Flaxley Abbey is a former Cistercian

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 whi ...

in England, now a Grade I listed manor and private residence, near the village of Flaxley in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. It is the former seat of the

Crawley-Boevey Baronets The Barrow, later Crawley-Boevey Baronetcy (pronounced "Boovey"), of Highgrove (Hygrove House, Minsterworth) in the County of Gloucester, is a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 22 January 1784 for Charles Barrow, Member ...

History

Foundation and background

Flaxley Abbey was founded in 1151 by

Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford, (before 1125 – 1155) was an English noble who played an active and influential part in the wars between Empress Matilda and King Stephen (a civil war known as the Anarchy). Biography Roger was the so ...

as a Cistercian monastery. It was allegedly founded on the spot where his father Miles, 1st Earl of Hereford was killed during a hunting in the Forest of Dean in 1143. The monks who built the abbey came from

Bordesley Abbey Bordesley Abbey was a 12th-century Cistercian abbey near the town of Redditch, in Worcestershire, England. The abbey's foundation was an act of Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan, who gave the monks of Garendon Abbey in Leicestershire some ...

founded in Worcestershire in 1138. In the late 12th century, it was noted that Pope Celestine III and Pope Alexander III granted the monks of Flaxley Abbey special immunity from tithes. The monastery came under royal protection during the reign of King Henry II and was used as a royal hunting quarters. In 1227 King Henry III gave a grant to Flaxley Abbey to the woods, called Abbot's Woods.

King 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 ...

, who paid frequent visits to Flaxley Abbey, granted to Flaxley Abbey income from the rents and profits of the lands of the

in 1353.The cartulary and historical notes of the Cistercian abbey of Flaxley.

Dissolution

Flaxley Abbey was eventually dissolved during the Dissolution of the Monasteries on 4 September 1536. On 21 March 1537 the abbey and its lands were granted to Sir William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London during much of the reign of Henry VIII, who superintended the execution of

Queen Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...

. During this time the west and south wings of the abbey were converted into a manor.

The Crawley-Boevey family

Flaxley Abbey was purchased in 1648 by the London merchant, lawyer and philosopher

James Boevey James Boevey (1622–1696) (pronounced "Boovey") was an English merchant, lawyer and philosopher of Huguenot parentage. Origins He was born in London at 6 a.m. on 7 May 1622 in Mincing Lane, in the parish of St. Dunstan-in-the-East. He was the ...

(1622–1696), with his half-brother William. Later resident

Catherina Boevey Catherina Boevey (1669–1726) (or Bovey, ''nee'' Riches) (pronounced "Boovey"), was a philanthropist. Origins Catherina was born in London in 1669, the daughter of John Riches (1628–1718) by his second wife Anne Davall, whom he had married ...

, an inheritance from her short marriage to William Boevey (James Boevey's son), passed the house to Thomas Crawley (later styled Crawley-Boevey) at her death in 1727.'Flaxley'
''A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5: Bledisloe Hundred, St. Briavels Hundred, The Forest of Dean'' (1996), pp. 138-150. Date accessed: 16 October 2010. The family was created as the

(originally Barrow Baronetcy) on 22 January 1784. During this time the house was substantially rebuilt by the designs of architect

Anthony Keck Anthony Keck (1726–1797) was an 18th-century English architect with an extensive practice in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Wales. Life Keck was born at Randwick, Gloucestershire in 1726 He designed in the "austere ...

. As baronets the manor and the estate continued to pass down from father to eldest son. Flaxley Abbey remained as the family home until 1960.

Gardens and landscape

After the death of William Boevey, his wife Catherina Boevey completed Dutch-style gardens on the grounds of Flaxley Abbey. It is said that Maynard I Colchester, a close friend of Catherina, was influenced by her own canal gardens for his

Westbury Court Garden Westbury Court Garden is a Dutch water garden in Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire, England, southwest of Gloucester. It is a rare survival of seventeenth century garden design and was initially laid out by the owner of Westbury Court, Mayna ...

. The layout of the gardens and improvements to Flaxley Abbey were continued by her after her husband's death. However, due to the modification of the land, the Dutch-style gardens at Flaxley Abbey were eventually removed. Between 1962 and 1963 a new modern style garden as well as the manor's interior were redesigned by

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winning theater and set designer

Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...

Notable visitors

King John I of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

''Itinerary of King John''. *

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

* Queen Mary of England (Teck) in 1945.

Notable residents

* Matilda Blanche Crawley-Boevey, wife of famed Victorian businessman William Gibbs of

Tyntesfield Tyntesfield is a Victorian Gothic Revival house and estate near Wraxall, North Somerset, England. The house is a Grade I listed building named after the Tynte baronets, who had owned estates in the area since about 1500. The location was form ...

and daughter of Sir Thomas Crawley-Boevey, 3rd Baronet. * Arthur William Crawley-Boevey, author, Acting Chief Presidency Magistrate of Bombay, married daughter of Colonel Robert Phayre (Brother of

Arthur Purves Phayre Sir Arthur Purves Phayre (7 May 1812 – 14 December 1885) was a career British Indian Army officer who was the first Commissioner of British Burma, 1862–1867, Governor of Mauritius, 1874–1878, and author. His brother, Sir Robert Phayre (18 ...

Governor of Mauritius), in 1883. Service in India from 1868 to 1893. Author of ''The Cartulary and Historical Notes of the Cistercian Abbey of Flaxley ''(1887). Son of Sir Martin Hyde Crawley-Boevey, 4th Baronet. * Sybella Mary Crawley-Boevey, Victorian author, author of ''Dene Forest Sketches'' (1888), ''Beyond Cloudland'' (1888) and ''Conscience Makes the Martyr'' (1894). Daughter of Sir Martin Hyde Crawley-Boevey, 4th Baronet.

References

External links

at parksandgardens.ac.uk

photos of Flaxley Abbey and surrounding area on geograph

Flaxley Abbey on Pinterest
{{Monasteries in Gloucestershire , state=expanded Country houses in Gloucestershire Grade I listed buildings in Gloucestershire Grade I listed houses Grade I listed monasteries Monasteries in Gloucestershire Cistercian monasteries in England 1151 establishments in England 1530s disestablishments in England Forest of Dean