Biddlesden was a

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 ...

abbey founded in 1147 by Arnold de Bosco (de Bois), steward to the Earl of Leicester. Abbot William Wibert was deposed in 1198 for fraud, gross immorality and bribery. In the 14th to 15th centuries there was a long running dispute with the parish of

Wappenham Wappenham is a linear village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is south-west of Towcester, north of Syresham and north-west of Silverstone and forms part of West Northamptonshire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's ...

concerning the collection of

tithe 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 r ...

s. It was never a wealthy house for most of its history and would have been dissolved in 1536 if the monks had not petitioned, and paid, for its continuation. The monastery was finally surrendered in September 1538 and became the possession of Thomas Lord Wriothesley. In the 1730s, the ruins of the abbey were demolished and a house built upon the site,

Biddlesden Park Biddlesden Park is a country house at Biddlesden in north-west Buckinghamshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The house, which lies on the site of an old Cistercian abbey, was built by John Sayer, in the Georgian style in 1727. The s ...

House, now a grade II

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 Irel ...

. A few stones from the abbey remain but not in situ.Buckinghamshire County Council archaeology record accessed 3 June 2011
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Burials

William la Zouche, 1st Baron Zouche William la Zouche, 1st Baron Zouche (1276/86–1352), lord of the manor of Harringworth in Northamptonshire, was an English baron and soldier who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is referred to in history as "of Harringworth" to d ...

*William la Zouche, 2nd Baron Zouche *William la Zouche, 3rd Baron Zouche (c. 1355 – 4 May 1396) *William la Zouche, 6th Baron Zouche, 7th Baron St Maur

References

* Anthony New. 'A Guide to the Abbeys of England And Wales', p67. Constable. *'Houses of Cistercian monks: The abbey of Biddlesden', A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 1 (1905), pp. 365–69 * Giraldus Cambrensis, Opera, eds. J.S. Brewer, J.F. Dimock and G.F. Warner vols., 1861-91 Volume 1, 95, 102, 207, 210, 213, 216–7, 293–4. 1147 establishments in England Religious organizations established in the 1140s 1538 disestablishments in England Cistercian monasteries in England Monasteries in Buckinghamshire Christian monasteries established in the 12th century {{England-church-stub