Elstow Abbey was a monastery for

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 ...

nuns in

Elstow Elstow is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. John Bunyan was born here at Bunyan's End, which lay approximately halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow's High Street. History Countess Judith, niece of ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, England. It was founded c.1075 by Judith, Countess of Huntingdon, a niece of

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 House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, and therefore is classed as a royal foundation.

History

The modern church dedicated to St Mary and St Helen used to extend eastwards for some considerable distance, and contained a central tower, chancel, and

Lady chapel A Lady chapel or lady chapel is a traditional British term for a chapel dedicated to "Our Lady", Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly those inside a cathedral or other large church. The chapels are also known as a Mary chapel or a Marian chapel, an ...

. The foundation stones still reportedly cause much trouble to the sexton, though he sometimes unearths beautiful tiles from the old chancel floor. The monastery was known to have been involved in numerous lawsuits, with an array of monasteries including that of

Dunstable Priory The Priory Church of Saint Peter, St Peter with its monastery (Dunstable Priory) was founded in 1132 by Henry I of England, Henry I for Augustinians, Augustinian Canons Regular#Canons Regular, Canons in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. St Pete ...

, Newhouse and

St Albans Abbey St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...

, concerning 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, ...

of various parishes. The nuns often appear to have resorted to aggressive behaviour. There was further trouble in the 14th century when the nearby hospital of St Leonard needed to close and divert a footpath used by the abbey, for the purpose of building construction. The abbess objected and even following a lawsuit in which the abbey lost, they still prevented the work for a further two years until the hospital successfully sought intervention by the Crown, obtaining letters patent. Further incidents followed:

In 1337 Elizabeth Morteyn, who was then abbess, claimed the 'third penny' from the town of
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
, in virtue of an alleged grant from
Malcolm IV Malcolm IV ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Eanric, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 11419 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest ...
, King of Scotland; the case was carried before
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, and the
burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...
es were successful in proving that Malcolm never had any lordship in the town.

There were numerous reports and complaints of unorthodox behaviour, with a visiting bishop commenting that there was 'too much wandering of the nuns out of the monastery.' Also, as many of the nuns and usually the abbess came from high ranking families, they had friends at court who often visited and even stayed in the monastery purely for social reasons. Some 'secular' women even seem to have been living in the monastery and eventually Bishop Gynwell ordered that none were to stay except those granted a special licence to do so. Even so, in 1379 Bishop Buckingham had to order the abbess to dismiss all secular persons from the monastery. Various records of subsequent years show that little ever improved and if anything the monastery became increasingly secularised, with the nuns maintaining individual households, dining with friends and wearing secular clothing. Successive attempts at intervention seem to have been unsuccessful and probably ignored. Apparently there used to be a separate Parish Church for the villagers, but this was destroyed about 1500, and the Abbey church was afterwards fitted up for public worship, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

Dissolution and beyond

There were twenty-three nuns in residence besides the abbess, Elizabeth Boyvill, when the monastery was closed in 1539, all of whom were then pensioned off. The land then passed to Edmund Harvey. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the majority of the church nave was blocked off and retained for parish use. The remainder of the church was demolished after 1580. In 1616 Sir Thomas Hillersdon purchased the remaining monastic buildings and incorporated them into a new house, which itself later became a ruin. The church contains some 15th-century brasses, 17th-century and later tombs and furnishings. Another survivor of the monastery is a small vaulted building on the south side of the church, originally a

parlour A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

and now used as a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

Building

St Mary and Helena Parish Church, Elstow - geograph

Three bays of the church are

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, (about 1075); the two western bays are of

Early English style English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

, about 1225. In 1539, during the suppression, much was lost. By 1580, the east end had been completed, with a west window, and detached tower. A watercolour by Thomas Fisher (c.1815) shows a timber-framed north porch. From 1823 to 1828, restoration work was done. Around 1860, a vestry on the north side of the church was demolished. From 1880 to 1882 restoration work was done, by architect Thomas Jobson Jackson. In 1883 and 1885, the

John Bunyan John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...

stained glass windows by the firm of

Camm Brothers Thomas William Camm (1839 – 1912) was an English stained glass designer and manufacturer. Born in Spon Lane, West Bromwich, he worked for the ornamental department of Chance Brothers in Smethwick until it closed down in 1865, when he set up ...

were added in the east wall. It became a listed building on 13 July 1964.

List of rectors (and abbess)

*Roger de Weseham, 1222 *Haumon de Weseham, 1235 (chaplain) *Alexander de Elnestowe, 1235 *John de Elnestowe, 1247 (subdeacon) * Hamon * John, 1259 (chaplain) * Richard de Salested * Richard Scot, 21 March 1273 (chaplain) * M. Matthew de Dunstaple, 17 October 1275 (subdeacon) * Robert de Welye, 23 September 1284 (clerk) * Hugh de Suthluffenham, 25 May 1311 (chaplain) * Thomas de Baumbergh, 26 September 1317 (acolyte) * William Fincayl, 5 May 1318 (deacon) * John de Felmersham, 1 August 1324 (acolyte) * William de Tykhull, 5 May 1325 * M. Robert le Spicer, 24 June 1335 * D. Hugh de Estmarcham, 27 March 1336 * Adam de Brandon, 12 October 1339 (priest) * Nicholas Holham, 7 December 1340 (priest) * John Bachelor * Robert de la Beche, 26 May 1342 (priest) * Rose Waldegrave, fl. 1452 Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP40/764; image: 4th entry in http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT3/H6/CP40no764/bCP40no764dorses/IMG_1875.htm * John Kyng, 1526 (curate) * Thomas Blocksley (curate) * Robert Hundley, 1605 (M.A., curate) * Robert Twisden, 1612 * Henry Bird, 1617 (vicar) * John Bellay, 1623 (clerk) * Andrew Cater, 165? (clerk) * Christopher Hall, (Vicar) * David Jerland (Vicar) * D. Longhorne, 1668 * John Robinson, 1686 (curate) * Joseph Hobbs, 1696 * John Towersey, 1707 * John Aubrey, 1715 * Robert Phipp * John Smith, 31 October 1782 (clerk, curate) * Thomas Cave, 25 April 1806 (clerk, then curate) * George Hull Bowers, 5 June 1819 (clerk) * John Wing, 1 May 1832 lerk, to perpetual curacy, on resignation of G. H. Bowers * John Gaskin, 2 February 1849 (M.A.) * John Henry Augustus Rudd, 29 July 1852 (B.A.) * James Copner, 4 Dec 1867 (M.A. on resignation of J. H. A. Rudd) * George Parker, April 1896 * Charles Frederick Bonney Hawkins, January 1905 * Stanley Victor Hartley, 1920 * Peter Goodwin Hartley, 1953 * Michael James Murfin Norton, 1976 * John Andrew Tibbs, 1983 * Richard William Huband, 1991 * Jeremy R. Crocker, 2003 * Paul Messam, 2016

References

{{reflist

Sources

* 'Houses of Benedictine nuns: The abbey of Elstow', A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 1 (1904), pp. 353–58. * Anthony New. 'A Guide to the Abbeys of England And Wales', p166-68. Constable.

External links

Official site
Monasteries in Bedfordshire Benedictine nunneries in England

Grade I listed monasteries Religious organizations established in the 1070s Church of England church buildings in Bedfordshire Christian monasteries established in the 11th century 1070s establishments in England 1539 disestablishments in England