1895, but in 1909 concern over the safety of the tower led to the bells being removed and rehung without wheels in a new frame. They are currently sounded by an Ellacombe apparatus
The Ellacombe apparatus is a mechanism devised for performing change ringing on church bells by striking stationary bells with hammers. It does not produce the same sound as full circle ringing due to the absence of Doppler effect as the bells do ...
, whereby they can be rung by a single person.
* Treble and 2nd - Thomas Mears II of London, 1825
* 3rd - John Taylor & Co of Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...
, 1884
* 4th - John Briant of Hertford, 1812
* 5th - Charles and George Mears of London, 1846
* 6th - Abel Rudhall of Gloucester, 1745
* 7th - John Warner & Sons of London, 1877
* Tenor - Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester, 1713
Music
Choirs
The Abbey has a long-standing reputation for excellence in liturgical music. Records from the mid-19th century show the existence of a choir of boys and men, which was maintained until after the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The current choir consists of a mixed adult choir which sings the majority of services. The choir regularly visits cathedrals to sing services in the absence of the cathedral choir.
Organ
The Abbey has a fine organ, built in 1911 by William Hill and Son. It was designed to be on the scale of a cathedral organ, but lack of funds meant the original scheme was never completed. Some stops were subsequently added but, today it is still incomplete. The quality of the Hill organ and the richness of its Edwardian tone still shine through after 100 years of service, and the organ is a wonderful and fitting complement to the beauty of this ancient Abbey church. The console is also in original condition and is unusual for the right side positioning of the swell pedals, and for the sight of stop stubs (7) for the "missing" ranks.
With the passage of time, the pneumatics have become increasingly unreliable and there have also been problems with the wind systems. A scheme for the organ's renovation and completion was launched in 2011 to appeal for the necessary £400,000 for the scheme to start. The recent provision of two new modern blowers has greatly improved both the tone and the reliability of the organ. The current specification of the organ is available on th
National Pipe Organ Register
The proposed specification of the completed organ, after the renovation, is available on th
Work on renovation is currently 021in progress.
Organists and Directors of Music
*1806-1820 Thomas Tomlins
*1820-1831 John Amott
*1831-1847 John Hiles
*1847-1865 William Fletcher
*1865-1892 James Warhurst
*1892-1919 Percy William Pilcher
*1919-1922 -
*1922-1937 George Walter Tonkiss
*1937–1945 G A Turner
*1945–1947 Edgar Daniels
*1947-1974 John R Stanier
*1974–1976 Ray Willis
*1976–1978 Robert Gillings
*1978–1984 Kenneth Greenway
*1984–1986 Charles Jones
*1986-1986 Sean Tucker
*1986–1988 Paul Derrett
*1988-1992 Keith Orrell
*1992-1994 James Lloyd-Thomas
*1995–1999 William Hayward
*2000–2006 David Leeke
*2007–2010 Tim Mills
*2011-2013 Tom Edwards
*2013-2015 Duncan Boutwood
*2015-2016 Paul David Watson (Acting)
*2016- Peter Smith
Cadfael
Shrewsbury Abbey is the setting for ''The Cadfael Chronicles
''The Cadfael Chronicles'' is a series of historical murder mysteries written by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter (1913–1995) under the name "Ellis Peters".
Set in the 12th century during the Anarchy in England, the novels focus on a Bene ...
'' by Ellis Peters
Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her ''nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her transla ...
, in which the fictional Brother Cadfael
Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedic ...
is embroiled in a series of historical murder mysteries. The character of Cadfael is a Welsh Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monk living at the Abbey in the first half of the 12th century. The historically accurate stories are set between about 1135 and about 1145, during The Anarchy
The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...
, the destructive contest for the crown of England between King Stephen and Empress Maud
Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...
.
Burials
Burials at the Abbey
*Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury
Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...
*Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury (died 1098), was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat and member of the House of Bellême. He was also known as Hugh the Red.
Life
He was the second surviving son of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury o ...
*William FitzAlan, Lord of Oswestry
William FitzAlan (1105–1160) was a nobleman of Breton ancestry. He was a major landowner, a Marcher lord with large holdings in Shropshire, where he was the Lord of Oswestry, as well as in Norfolk and Sussex. He took the side of Empress Mati ...
The churchyard
Most of the present churchyard covers the site of the east end of the monastic church. It was created as the town's first public cemetery, having been bought by a group of gentlemen to avoid the ground being sold in individual plots. This was incorporated by an Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
obtained in 1840 and consecrated in 1841, but was commercially unsuccessful; 148 burials took place between the latter year and 1888, when it was sold back to the Abbey Church. The municipal General Cemetery at Longden Road (opened 1856) overtook the Abbey Cemetery in public usage.
See also
*Diocese of Lichfield
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers of seve ...
* Bishop of Shrewsbury
*Grade I listed churches in Shropshire
Grade most commonly refers to:
* Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance
* Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage
* Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope
Grade or grading may also ref ...
*Listed buildings in Shrewsbury (outer areas)
Shrewsbury is a civil parish in Shropshire, England. It contains nearly 800 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, 14 are listed at Grade I, the highest of the three grades, 71 are at Grade&nb ...
*
* List of ecclesiastical restorations and alterations by J. L. Pearson
Footnotes
References
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External links
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Abbey of Shrewsbury
Victoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...
(1973) – via British History Online
''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Universi ...
{{Authority control
Benedictine monasteries in England
1083 establishments in England
Christian monasteries established in the 11th century
Monasteries in Shropshire
Churches in Shrewsbury
Church of England church buildings in Shropshire
J. L. Pearson buildings
Grade I listed buildings in Shropshire
Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation