Lilleshall Abbey was an
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
abbey in
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 th ...
,
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 ...
, today located north of
Telford
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...
. It was founded between 1145 and 1148 and followed the austere customs and observance of the
Abbey of Arrouaise in northern France. It suffered from chronic financial difficulties and narrowly escaped the
Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries in 1536, before going into voluntary dissolution in 1538.
Foundation
Disputed origins
Lilleshall was one of a small number of monasteries in England belonging to the rigorist Arrouaisian branch of the Augustinians. A persistent tale, possibly stemming from
William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.
Life
Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coleshi ...
, the pioneering 17th century historian of Britain's monasteries, claims that there was an
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
church at Lilleshall, dedicated to
St Alkmund. Even Dugdale sounded a note of scepticism, and by 1825, when
Hugh Owen and
John Brickdale Blakeway
John Brickdale Blakeway (24 June 1765 – 10 March 1826) was an English barrister, cleric and topographer.
Life
The eldest son of Joshua Blakeway, of Shrewsbury, by Elizabeth, sister of Matthew Brickdale, Member of Parliament for Bristol, he ...
wrote their history of
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 scepticism was dominant and they would allow only they “could not disprove” the existence of the Anglo-Saxon foundation. much less the even less plausible tale that Alkmund was actually buried at Lilleshall. It seems that legends of early Lilleshall have developed by confusion with the
collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...
of St Alkmund in Shrewsbury, which was dissolved to provide the funding for the abbey. More recent accounts, from
Robert William Eyton
Robert William Eyton (21 December 1815 – 8 September 1881) was an English Church of England clergyman who was author of ''The Antiquities of Shropshire''.
Life and career
Robert William Eyton was born in 1815. He was the son of Reverend John Eyt ...
's of 1856
[Eyton (1856), p.229]
/ref> to 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 ...
of 1973, entirely skip the Anglo-Saxon period and set the origins of the monastery securely in the years 1145–8, during the reign of King Stephen. These accounts agree that Lilleshall was founded on the initiative of two brothers: Richard de Belmeis, at that time Archdeacon of Middlesex
The Archdeacon of Middlesex is a senior cleric in the Church of England, co-responsible for the Archdeaconry of "Middlesex", which mirrors the "Kensington" episcopal area of the Diocese of London — the other person responsible being the Bish ...
and dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
of the college of St Alkmund in Shrewsbury, and Philip de Belmeis, lord 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 ...
. Both were nephews of Richard de Beaumis, a 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 ...
who had died in 1127, sons of his brother Walter.[ The younger Richard was later also to become ]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 ...
.
The Arrouaisian pre-history
Arrouaise lay between Bapaume
Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France.
The inhabitants of this commune are known as ''Bapalmois'' or ''Bapalmoises''.
Geography
Bapaume is a far ...
and Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
. Gosse, the 18th century historian of the community, portrays the region as bandit country in the early Middle Ages. He specifies the arrival in 1090 of Heldemar of Tournai
Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...
and the German Conon or Kuno[''Heldemar'' at augustiniancanons.org]
/ref> as the key event in the genesis of the Arrouaisians. Both were court chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
s 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 ...
who embraced the Augustinian Rule, and after William's death, set off across France to pursue a series of pilgrimages. Together with a local hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
called Roger or Ruggerius,[ they established a ]monastic cell
A cell is a small room used by a hermit, monk, nun or anchorite to live and as a devotional space. Cells are often part of larger cenobitic monastic communities such as Catholic and Orthodox monasteries and Buddhist vihara, but may also form sta ...
and an oratory, dedicated to the Holy Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
and St Nicholas. Around this grew a small community of ascetics who recognised Heldemar as their head or provost. Heldemar was murdered and Roger stabbed by a cleric
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
, apparently attracted to the community, who was angered by their calls to penitence. After Heldemar's death on 13 January 1097, reports of miracles and the aura of martyrdom
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
quickly led to recognition of his holiness, enhancing the status of the embryonic monastery. Only a few months later, Conon, his successor, successfully obtained confirmation of the monastery's foundation from Lambert, bishop of Arras
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras (–Boulogne–Saint-Omer) (Latin: ''Dioecesis Atrebatensis (–Bononiena–Audomarensis)''; French: ''Diocèse d'Arras (–Boulogne–Saint-Omer)'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church i ...
. Under their third leader, Richer, Arrouaise Abbey developed relationships with the nobility of northern France, establishing a cemetery in which to inter their benefactors. However, it was under Gervais, a former secretary to Eustace III, Count of Boulogne
Eustace III (c. 1050 – c. 1125) was the count of Boulogne from 1087 succeeding his father, Eustace II. He joined the First Crusade, being present at Nicaea, Dorylaeum, Antioch, and Jerusalem. After fighting in the battle of Ascalon, he returned ...
, elected its head in 1121, that the Arrouaise community became an important reforming force within the Augustinian order.
Although regarded as a house of Augustinian Canons Regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
, Arrouaise followed a stricter code of conduct than other Augustinians, modelled explicitly on that of the Cistercians
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 ...
from the time of Gervais. They soon became an international community, as houses were founded in other countries, modelled on the original monastery and termed Arrouaisian. The first such monastery in England was Dorchester Abbey
The Abbey Church of St Peter and St Paul, more usually called Dorchester Abbey, is a Church of England parish church in Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire, about southeast of Oxford. It was formerly a Norman abbey church and was built on the ...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
, founded around 1140 by Alexander of Lincoln
Alexander of Lincoln (died February 1148) was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln, a member of an important administrative and ecclesiastical family. He was the nephew of Roger of Salisbury, a Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England und ...
, the local bishop, who suppressed a college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
of secular clergy
In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogra ...
to make way for the regular canons.
The Belmeis initiative
The Belmeis brothers had acquired land and influence in Shropshire and the surrounding counties mainly as heirs to their uncle, the bishop of London, who had overseen the affairs of Wales and the Welsh marches on behalf of 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 ...
Philip was his secular heir[ and the king transferred many of his ecclesiastical holdings to Richard.][Eyton (1856), p.231]
/ref>
The initiative of the Belmeis brothers was far from inevitable. Earlier, Philip had been deeply interested in Buildwas Abbey, which was affiliated to the Congregation of Savigny
The monastic Congregation of Savigny (Savigniac Order) started in the abbey of Savigny, situated in northern France, on the confines of Normandy and Brittany, in the Diocese of Coutances. It originated in 1105 when Vitalis of Mortain established a ...
(and later absorbed into the Cistercian Order). He was admitted to the Savignac lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
[ and made a gift of land at Ruckley, near ]Tong Tong may refer to:
Chinese
*Tang Dynasty, a dynasty in Chinese history when transliterated from Cantonese
*Tong (organization), a type of social organization found in Chinese immigrant communities
*''tong'', pronunciation of several Chinese char ...
, in return for himself and his wife being commemorated in perpetuity in the prayers of Savignac communities. However, in the early 1140s he gave land at Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
, Staffordshire, “to found a Church in honour of St. Mary for Canons of the Order of Arrouase, who had come from the Church of St. Peter at Dorchester, and are serving God and St Mary there.”[Eyton (1856), p.230]
/ref> He gave the canons the right to collect wood for fuel and for building and also donated two Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
churches – at Blackfordby
Blackfordby is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the northwesternmost corner of Leicestershire, England. It is about to the northwest of Ashby-de-la-Z ...
and Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, sometimes spelt Ashby de la Zouch () and shortened locally to Ashby, is a market town and civil parish in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England. The town is near to the Derbyshire and Staffordshire ...
.[
The small colony of canons from Dorchester struggled to establish themselves. Lizard proved unsuitable, so they moved first into Donnington Wood, near ]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 ...
, and then to their final home at Lilleshall, a move that was complete by 1148. This was expedited by Richard Belmeis, who seems to have been considerably younger than his brother and had been ordained
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 va ...
as a deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
in order to take full possession his offices and estates only in 1128.[ These included the deanery of St Almund's and four of its wealthy ]prebend
A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...
s: Lilleshall
Lilleshall is a village and civil parish in the county of Shropshire, England.
It lies between the towns of Telford and Newport, on the A518, in the Telford and Wrekin borough and the Wrekin constituency. There is one school in the centre of ...
, 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 ...
, Uckington and Preston Gubbals
Preston Gubbalds is a small village in Shropshire, England. It lies on the A528 Shrewsbury- Ellesmere road and is in the parish of Pimhill.
The name, spelt ''Preston Gubbalds'' or ''Preston Gobald''Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; Nati ...
. At the Domesday survey these had been in the possession of a Norman priest called Godebold (after whom Preston Gubbals is named), apparently a crony of the regional magnate, Roger Montgomery
Roger Montgomery (1925–2003) was an American architect, and Professor at Washington University in St. Louis and University of California, Berkeley.
Early life and education
Roger Montgomery was born in New York City to parents Graham Livings ...
. It is likely Gobold's son Robert continued this loyalty to the Montgomery dynasty and lost his inheritance by supporting the revolt of 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 ...
, as the estates passed to the elder Richard de Belmeis and then to his nephew. The young Richard devised a radical scheme to dissolve the ancient college of secular canons and divert the wealth of its deanery and prebends to the new Arrouaisian community of regular canons - a parallel to the foundation of Dorchester Abbey.
The country was in the grip of 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 ...
of King Stephen's reign, so great care was taken to ensure assent from a range of powerful interested parties. The changes at St Alkmund's, a chapel royal
The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...
, necessitated a charter from King Stephen, which he granted in 1145 at Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
.[Cronne and Davis, p.173, no. 460](_blank)
/ref> This confirmed Richard's donation of all his holdings to the canons at Donington Wood and also promised the remaining prebends as they fell vacant.[Eyton, ''Antiquities'', Volume 8, p.214]
/ref> The very eminent witnesses included Imar of Tusculum Imar, O.S.B. Cluny (died at Cluny on 28 October 1161) was a French Benedictine abbot, who served as a bishop and cardinal.
Life
In his youth, Imar became a monk at the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs in Paris, a community belonging to the Clu ...
the Papal Legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
of Lucius II
Pope Lucius II (died 15 February 1145), born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145. His pontificate was notable for the unrest in Rome associated wi ...
; Robert de Bethune
Robert de Bethune (died 1148) was a medieval bishop of Hereford. From a knightly family, he became a teacher before becoming a canon by 1115. He was elected prior of Llanthony Priory in the middle 1120s, and was named bishop by King Henry I o ...
, the bishop of Hereford; Rotrou de Warwick, the bishop of Évreux
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...
; William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey (11196 January 1148) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, member of the House of Warenne, who fought in England during the Anarchy and generally remained loyal to King Stephen. Elisabeth van Houts, 'The Warenne ...
and Robert of Ghent
Robert of Ghent or Robert de Gant ( c. 1085–after 1154) was Lord Chancellor of England and Dean of York in the 12th century. The younger son of a nobleman, Robert was probably a member of the cathedral chapter of York before his selection as ...
, Stephen's 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 ...
. Pope Lucius died shortly afterwards and his successor, Pope Eugenius III
Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He w ...
, a Cistercian, was a friend of Bishop Alexander, the great patron of the Arrouaisians in England, whom he received twice in successive years. He ordered Roger de Clinton
Roger de Clinton (died 1148) was a medieval Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. He was responsible for organising a new grid street plan for the town of Lichfield in the 12th century which survives to this day.
Life
Clinton was the nephew of Geo ...
, the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...
, to issue a charter confirming Richard's gift to the canons and 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 ...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, subsequently also issued a confirmatory charter, this time mentioning that the foundation is to be an abbey in the woods at Lilleshall.
To ensure the abbey's future, it was vital to secure the approval of Empress Matilda
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 ...
, who was contesting the throne. Richard de Belmeis had previous contact with the opposition and was with Matilda at Oxford in 1141, when he witnessed her charter to Haughmond Abbey. She issued a confirmation, now definitely to Lilleshall Abbey, in 1148, apparently at Falaise
Falaise may refer to:
Places
* Falaise, Ardennes, France
* Falaise, Calvados, France
** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War
* La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France
* The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...
. Her son and heir gave his consent as Duke of Normandy
In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple, Charles III in ...
and again when he became King Henry II.
The abbey was seen as a royal foundation, notwithstanding the role of the Belmeis brothers, because it replaced St Alkmund's, a chapel royal. This gave it both advantages and responsibilities. Philip of Belmeis' property passed via his daughter to the la Zouche family, who occasionally pretended to have 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, ...
. In practice, however, all abbots elect were presented for approval to the king.
Dedication
The dedication of the abbey was to Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, as the first charter of Philip de Belmeis implied. This is confirmed by the abbey seal used in the 13th century, which is inscribed: ''SIGILLUM E CLSIE BEATE MARIE DE LILLESHULL'' - The Seal of the Church of St Mary of Lilleshall.[
]
The monastic life
The abbey's community were Augustinian Canons Regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
or conventual canons, not technically monks
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 dedicat ...
. Although the Arrouaisians were at first noted for their austerity of life, they were less enclosed than 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 ...
or 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 ...
monks. Arrouaisian houses were noted for the high quality of their liturgical
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
observance.[ A prayer roll of about 1375 confirms that this was so at Lilleshall more than two centuries after the foundation.
There was a large number of benefactions from ]lay
Lay may refer to:
Places
*Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada
*Lay, Loire, a French commune
*Lay (river), France
*Lay, Iran, a village
*Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community
People
* Lay (surname)
* ...
landowners and these often came with requests to be buried or prayed for at Lilleshall or for membership of the fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
of the abbey. Late in the 12th century, for example, John Lestrange, a local baron with holdings further afield, got into a dispute with Ramsey Abbey
Ramsey Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England. It was founded about AD 969 and dissolved in 1539.
The site of the abbey in Ramsey is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Most of the abbey's ...
over the church at Holme-next-the-Sea
Holme-next-the-Sea is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the north Norfolk coast some 5 km north-east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, 30 km north of the town of King's Lynn a ...
in Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
.[Eyton, ''Antiquities'', Volume 10, p.266-7]
/ref> In a settlement acceptable to all, he gave the church to Lilleshall Abbey, for the health of his own and his wife's souls. Shortly afterwards he added the church at Shangton
Shangton is a parish and small village near Tur Langton in Leicestershire, England, and part of Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, f ...
in Leicestershire, adding specifically “the body of his wife Amicia when she shall have gone the way of all flesh.” Similarly, Robert de Kayley gave the abbey two thirds of his land at Freasley, in Dordon
Dordon is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England and close to the border with Staffordshire. The village is located on the A5 national route and is contiguous with the larger villa ...
, Warwickshire, on condition that it accept his body for burial. This suggests that its monastic life quickly built up a reputation for holiness that could be acquired by proximity, and one that clearly persisted into the later Middle Ages. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...
, spent two days at the abbey, together with his wife Katherine Swynford
Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (born Katherine de Roet, – 10 May 1403), also spelled Katharine or Catherine, was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, the fourth (but third surviving) son of King Edward III.
Daughter o ...
and a large retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers.
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', it ...
.[ He had fallen ill after the 24th parliament of Richard II's reign was held at Shrewsbury, dissolving on 31 January 1398. Gaunt himself, his wife, and his ]squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight.
Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...
, William Chetwynd, were received into the fraternity, and Gaunt made a gift of twenty pounds of gold.
Although the fraternity was important in diffusing the influence of the abbey, there is no evidence of lay brothers and sisters being admitted to the abbey community itself. This is unexpected as the Abbey of Arrouaise had admitted lay members at least since the time of Abbot Gervais. There were many employees, however. In the mid-15th century, there were over twenty household servants, including two porters, a butler, a chamberlain, two cooks, a baker, a bell-ringer, a cobbler, and washerwoman, as well as a carpenter and a group of apprentices to carry out repairs. There was a tannery
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
on the premises, as well as a brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
. Self-sufficiency was an important feature of Arrouaisian houses. Arrouaise itself had a similar but even larger and more differentiated lay labour force.
The canons were much employed in managing the abbey's substantial estates, which seem to have been worked mainly by indentured servant
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repaymen ...
s and later by wage labour
Wage labour (also wage labor in American English), usually referred to as paid work, paid employment, or paid labour, refers to the socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer in which the worker sells their labour power under ...
. A fairly high proportion of the abbey's land was kept in 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 ...
, cultivated from grange
Grange may refer to:
Buildings
* Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906
* Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682
* Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery
Geography Australia
* Grange, South Austral ...
s. The Lilleshall estate alone had four of these and there was a ring of further granges in Shropshire and Staffordshire, with two outlying at Blackfordby
Blackfordby is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the northwesternmost corner of Leicestershire, England. It is about to the northwest of Ashby-de-la-Z ...
and Grindlow.[ The grange at Blackfordby seems to have absorbed a good deal of time and labour, with canons often staying there. There was even a chapel on site, with ]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 ...
said three times a week. This was strictly irregular, as it was considered perilous to the soul for a canon to reside anywhere alone, and there were complaints about it from the Bishop of Lichfield. However, the nature of the abbey's estates meant that canons would often require leave to travel. Both this and the increasingly unfavourable agrarian conditions and labour market of the 14th century meant that direct exploitation of demesnes was gradually reduced in favour of leasing out land.
The abbey was not noted for its intellectual life. However, there was some kind of library and a copy of a chronicle ascribed to Peter of Ickham has survived from it, with additions made locally. There is also evidence of a canon being licensed to study at university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
for 10 years from 1400.
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 ...
, a Lilleshall canon of the late 14th and early 15th centuries[Coulton, p.5] did make a literary mark. He wrote in the local West Midland dialect of Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
[Coulton, p.6] and at least two of his works were widely copied and used. ''Festial'' is a collection of homilies
A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...
for the festivals of the Liturgical year
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and whi ...
as it was celebrated in his time in Shropshire. ''Instructions for Parish Priests'' is in lively vernacular verse, using octosyllabic lines and rhyming couplet
A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...
s throughout.[ Mirk intended to ensure that priests had the resources to give good counsel to their flock. The existence of such works suggests that the canons were actively engaged with the liturgical and pastoral work of their region,][ if not at the highest scholarly level.
]
Wealth and endowments
The monastic life at Lilleshall Abbey was funded by a portfolio of lands and other properties built up mainly over the first century of its existence. Initially very concentrated in the area around the abbey, it grew to include much more widely scattered estates. The following list is drawn from the ''Victoria County History'', with references to further online sources where available.
In addition to the properties, the abbey had many important rights and concessions. Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...
exempted the abbey's demesne lands from payment of tithes. In 1269 the abbot was given the right to hold an annual fair at Atcham: lasting three days, it took place at the feast of St Giles
Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...
, which is 1 September. Seven years later came the right to hold another fair at Atcham on the feast of St Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury (early 6th century – probably 26 May 604) was a monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church.Delaney '' ...
, 26 May.
The original core of St Alkmund's prebends and Belmeis family donations formed a concentration within Shropshire and Staffordshire. This was only slightly expanded by later grants. Significant parts of the abbey's holdings lay in Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
and 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 ...
, where it was forced to maintain granges and to send canons. The major territorial magnates in the area, like the Fitzalans and Lestranges, made grants but these were quite small. They made much larger benefactions to Haughmond Abbey, which was only a short distance from Lilleshall, had a similar regime, and, not being a royal foundation, was much more responsive to their needs. A comparison with the distribution map of Haughmond's estates reveals that Lilleshall's was a more widely distributed estate, resulting in higher running costs and less local support.
Difficulties and decline
The abbey was large and important among Augustinian houses and seems to have reached a zenith under Henry III. However, it was also from this time that it sometimes overstepped or abused its privileges. In 1221, for example, a jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
at Shrewsbury complained that a servant of the abbot, Anian from Preston Gubbals, had been caught red-handed with loot from a robbery but had been extracted from gaol so that the abbot could try him in his own court.[ The jurors had no idea of the outcome of the case. However, relations with royal authority were generally good. In 1242 the king sent the abbot, then Richard of Shrewsbury, a gratuity of 20 marks. Three years later Henry stayed at the abbey on his way to ]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 ...
and the abbot gave 40 shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...
s towards the marriage of the infant Princess Margaret
Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...
. Around the same time, a jury commissioned by John Biset, Justice in Eyre, decided the abbot need not expeditate his dogs (i.e. remove their claws), as his lands were originally of the royal demesne.
In 1292 Edward I called Abbot William of Bridgnorth to account for exceeding his privileges in numerous instances. It was alleged he held courts that dealt with Pleas of the Crown, serious matters reserved to royal courts. Moreover, he was holding fairs, markets and claiming free warren
A free warren—often simply warren—is a type of franchise or privilege conveyed by a sovereign in medieval England to an English subject, promising to hold them harmless for killing game of certain species within a stipulated area, u ...
across his estates, although he had only limited rights to do so. Some of this the abbot sought to justify by reference to extant charters, some he denied, and some he sought to evade by claiming that the villages stipulated in the charges did not exist – apparently an attempt to exploit the loose spelling of the period. The outcome of the case is unknown.
Although it was well-endowed, the abbey had fallen into serious financial difficulties by the early 14th century.[ This coincided with the episcopate of ]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, dyna ...
, a very effective administrator and a zealous reformer, who sought out abuses all over the 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 ...
, and the incumbency of Abbot John of Chetwynd, a particularly turbulent cleric. Unlike the nearby White Ladies Priory
White Ladies Priory (often Whiteladies Priory), once the Priory of St Leonard at Brewood, was an English priory of Augustinian canonesses, now in ruins, in Shropshire, in the parish of Boscobel, some eight miles (13 km) northwest of Wolver ...
, a community of Augustinian canonesses, where Northburgh made a litany of complaints about conduct and discipline, Lilleshall was criticised almost entirely for financial ineptitude and administrative weakness. Northburgh found the abbey heavily in debt and criticised the abbot for failing to consult widely enough about expenditure. He highlighted the large number of corrodies, waste of timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
on abbey lands, the inefficiency of the brewer
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...
, negligence in distributing alms
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...
at the gate and the age and infirmity of the abbot.
The tenor of the bishop's complaints is surprising, as Chetwynd was often guilty of much worse than financial ineptitude. It seems that he maintained an armed retinue and he was not afraid to use it. In 1316 Vivian de Staundon robbed a royal official who was carrying a large sum of money to Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on behalf of Edward II
Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
Chetwynd, together with John Ipstones, a local baron, raised a large force of armed men to prevent Staundon's arrest and then sheltered him from justice, absorbing him into their own retinues. Warrants were issued for the arrest of both of them but, although Ipstones was apprehended, Chetwynd escaped and went to ground, evading several attempts to bring him to court, and the matter seems to have lapsed. In 1321 he again evaded justice by the simple expedient of not answering the summons, when the king prosecuted him for falsely claiming immunity from tolls and harbour dues in London.[Eyton, ''Antiquities'', Volume 8, p.223]
/ref> Despite his criminal history, when he retired in 1330, Chetwynd was allowed the revenues of two manors, Blackfordby and Freasley, and of two churches, as well as his food, fuel, candles, two horses, a capacious lodging at the abbey and hospitality for his guests.[ Even this was not enough for him: the disgruntled ex-abbot seized the abbey by force and pillaged it. The matter was only resolved when ]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 ...
sent in keepers to restore order. This marked a low point in the reputation of the abbey.
The abbey's estates were large but very widely distributed. This made them expensive to work and manage, with stewards to pay at each grange. There were also underlying problems implicit in the abbey's status as a royal foundation. The problem of corrodies was intractable. These gifts of food and clothing were not alms but essentially pensions that could be purchased and they were regarded as perquisite
Employee benefits and (especially in British English) benefits in kind (also called fringe benefits, perquisites, or perks) include various types of non-wage compensation provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries. Insta ...
s for royal employees. Any servant of the king who asked would be given or sold a corrody, entitling them to basic maintenance for life, and many abbey servants were also given corrodies, which continued even after they finished working for the abbey. Abbots gave too many away and sold others too cheaply as favours. There was also a king's clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
to maintain unless a benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
could be found. Retired abbots expected an income and good quality accommodation.
John's successor, whom he apparently despised, was Henry of Stoke. He took steps to improve the abbey's finances. In particular, he retained the services of William of Shareshill, a talented lawyer, to maximise the abbey's income from its endowments. Shareshill was very successful and received the lease of Boningale as a reward. However, cattle disease in the 1330s and the first outbreak 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 ...
in 1348 struck hard. The labour shortage brought the community to its knees. Abbot Henry resigned in 1350 and in 1351 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 ...
appointed Shareshill and William Banaster as custodians to restore solvency.
Richard II and Queen Isabella
Isabella may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Isabella (surname), including a list of people
Places
United States
* Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...
visited the abbey from 24 to 26 January 1398, on his way to the parliament at Shrewsbury. They were accompanied by five duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
s, four earl
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
s, three bishops, and a French chamberlain
Chamberlain may refer to:
Profession
*Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure
People
*Chamberlain (surname)
**Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...
. The cost to the abbey would have been huge, as these potentates would have been followed by an enormous retinue. John of Gaunt's indisposition a few days later brought unexpected relief, as he made a large monetary gift during his stay, as well as putting his influence at the abbey's disposal.
Finances probably recovered in the later 14th century and in the following century the abbey was fairly solvent. Revenues from particular estates were earmarked for specific purposes, generating a straightforward budget. The treasurer then had only limited discretion in spending the remainder. This system kept the abbey out of serious trouble for some decades. However, problems had set in again by 1518, when a 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 ...
by Bishop Geoffrey Blythe
Geoffrey Blythe (died c. 1530) was the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.
Blythe was born at Norton in Derbyshire (now part of Sheffield) to William Blythe and a sister of Thomas Rotherham, Archbishop of York. He was schooled at Eton and then ...
found debts of 1000 marks, with only 600 marks expected revenue. Blythe also criticised the attitude of the prior, the abbot's deputy, found that some canons were consorting with women of ill-repute and that there was no schoolmaster. He advised Abbot Robert Watson to weed out unnecessary staff. This he did and the abbey began to recover financially in its final years.
Dissolution and after
Lilleshall was audited under 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, preparatory to 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 ...
of the following year. The gross income was found to be £324 0s. 10d., according to the ''Victoria County History'': two pounds more according to Eyton.[ The high running costs brought this down to a net income of only £232 16s. 6d. – just above the £200 threshold set by the act. There were many expenses,][Eyton, ''Antiquities'', Volume 8, p.224]
/ref> including 40s. to the poor on Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...
and £4 on the Nativity of Mary
The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, the Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The modern canon of scripture does not record Mary's bir ...
(8 September) – both original bequests of Philip de Belmeis. However, lay officials, some very wealthy, drew large salaries: George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury
George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, 4th Earl of Waterford, 10th Baron Talbot, KG, KB, PC (c. 1468 – 26 July 1538) was the son of John Talbot, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury, and Lady Catherine Stafford, daughter of the 1st Duke of Buckingham. He ...
was paid £2 13s. 4d. to act as steward, Thomas Bromley
Sir Thomas Bromley (153011 April 1587) was a 16th-century lawyer, judge and politician who established himself in the mid-Tudor period and rose to prominence during the reign of Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I. He was successively Solicito ...
£2 as auditor and Nicholas Cockerell a very substantial £6 13s. 4d. As receiver general. Officers at nearby Wombridge Priory, another Augustinian house, were fewer much less richly rewarded.
Lilleshall was not immediately dissolved but, like most of the marginal houses, surrendered itself to the king, before being compulsorily suppressed, on 16 October 1538.[ Henry VIII's agent, William Cavendish arrived on 16 October][Walcott, p.210]
/ref> to take possession of the demesne lands and the abbey buildings. The abbey community was down to Abbot Robert Watson and ten canons. The gross revenue was found to be about £340 – a little more than in 1538, when the Lilleshall estate itself had been omitted. Watson was given a pension of £50 and the London house[ or, according to Walcott's transcription of the ]Court of Augmentations
Thomas Cromwell established the Court of Augmentations, also called Augmentation Court or simply The Augmentation in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII of England. It operated alongside three lesser courts (those of General Surveyors (1540 ...
record, the “”[ The canons were granted pensions of £5 to £6 each and a small lump sum as a “reward” on leaving – generally 50 shillings.][Walcott, p.209]
/ref> The contents of the abbey and monastic buildings were sold and systematically listed as they were taken away, from liturgical items like altars and plate, to beds and bedding, pots and pans. The livestock, the small store of grain the hay were sold. Altogether, the sale of contents fetched £74 18s.,[ although the bells, substantial amounts of plate and lead roofing remained initially unsold.][
On 28 November the king granted the abbey site to Cavendish in fee farm.][ A year later, the site was sold to James Leveson ( ), a rich Merchant of the Staple from Wolverhampton. The Levesons were closely associated with St Peter's Collegiate Church, and James Leveson had made some of his fortune by leasing the church's ]deanery
A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...
and many of its prebend
A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...
al lands. He sent choir stalls from the abbey to the church, where they can still be seen, now used as seating in the 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 ...
. In 1543 Leveson bought the entire manor of Lilleshall from the Crown, creating a country estate for his family.[ He probably built or started the building of a lodge close to the abbey site as a family home. Leveson died in 1547, leaving the manor and the abbey to his son, Richard.
In the time of Richard's son, ]Walter Leveson
Sir Walter Leveson (155020 October 1602)[North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...]
. He suffered a series of huge fines and several spells in the Fleet Prison, as well as developing a persecutory delusion
A persecutory delusion is a common type of delusional condition in which the affected person believes that harm is going to occur to oneself by a persecutor, despite a clear lack of evidence. The person may believe that they are being targeted by a ...
. By the time of his death, he was massively in debt. Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
, a noted admiral, was well aware of the desperate situation even before he inherited it. However, he had no time to improve matters, as he died without issue less than two years later, leaving still further massive debts, as he was accused of stealing the contents of a captured carrack
A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade fr ...
. It was left to a cousin, John Leveson of Halling, Kent, to resolve the issue as trustee of the estate. He died in 1610, but his wife Christian took up the struggle. She improved the lodge, and when the Crown seized Lilleshall in 1616, she raised the money to lease it back.[ In 1623 she finally paid off all the debts. The abbey and manor passed later that year to another Sir Richard Leveson, John and Christian's son. A notable ]Cavalier
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...
in the English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, in 1643 he fortified the site and installed a garrison of 160 men. Parliamentary forces besieged and bombarded the abbey. Before the garrison surrendered, the towers, lady chapel, and north transept were destroyed. After Sir Richard's death in 1661, the manor passed to his widow, Katherine, for life and then to his great nephew, William Leveson-Gower. Thereafter it became a seat of the Leveson-Gower
Leveson-Gower ( ), also Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, is the name of a powerful British noble family. Over time, several members of the Leveson-Gower family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the family include the duke ...
family.
The Levesons had never lived full-time at Lilleshall, as they had numerous properties elsewhere. It was considered a hunting lodge or country retreat. Sir Richard was the only family head to be buried in Lilleshall village. In the 1750s a new Hall was built elsewhere on the estate. In 1820 this was replaced with a much more impressive Hall at the extreme east of the estate, near Sheriffhales, moving the centre of attention well away from the abbey site. Subsidence caused by large-scale mining damaged the walls of the building and much of the domestic ranges disappeared during the 19th century, although there were attempts to record the site early in the century and some archeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
in 1891.
The abbey site is now in the hands of English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
. It is open all days, except some major public holidays, although the times of opening vary and should be checked on the English Heritage website. There is no admission charge.
The abbey remains
The church was built in the 12th and 13th centuries. Its size and magnificence indicates it had wealthy benefactors; Henry III visited twice circa 1240. The surviving abbey buildings almost all date from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Other buildings have been lost, but their foundations were partially recovered by excavations in the late 19th century. The central buildings stood in a much larger monastic precinct, enclosed by a stone wall and gates.English Heritage
/ref> Ancient are now an important feature of the site, particularly on the cloister side to the south. Care of the abbey remains was taken over by the Ministry of Public Building and Works
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian mi ...
in 1950. It is now in the guardianship of English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
.
The remains of the abbey church are still imposing, as the main walls still stand. Today they benefit from earlier maintenance and restoration: during the 1960s they had to be held up with timber because of mining subsidence. The church was cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described ...
and over 60 metres in length, with a stone vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
ed roof. The north transept has almost disappeared.
Visitors are confronted by the still-impressive west front, with a wide central doorway, surmounted by a round arch. This western end was finished comparatively late, in the 13th century, and the round arch of the doorway is meant to complement the earlier work visible through the portal. The massive stonework on either side originally carried the weight of a great western tower, probably destroyed in the siege, along with the west window. The northern base has suffered least and still has arcading at the level of the vanished window sill, decorated in a trefoil
A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...
pattern. The pointed gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
arches of its windows contrast sharply with the late romanesque gateway. Moving through the gateway, it is possible to climb a narrow staircase on the north wall of the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
to the level of the arcade, thus obtaining a good view of the remains of the church and of the landscape beyond. There is a small, well-preserved lavabo
A lavabo is a device used to provide water for the washing of hands. It consists normally of a ewer or container of some kind to pour water, and a bowl to catch the water as it falls off the hands. In ecclesiastical usage it refers to all of: the b ...
on the southern wall of the nave.
Two screens divided the length of the church: a rood screen and a pulpitum
The pulpitum is a common feature in medieval cathedral and monastic church architecture in Europe. It is a massive screen that divides the choir (the area containing the choir stalls and high altar in a cathedral, collegiate or monastic church ...
. Only the footings of both survive, although they are very clear. There are also foundations of two nave altars against the pulpitum. Beyond the screens, the chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
and presbytery are the oldest parts of the building, begun in the later 12th century. The only major subsequent alteration was the insertion of a large and impressive east window in the 14th century. This still dominates the church, as it was intended to do.
On the south wall, next to the transept, is a still-impressive processional entrance. The door pillars are surmounted by a segmental arch, and above that a round arch of three orders, the area between forming a tympanum. The entire exterior of the doorway is carved in a detailed zig-zag pattern, which was probably used widely around the building. Beyond this lay the cloister
A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
, from which the canons would enter the church in procession.
The cloister was a garden courtyard, surrounded by the domestic buildings of the abbey, mostly constructed in the late 12th century. The eastern buildings, adjoining the transept, are well-preserved, and it is possible to walk through the slype
The term slype is a variant of slip in the sense of a narrow passage; in architecture, the name for the covered passage usually found in monasteries or cathedrals between the transept and the chapter house, as at St Andrews, Winchester, Glouces ...
that gave access to the 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 ...
, chapter house
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
and possibly the infirmary
Infirmary may refer to:
*Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital
*A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution
*A dispensary (an office that dispenses medications)
*A clinic
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambu ...
. The south range is ruinous but the walls mainly survive. It contained 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 La ...
, which was divided in the 14th century to provide a warming room. The range was much more complete in the early 19th century, when it still had most of its upper floor. This probably contained the abbot's lodging. There were many buildings further west and south, and the abbey's guest facilities must have been very large to accommodate visitors of very high status, with their enormous retinues.
File:Lilleshall Abbey west end 01.JPG, Western end of remains of the church, showing the main west portal and the still-massive northern support for the tower.
File:Lilleshall Abbey west entrance 01.JPG, The main west portal of the abbey church.
File:Lilleshall Abbey south entrance 01.JPG, Arch and tympanum over the processional entrance on south side of the church.
File:Lilleshall Abbey church interior gallery level 01.JPG, View of the remains of the abbey church interior from gallery level.
File:Lilleshall Abbey NE chancel.JPG, North east of the abbey church, showing interior of the chancel.
File:Lilleshall Abbey west range 01.JPG, Domestic buildings, called west range on site, but actually the western end of the south range. It probably included the abbot's lodging on its first floor.
See also
*Grade I listed buildings 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 Lilleshall and Donnington
Lilleshall and Donnington is a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It contains 34 Listed building#England and Wales, listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, thr ...
Further reading
Victoria County History, Shropshire, Vol. 2, 1973, Houses of Augustinian canons: Abbey of Lilleshall, pp. 70-80
Footnotes
References
*G C Baugh, C R Elrington (Editors), A P Baggs, D C Cox, Jessie McFall, P A Stamper, A J L Winchester (1985)
''A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 11: Telford''
Institute of Historical Research
The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hous ...
, accessed 1 December 2014.
*Barbara Coulton (2010). ''Regime and Religion: Shrewsbury 1400-1700'', Logaston Press, .
*H.A. Cronne and R.H.C. Davis (1968)
''Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum 1066-1154, Volume 3''
Clarendon Press, Oxford, accessed 1 December 2014 at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
.
*William Dugdale (1693)
''Monasticon Anglicanum, or, The history of the ancient abbies, monasteries, hospitals, cathedral and collegiate churches, with their dependencies in England and Wales''
accessed 1 December 2014 at Internet Archive.
*Robert William Eyton
Robert William Eyton (21 December 1815 – 8 September 1881) was an English Church of England clergyman who was author of ''The Antiquities of Shropshire''.
Life and career
Robert William Eyton was born in 1815. He was the son of Reverend John Eyt ...
(1854–60). ''The Antiquities of Shropshire'', John Russell Smith, London, accessed 1 December 2014 at Internet Archive.
Volume 1 (1854)
Volume 2 (1855)
Volume 3 (1856)
Volume 7 (1858)
Volume 8 (1859)
Volume 9 (1859)
Volume 10 (1860)
Volume 11 (1860)
*Robert William Eyton (1855)
''“The monasteries of Shropshire: their origin and founders – Lilleshall Abbey''”
in ''The Archaeological Journal, Volume 11'', Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, London, accessed 1 December 2014 at Internet Archive.
*A T Gaydon, R B Pugh (Editors), M J Angold, G C Baugh, Marjorie M Chibnall, D C Cox, Revd D T W Price, Margaret Tomlinson, B S Trinder (1973)
''A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 2''
Institute of Historical Research, accessed 1 December 2014.
*Gosse, M. (1786)
''Histoire de l'Abbaye et de l'Ancienne Congrégation des Chanoines Réguliers d'Arrouaise''
Danel, Lille, accessed 1 December 2014 at Internet Archive.
*M W Greenslade, R B Pugh (Editors), G C Baugh, Revd L W Cowie, Revd J C Dickinson, A P Duggan, A K B Evans, R H Evans, Una C Hannam, P Heath, D A Johnston, Professor Hilda Johnstone, Ann J Kettle, J L Kirby, Revd R Mansfield, Professor A Saltman (1970)
''A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 3''
Institute of Historical Research, accessed 1 December 2014.
*P.W. Hasler (editor) (1981)
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603''
History of Parliament Trust, accessed 8 December 2014.
* Hugh Owen and John Brickdale Blakeway(1825)
''A History of Shrewsbury, Volume 2''
Harding and Lepard, London, accessed 16 November 2014 at Internet Archive.
* William Page (editor) (1907)
''A History of the County of Oxford, Volume 2''
Institute of Historical Research, accessed 2 December 2014.
*L. F. Salzman (editor) (1947)
''A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 4 - Hemlingford Hundred''
Institute of Historical Research, accessed 4 December 2014.
*Mackenzie E. C. Walcott (1871)
''“Inventories and valuations of religious houses at the time of the Dissolution”''
in ''Archaeologia, Volume 43'', Society of Antiquaries of London, accessed 1 December 2014 at Internet Archive.
External links
English Heritage page
Website of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine
{{coord, 52.7247, -2.3898, format=dms , scale:5000_type:landmark_region:GB, name=Lilleshall Abbey, display=title
Monasteries in Shropshire
Christian monasteries established in the 12th century
Augustinian monasteries in England
Ruins in Shropshire
English Heritage sites in Shropshire
1140s establishments in England
1538 disestablishments in England