Beeleigh Abbey near
Maldon
Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...
in
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, was a monastery constructed in 1180 for the
Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in United Kingdom, Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their religious habit, habit), is a religious order of canon ...
, as known as the Norbertines or Premonstratensians. The order linked the change of the separate life of
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
s in the 12th century with the retrospective life of the
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...
, who was considerably more active.
History
Beeleigh Abbey was originally a daughter of
Newsham Abbey
Newsham Abbey was an abbey in Newsham, a small hamlet north of Brocklesby village in Lincolnshire, England. Founded by Peter of Gousla in 1143, Newsham was a daughter house of the Abbey of Licques, near Calais, and the first Premonstratensian hous ...
in Lincolnshire, established at the instigation of Robert de Mantell, lord of the manor of Little Maldon. The abbey obtained a royal charter from
Richard I
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...
in 1189.
The heart of
Saint Roger Niger of Beeleigh (a thirteenth-century
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 ...
) was buried at Beeleigh and the abbey became a pilgrimage site. In 1289, pilgrims included King
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
and
Queen Eleanor.
After the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, many of the abbey buildings were pulled down. In 1540,
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 disa ...
granted the abbey and lands to
Sir John Gate
Sir John Gates KB (1504–1553)Sil p. 69 was an English courtier, soldier and politician, holding influential household positions in the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. One of the Chief Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber under Edward VI, he beca ...
, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Thirty years after the land was given away there was an extension added to the abbey of a farmhouse.
During the 18th century, the building was used as a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
. By the late 19th century, the buildings were in a ruinous condition, but in 1912, restoration was begun by Captain F. W. Grantham. In 1943, the Abbey was purchased by
William Foyle
William Alfred Westropp Foyle (1885–1963) was a British bookseller and businessman who co-founded Foyles bookshop in 1903 with his brother Gilbert Foyle.
William Foyle was one of the leading London booksellers of the 20th century. In 190 ...
, owner of
Foyles bookshop.
The abbey is now a private residence and is not generally open to the public, but small private groups may be shown around it by prior arrangement with the owners. The roofs of the resilient medieval buildings can be seen from a footpath that runs down market hill and ends following the
River Chelmer
The River Chelmer is a river that flows entirely through the county of Essex, England, running from the northwest of the county through Chelmsford to the River Blackwater near Maldon.
Course
The source of the river is in the parish of Debden i ...
. The abbey gardens, are now also open to the public, on specific days during the summer months.
In 2008, the Premonstratensians returned to Essex, establishing a house at
St. Philip's Priory in
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
, some 8 miles from Beeleigh. In 2010 the Prior of St Philip's Priory and three of the canons were welcomed to Beeleigh Abbey, the first such visit by White Canons since the visit in 1955 by Father Norbert Backmund of
Windberg Abbey
Windberg Abbey (german: Kloster Windberg) is a Premonstratensian monastery in Windberg in Lower Bavaria, Germany.
History First foundation
Windberg Abbey was founded by Count Albert I of Bogen with the assistance of Bishop Otto of Bamberg on ...
in Bavaria. He was the first White Canon to have visited Beeleigh since the monastic dissolution in 1536.
In April 2011, the Abbot General, worldwide head of the Premonstratensian Order (White Canons) in Rome, Father Thomas Handgraetinger, was welcomed at Beeleigh, together with the Prior of Chelmsford, Father
Hugh Allan
Sir Hugh Allan (September 29, 1810 – December 9, 1882) was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist. By the time of his death, the Allan Shipping Line had become the largest privately owned shipping empire in the wor ...
, and three canons. Father Hugh Allan, Prior of Chelmsford, was promoted to Abbot, and with the agreement of the owners of Beeleigh Abbey, Mr & Mrs Christopher Foyle, became Titular Abbot of Beeleigh, the first Abbot of Beeleigh since 1536.
On 8 December 2016 at the Roman Catholic Church of
Our Lady Immaculate
The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception.
It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth wh ...
in Chelmsford Father Hugh was enthroned Abbot by the
Bishop of Brentwood in the presence of the Bishop Emeritus, the Anglican
Bishop of Chelmsford, the
High Sheriff of Essex
The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the ...
and other Essex VIPs, many canons and clergy and a full congregation. Christopher Foyle presented 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 ...
to the Abbot.
In August 2000, following the death in 1999 of the previous incumbent, William Foyle's daughter
Christina Foyle
Christina Agnes Lilian Foyle (30 January 1911 – 8 June 1999) was an English bookseller and owner of Foyles bookshop.
Early life
Miss Foyle (as she liked to be called) was born in London, the daughter of William Foyle, a leading bookseller, ow ...
, Christopher Foyle, chairman of Foyles Bookshops, and from 1978 until 2006, chairman of the Air Foyle Group, his cargo and passenger airline corporation, and his wife Catherine, purchased Beeleigh Abbey and its 400-acre estate beside the river Chelmer from Christina Foyle's executors. They then set about a four-year restoration of the Abbey and its gardens, which had deteriorated somewhat during the previous 30 years. As a result, in 2008, they were awarded, by the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the val ...
, their East of England Conservation Award, and later in the same year, their National Conservation Award, for the best restored historical building in the UK.
Archaeology
In 2000, the owners arranged for an archaeological investigation of the site that continued until 2006.
[''Below Ground at Beeleigh'' (Maldon Archaeological and Historical Group, 2007)] A geophysical survey was followed by an excavation. During the course of the investigation there were a number of "open days" which allowed hundreds of visitors to see the site. Nothing could be dated to the 1180 construction, but among the discoveries were the foundations of a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
hall house
The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...
, a
brick clamp
:''"Brick clamp" also refers to a device (usually powered) to lift quantities of bricks.''
A brick clamp is a traditional method of baking bricks, done by stacking unbaked bricks with fuel under or among them, then igniting the fuel. The clamp ...
, and other outbuildings.
Other finds included large amounts of pottery dated from the 12th to the 16th century, a small amount of early (13th - 16th century) coins, some
jeton
Jetons or jettons are tokens or coin-like medals produced across Europe from the 13th through the 18th centuries. They were produced as counters for use in calculation on a counting board, a lined board similar to an abacus. They also found use ...
s and a
seal matrix that belonged to the Abbey. Further excavations are being planned.
Burials at the Abbey
*
Isabel of Cambridge, Countess of Essex
Isabel of Cambridge, Countess of Essex (1409 – 2 October 1484) was the only daughter of Richard, 3rd Earl of Cambridge, and Anne Mortimer. She was the sister of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and like him a great-grandchild of Edwar ...
*
Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex
Henry Bourchier, 5th Baron Bourchier, 2nd Count of Eu, 1st Viscount Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex, KG ( – 4 April 1483), was the eldest son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, and Anne of Gloucester. On his mother's side, he was a gr ...
*
John Bourchier, 6th Baron Ferrers of Groby
Sir John Bourchier ( 1438 – 1495) was a 15th-century English knight and nobleman. He was steward of the Honour of Richmond.Douglas Richardson. ''Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial And Medieval Families,'' 2nd Edition, 2011. pp. 161–16 ...
Notes
External links
List of Abbots and Canons
{{Coord, 51.7379, 0.6635, type:landmark_region:GB-ESS, display=title
Grade I listed buildings in Essex
Grade I listed houses
Christian monasteries established in the 12th century
Monasteries in Essex
Premonstratensian monasteries in England
Country houses in Essex
1180 establishments in England
1540 disestablishments in England
Religious organizations established in the 1180s
Grade I listed monasteries
Maldon, Essex
Burial sites of the House of York