The Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis, more commonly known as Leicester Abbey, was an Augustinian religious house in the city of Leicester, in the East Midlands of England. The abbey was founded in the 12th century by the

Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1104 – 5 April 1168) was Justiciar of England 1155–1168. The surname "de Beaumont" was given to him by genealogists. The only known contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Rober ...

, and grew to become the wealthiest religious establishment within Leicestershire. Through patronage and donations the abbey gained 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, a ...

s of countless churches throughout England, and acquired a considerable amount of land, and several manorial lordships. Leicester Abbey also maintained a

cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery w ...

(a small dependent daughter house) at

Cockerham Priory Cockerham Priory was a priory served by Austin Canons in Cockerham, Lancashire, England. St Michael's Church was granted to Leicester Abbey c. 1153–54, with some land.Lancashire. The Abbey's prosperity was boosted through the passage of special privileges by both the English Kings and the Pope. These included an exemption from sending representatives to parliament and from paying

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

on certain land and livestock. Despite its privileges and sizeable landed estates, from the late 14th century the abbey began to suffer financially and was forced to lease out its estates. The worsening financial situation was exacerbated throughout the 15th century and early 16th century by a series of incompetent, corrupt and extravagant

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fe ...

s. By 1535 the abbey's considerable income was exceeded by even more considerable debts. The abbey provided a home to an average of 30 to 40 canons, sometimes known as Black Canons, because of their dress (a white habit and black cloak). One of these canons, Henry Knighton, is notable for his ''

Chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and l ...

'', which was written during his time at the abbey in the 14th century. In 1530

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...

died at the abbey, whilst travelling south to face trial for treason. A few years later, in 1538, the abbey was dissolved, and was quickly demolished, with the building materials reused in various structures across Leicester, including a mansion which was built on the site. The house passed through several aristocratic families, and became known as Cavendish House after it was acquired by the 1st Earl of Devonshire, in 1613. The house was eventually looted and destroyed by fire in 1645, following the capture of Leicester during the English Civil War. Part of the former abbey precinct was donated to Leicester Town Council (the predecessor of the modern City Council) by the 8th Earl of Dysart. In 1882 it was opened by

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and became known as Abbey Park. The remaining , which included the abbey's site and the ruins of Cavendish House, were donated to the council by the 9th Earl of Dysart in 1925 and, following archaeological excavations, opened to the public in the 1930s. Following its demolition, the exact location of the abbey was lost; it was only rediscovered during excavations in the 1920s/30s, when the layout was plotted using low stone walls. The abbey has been extensively excavated and was previously used for training archaeology students at the University of Leicester. Leicester Abbey is now protected as a scheduled monument and is Grade I Listed.

History

Foundation

Leicester Abbey was founded during a wave of monastic enthusiasm that swept through western Christendom in the 11th and 12th centuries.Colin Platt, ''The Abbeys and Priories of Medieval England'' (Chancellor Press: London, 1995), pp. 1–5. This wave was responsible for the foundation of the majority of England's monasteries, and very few were founded after the 13th century. These monasteries were often founded by a wealthy aristocratic benefactor who endowed and patronised the establishments in return for prayers for their soul, and often, the right to be buried within the monastic church. Leicester Abbey was founded in the Augustinian tradition. The monks at the abbey were known as canons, and followed the monastic rules set down by Saint Augustine of Hippo. Sometimes known as Black Canons, because of their dress (a white habit and black cloak), Augustinian Canons lived a clerical life engaged in public ministry; this is distinct to other forms of monasticism in which monks were cloistered from the outside world, and lived an isolated, contemplative life."Rule of Saint Augustine"
in E. Burton (ed.) ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (Robert Appleton Company: New York, 1910) ccessed 12 June 2013/nowiki> Leicester Abbey was founded in 1143 by Robert le Bossu, 2nd Earl of Leicester, and was dedicated to the

Assumption of the Virgin Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

. It was not the first abbey Robert had established, having founded

Garendon Abbey Garendon Abbey was a Cistercian abbey located between Shepshed and Loughborough, in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. History Garendon was founded by Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, in 1133, and was probably a daughter house of Waverl ...

, also in Leicestershire, in 1133. Robert's father, Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, had previously founded a college of secular canons in Leicester, known as The College of St Mary de Castro. The new abbey assumed control of the college and its possessions, which included all of the churches in Leicester. Robert added to this with the gift of numerous churches in Leicestershire, Berkshire and Northamptonshire. The abbey also gained the manor of

Asfordby Asfordby is a village and civil parish in the Melton district of Leicestershire, to the west of Melton Mowbray on the A6006 road. The village is north-east of Leicester. The village's name means 'farm/settlement of Asfrothr'. The parish cons ...

from its merger with the college, and the manor of Knighton from its founder. The earls of Leicester continued to patronise the abbey: Petronilla de Grandmesnil, wife of the founder's son,

Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester Born in 1121 (died 1190) was an English nobleman, one of the principal followers of Henry the Young King in the Revolt of 1173–1174 against his father King Henry II. He is also called Robert Blanche ...

, financed the construction of the abbey's Great Choir; whilst her husband donated 24 virgates (720 acres) of land at Anstey. In 1148, Pope Eugene III granted the abbey an exemption on paying

for their newly acquired land and livestock. This was granted on the condition that there was to be no impropriety or violence when electing an abbot, and that those who donated money to the abbey could be buried within it, regardless of whether they had been excommunicated.

14th century

Though the abbey was a religious house, it was attacked in 1326 by the

Earl of Lancaster The title of Earl of Lancaster was created in the Peerage of England in 1267. It was succeeded by the title Duke of Lancaster in 1351, which expired in 1361. (The most recent creation of the ducal title merged with the Crown in 1413.) King Henry ...

's soldiers, who seized property belonging to Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, which was being kept there."Houses of Augustinian canons: Leicester Abbey"
in W.G. Hoskins (ed.) and R.A. McKinley (assistant ed.), ''A History of the County of Leicestershire: Volume 2'' (Victoria County History: London, 1954), pp. 13–19. Under the Abbotship of William Clowne ''(tenure: 1345–1378)'' the abbey prospered, increasing their lands and endowments with acquisitions such as the manors of Ingarsby and Kirkby Mallory. Clowne is described as having "friendly relations" with

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 r ...

, and used this to gain further privileges for the abbey, including being exempted from having to send representatives to Parliament. However, by the late 14th century, the abbey had entered a difficult period, and its income began to fall. It was during this period that the abbey was home to canon Henry of Knighton, who wrote Knighton's Chronicon."Henry Knighton"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'', ccessed 1 June 2013/nowiki> The chronicle includes both Knighton's contemporary experiences, between 1377 and 1395, and a historical section recording events between 1066 and 1366.Jim Jones
"Background to The Impact of the Black Death by Henry Knighton"
, ''The Western World: HIS 101 Readings'' (Penguin Custom Editions: West Chester University of Pennsylvania, 2002), ccessed 1 June 2013/nowiki> Knighton chronicles the impact of John Wycliffe, the rise of the

Lollards Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholi ...

, and gives an unusually favourable account of John of Gaunt. Knighton's chronicle is valued by historians for his contemporary account 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, causing ...

in Leicester, which has been compared with Giovanni Boccaccio's '' Decameron'', which chronicles the plague in Florence.William Kelly
"Visitations of the Plague at Leicester"
''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Volume 6'' (1877), pp. 395–477, His in depth account records the effects of the Black Death on Leicester. This includes the impact on the prices of food, grain, wine and cattle, and on changes in wages and the labour market. The chronicle also includes detailed death tolls for all of Leicester's parishes, revealing that one-third of the population of Leicester were killed by the disease.
in E. Burton (ed.) ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (Robert Appleton Company: New York, 1910), ccessed 1 June 2013/nowiki> Following the deaths of canons within the abbey, Knighton theorises that it was punishment because of "the ordination of candidates ill-prepared and but little suited for the sacred ministry". The chronicle was not published until 1652.

15th century

In the 15th century the abbey began to lease out its land (most probably as a solution to their falling income). By 1477 only the

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 ori ...

lands in Leicester, Stoughton and Ingarsby remained un-leased, and were directly farmed by the abbey. Leicester Abbey tiles

Philip Repyngdon Philip Repyngdon ( – 1424) was a bishop and cardinal. Life It is believed Repyngdon was born in Wales in around 1345. He became an Augustinian canon, first at Repton Abbey, then at Leicester Abbey where he was ordained to the priesthood ...

served as Abbot of Leicester Abbey from 1393 to 1405, when he resigned to become "Chaplain and Confessor" to King Henry IV, and subsequently served as

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and N ...

and as a

. Repyngdon's successor, Richard of Rothely, was granted a Royal Licence permitting him to ask the Pope for to remove the abbey from the Bishop of Lincoln's jurisdiction, as the abbot feared Repyngdon would interfere with his former abbey, which lay within that Diocese. It is unclear if the Pope ever agreed to this petition, as Repyngdon also petitioned the Pope; receiving a declaration confirming that Leicester Abbey was "fully subject to him and his successors". Under the tenure of Abbot William Sadyngton (1420—42) the abbey's fortunes fell further. A visit by William Alnwick, Bishop of Lincoln, in 1440, revealed the number of canons had fallen from 30 to 40 to just 14 and that the number of boys in the

almonry An almonry (Lat. ''eleemosynarium'', Fr. ''aumônerie'', Ger. ''Almosenhaus'') is the place or chamber where alms were distributed to the poor in churches or other ecclesiastical buildings. The person designated to oversee the distribution was call ...

had fallen from 25 to 6. Sadyngton was accused of various unsavory practices: of accepting unsuitable boys into the almonry in return for money, of "pocketing various minor revenues", of "keeping the offices of treasurer and cellarer in his own hands" and of not disclosing the abbey's accounts to his canons. Sadyngton was also known to keep servants and was even accused of practising magic, including divination. Despite Abbot Sadyngton's apparent financial corruption, the abbey appeared to be financially stable: the abbey's monastic buildings had recently been extensively rebuilt and the abbey had a substantial annual income of £1180. Perhaps because of the large income the Abbot was sustaining, Bishop Alnwick appears to have not taken strong measures against the Abbot's indiscretions. He ordered that the number of canons should be increased to 30 and the number of boys in the almonry increased to 16. The Bishop also ordered proper accounts to be kept and forbade the abbot from granting favours without the permission of both the Bishop and the Canons. Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

16th century

In 1518 William Atwater, Bishop of Lincoln, visited to inspect the abbey. The Abbot, Richard Pescall, was, like Sadyngton, accused of financial impropriety, but also was thought to be too old to perform his duties. Pescall's extravagances included an "excessive number of hounds", which were known to roam freely "fouling church, chapter house and cloister"; whilst the Bishop complained the boys in the almonry were being improperly educated. A follow-up visit, in 1521, by Bishop Atwater's successor,

John Longland John Longland (1473 – 7 May 1547) was the English Dean of Salisbury from 1514 to 1521 and Bishop of Lincoln from 1521 to his death in 1547. Career He was made a Demy at Magdalen College, Oxford in 1491 and became a Fellow. He was King Henry ...

, showed that things had not improved. Abbot Pescall rarely attended church services and, when he did, he would often bring his jester who "disturbed the services with his buffoonery". The Abbot's bad example had affected the canon's behaviour, who ate and drank at improper times, failed to attend services (an average of 11 of the 25 canons attended) and roamed freely outside the abbey: visiting the town's alehouses and frequently going hunting. Two canons were also accused of "incontinence". This visit revealed the abbey was severely in debt, leading the Bishop to appoint two administrators to oversee the abbey's finances. The Chancellor of Lincoln Diocese visited the abbey in 1528 and found things had not improved. The abbot was still not attending services and was eating at unusual times and in unusual places, away from the other canons. The Chancellor also complained about the Abbot's "excessive number" of servants. The 24 canons were also still frequently leaving the abbey without proper reason. Bishop Longland saw no alternative but to remove Abbot Pescall, but the task was not simple as Pescall tried to secure his position by sending gifts and bribes to Thomas Cromwell, leading Bishop Longland to resort to "harassing" the Abbot by constantly interfering with affairs at the abbey. Abbot Pescall finally resigned 5 years later (10 years after his "failures" were first noticed) and was granted a pension of £100 a year. Pescall's retirement was far from quiet, however. Pescall frequently wrote to Thomas Cromwell complaining about affairs at the abbey, even bemoaning the fact that £13 of his undeservedly generous pension of £100 a year was being taken in tax, and asking that the tax be paid by the abbey. Wolsey at Leicester Abbey

It was during Abbot Pescall's tenure, in 1530, that

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...

visited the abbey. Wolsey was an influential minister in the government of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagr ...

. He fell from favour after failing to secure papal permission for Henry to divorce his wife

Katherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

, and on 4 November 1530 was arrested for treason. While en route from Yorkshire to London, where Wolsey would be held prisoner, he fell ill. The journey took Wolsey through Leicester, and he arrived at the abbey on 26 November, declaring: ''"Father abbott, I ame come hether to leave my bones among you".'' Wolsey died on 30 November and the public were allowed to view his remains before he was interred within the abbey's church.Sybil M. Jack
"Thomas Wolsey (1470/71–1530)"
in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2004), By the time Pescall was removed, the abbey's financial position was poor: Despite being the richest monastery in Leicestershire (with an income of £951 in 1534), it owed a total of £1,000 to debtors. John Bourchier, who would be the last abbot of the house, took control in 1534 and by 1538 had reduced the debt to £411. Abbots were usually elected from among the canons of the abbey: Bourchier represented a departure from tradition. BourchierJohn Bourchier: Born around 1493 in

Oakington Oakington is a small rural Anglo-Saxon village north-west of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in England, and belongs to the administrative district of South Cambridgeshire. Since 1985 the village has formed part of the parish of Oakington and Westw ...

, near

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge becam ...

, and educated as a King's Scholar at Eton and at Kings College and St John's College, Cambridge. most probably gained the position of abbot on the instigation of the influential Robert Fuller, Abbot of Waltham Abbey, and on the promise of a bribe for Henry VIII's chief adviser, Thomas Cromwell. Exact details are unknown, but letters seem to suggest Cromwell was promised his nephew Richard Williams (Cromwell) would be given £100 and the lease of the abbey's grange at Ingarsby; the promise was only honoured in April 1536, as Bourchier faced opposition from the canons of the abbey. Historians have suggested that in choices such as Bourchier, Cromwell may have been selecting abbots he felt would be more "pliable" his future changes to the church (i.e. the future Dissolution of the Monasteries, of which Cromwell was the architect). Abbeyruins Leicester

In 1527

asked Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage to

, but the pope refused. This started a series of events known as English Reformation in which Henry broke away from the authority of the pope. In lieu of the pope, Henry assumed authority over the church: all priests and religious figures, including monks, were required to swear support to the royal supremacy over the church. Abbot Bourchier and the 25 canons at Leicester Abbey acknowledged the king's royal supremacy on 11 August 1534, thereby saving the abbey from immediate dissolution. Thomas Cromwell, Henry's Chief Minister, had long since had his eyes on the wealth of English monasteries; at the time they owned approximately a quarter of all the realm's landed wealth. Starting in 1534, Cromwell had each of the monasteries inspected, with the establishment's wealth and endowments recorded, along with frequent reports of impropriety, vice and excess. These reports were compiled into volumes known as 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 ...

''. Leicester abbey was inspected by

Richard Layton Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, in 1535, who complimented Abbot Bourchier as an honest man, but who tried to bring charges of "adultery and unnatural vice" against the abbey's canons. Abbot Bourchier sought to gain Thomas Cromwell's favour to protect his canons and abbey; in 1536 sending him £100 and gifts of sheep and oxen. This was ultimately fruitless: Cromwell had convinced King Henry of the immoral behaviour within England's monasteries and thus between 1536 and 1541 they were all suppressed and dissolved: their land, property and wealth transferred to the king. The abbot's attempts at bribery could not save Leicester Abbey, and it was finally surrendered to the crown for dissolution in 1538.

After Dissolution

After Dissolution in 1538, the abbey buildings were demolished within a few years; although the main gatehouse, boundary walls and farm buildings were left standing."Leicester Abbey Training Excavation"
, ''University of Leicester Archaeological Services'', ccessed 18 May 2013/nowiki> The last abbot, John Bourchier, was granted the substantial pension of £200 a year, when the abbey was dissolved: the largest in the Diocese of Lincoln. Payments did not continue for very long, however, as in 1552, in the reign of Henry VIII's son King Edward VI, the national finance's were so poor that all pensions over £10 were suspended, with Bourchier recorded as having not received payments for over six months. Abbot Penny's Wall interior 2

Following the Dissolution, during a period in which religion was rapidly changing in England, Bourchier managed to adapt his beliefs to stay within the hierarchy in the church: twice becoming a candidate for a bishopric, before servings as rector of Church Langton, from 1554. This benefice may have represented his true religious sympathies as the rectory was under the patronage of "zealous Catholic" Edward Griffin of Dingley Hall; although it also had financial incentive with a "wage" (income) of £60 a year: the highest in Leicestershire. Henry VIII had personally considered Bourchier for the position of Bishop of the King's proposed new bishopric of Shrewsbury but the king then decided against the bishopric's creation. In 1554 Bourchier was in touching distance of becoming a Bishop when he was suggested by Edward Griffin as a candidate for the Bishopric of Gloucester. Bourchier was even granted the income of the Bishopric in preparation for being formally appointed by Queen Mary. Mary, however, died, and Bourchier was never appointed. Mary was Catholic, where as her sister and successor, Queen Elizabeth was Protestant; Elizabeth therefore refused to appoint Mary's favoured candidates for the 5 vacant bishoprics Mary had left. Bourchier may have gotten off lightly as two other candidates were arrested.Terence Y. Cocks
"The Last Abbot of Leicester"
in ''Transactions of the Leicestershire architectural and archaeological society: Volume 58'', (1982), pp. 6–19. Bourchier felt unable to accept Queen Elizabeth's Acts of Settlement and Uniformity, so whilst still serving as rector of

Church Langton Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

, he decided to lay low: A list, drawn up around 1569, of pensioners of the Diocese of Lincoln lists him as "not known whether he lives or not". This continued until 1570, when his disobedience was noticed and he was deprived of the rectory. In June 1571 Bourchier sold the rights to his £200 a year pension to Sir Thomas Smyth for the sum of £900, and quietly fled abroad, probably to France or Flanders. A wealthy, but very old man, wanted by the state as a "fugitive over the sea, contrary to statute", Bourchier lived quietly abroad for his remaining years. His date and place of death is unknown, but he is thought to have lived until at least 1577, when he would have been around 84 years old. Cavendish House 2

Cavendish House

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII began to lease out his newly acquired land and property to extract an income from them. Leicester Abbey was granted in 1539, on a 21-year lease, to Dr. Francis Cave, one of the commissioners who had negotiated the surrender of the abbey."The Story of Leicester Abbey: After the Dissolution"
, ''Leicester City Council'', ccessed 8 June 2013/nowiki> During this period the abbey was rapidly demolished with the stone sold to meet the high demand within the town of Leicester.C.H. Compton
"The Abbey of St. Mary de Pratis, Leicester"
in ''Transactions of the Leicestershire architectural and archaeological society: Volume 9, Part 3'', (1902), pp. 197–204. War with France and Scotland led Henry VIII to sell of some of the religious establishments and land to raise finances quickly. Later, they were granted or bestowed to leading families who were friends or supporters of the King. These former religious establishments were frequently developed into country homes by their new aristocratic owners. Notable examples of this include

Calke Abbey Calke Abbey is a Grade I listed country house near Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, in the care of the charitable National Trust. The site was an Augustinian priory from the 12th century until its dissolution by Henry VIII. The present building ...

, Longleat House,

Syon House Syon House is the west London residence of the Duke of Northumberland. A Grade I listed building, it lies within the 200-acre (80 hectare) Syon Park, in the London Borough of Hounslow. The family's traditional central London residence h ...

Welbeck Abbey Welbeck Abbey in the Dukeries in North Nottinghamshire was the site of a monastery belonging to the Premonstratensian order in England and after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, a country house residence of the Dukes of Portland. It is o ...

. and Woburn Abbey."Woburn Abbey"
''English Heritage: PastScape'', ccessed 24 June 2013/nowiki> Leicester Abbey followed a similar format: Dr. Cave's tenancy was cut short in 1551, when King Edward VI granted the abbey to William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, brother of the former Queen

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr (sometimes alternatively spelled Katherine, Katheryn, Kateryn, or Katharine; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until ...

. Much of the abbey stone was then used to create a new mansion on the site, for the Marquess. The Marquess only held the abbey for two years: after supporting Lady Jane Grey's claim to the throne, in 1553, on the accession of Bloody Mary, he was arrested and his lands were confiscated. Mary granted the abbey and mansion to her catholic supporter

Edward Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings of Loughborough Edward Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings of Loughborough, KG PC (c. 1521 in Loughborough, Leicestershire – 1572) was an English peer, the fourth son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon. He married Joane Harrington daughter of John Harring ...

, however he too fell from favour when Mary's sister Elizabeth I came to the throne. The abbey was sold to Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, in 1572, and then to his brother, Sir Edward Hastings, in 1590. It was Sir Edward who is through to have been the first of these owners to have actually lived at the abbey permanently: living in the gatehouse whilst the site was developed. Sir Edward's son Henry (who inherited the abbey in 1603) sold it to in 1613 to William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire; the mansion that had been built on the site thus became known as Cavendish House. The 1st Earl intended the abbey to be his main residence and so started to massively extend the mansion, with a new range added to the south and a large wing to the north. The family was massively wealthy with several other estates and stately homes; following the death of the 1st Earl, the family decided to use

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the Cavendish family since 1549. It stands on the east bank of the ...

as their principle residence: Cavendish House thus was only used as a stopping point on the way to London. The house gained full-time residency again in 1638, however, when it was used as a

Dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family h ...

by Christiana Cavendish (née Bruce), widow of the 2nd Earl of Devonshire. In 1645, during the English Civil War, the house was used by King Charles I and the Royalist forces after they had besieged and captured Leicester. The house was looted and burned when the Royalists left and marched south towards Oxford, meeting parliamentary forces at the

Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, destroyed the main Ro ...

. Cavendish House was never repaired. Cavendish House Leicester

The Cavendish family sold the abbey in 1733, at which point, with Cavendish House in ruins, the precinct was being used as agricultural land. By the 19th century the abbey had come into the possession of the

Earls of Dysart Earl of Dysart (pronounced ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 and has been held continuously since then by descendants of the 1st Earl, William Murray. Creation The title was created in 1643 for William Murray, ...

. Lionel Tollemache, 8th Earl of Dysart, sold the land east of the

River Soar The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands and is the principal river of Leicestershire. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north through Leic ...

(known as Abbey Meadows) in 1876; this was to allow Leicester Town Council to undertake flood prevention work. The part of this land between the river and the Grand Union Canal was developed by the Town Council into a public space known as Abbey Park, which was opened by King Edward VII (then Prince of Wales) in 1882."The Story of Leicester Abbey: Development of Abbey Park"
, ''Leicester City Council'', ccessed 8 June 2013/nowiki> The remaining of the abbey precinct, which included the abbey's site and Cavendish House, were donated by William Tollemache, 9th Earl of Dysart, to Leicester Council in 1925. Part of Cavendish House had to be demolished as it was found to be unsafe, however, nearly six-and-a-half years later the area was opened to the public as part of Abbey Park."Abbey Park History"
''Leicester City Council'', ccessed 16 May 2013/nowiki>

Burials

Petronilla de Grandmesnil, Countess of Leicester Petronilla de Grandmesnil, Countess of Leicester ( unknown– 1212) was the wife of Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of Leicester, known as "Blanchmains" (d. 1190). After a long widowhood, she was buried in Leicester Abbey after her death on 1 April ...

* Stephen de Segrave *Sir Gilbert de Segrave, son of Stephen de Segrave *

Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester (died circa 21 October 1204) ( Latinized to ''de Bellomonte'' ("from the beautiful mountain")) was an English nobleman, the last of the Beaumont earls of Leicester. He is sometimes known as Robert FitzP ...

Archaeological excavations

The first excavations of the abbey took place in the 17th century, when the Dowager Countess, Christiana Cavendish, instructed her gardener to search for the body of

Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figure ...

and relics from the abbey; although little was found."The Story of Leicester Abbey: Archaeological Excavations"
, ''Leicester City Council'', ccessed 8 June 2013/nowiki> With no above ground remains, the exact location of the abbey had been lost, and so in the 1840s, the editor of the ''Leicester Chronicle'', James Thompson, tried, and failed, to attempt to locate the abbey church. In the 1850s the Leicester Architectural and Archaeological Society would also carry out excavations, but also failed to locate the abbey. Prior to the 9th Earl of Dysart's donation of the abbey precinct, another attempt was undertaken, but again, no trace of the abbey was found. In the interim period between the donation of the land in 1925 and opening of the abbey park, the abbey was the subject of numerous archaeological excavations, which continued into the following decade.Richard Buckley & Steve Jones
"Fire, Fast and Feast: The Kitchen of Leicester Abbey"
''University of Leicester'', ccessed 16 May 2013/nowiki> By 1930 the abbey church, and many of its associated buildings had been finally located, and it was decided (by the architect in charge of designing the new public park, William Bedingfield) that the site of the abbey should be laid out with low stone walls. As the abbey's stone was "robbed", all that remained of many of the buildings were trenches: the remains of the former foundations. These trenches were "not always recognised" by the first excavators, which meant the layout of areas such as the chapter house, dormitory and kitchens was not clear. In 2002 the University of Leicester Archaeological Services decided to excavate the presumed location of the abbey's kitchens, to clarify the layout of that area of the abbey. These first excavations located both the north and south walls and a 15th–16th-century brick oven, confirming that it was indeed the kitchens. The area excavated was enlarged in 2003, with the south-west corner of the building and a second oven uncovered: this corner had not been entirely robbed of stone, with two courses of sandstone remaining. The second oven was found to contain charcoal, fragments of wheat and barley, fish-bones and hazelnuts. A drain identified in the 1930s excavation was also located, and found to contain small bones, fish-scales, and the bones of rats who had formerly lived in the drain. This excavation confirmed the kitchen was a square building measuring square, with walls of between and thick. The ovens found in the corners of the room suggest the room was an octagonal shape internally: similar to the kitchens found at

Glastonbury Abbey Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. Its ruins, a grade I listed building and scheduled ancient monument, are open as a visitor attraction. The abbey was founded in the 8th century and enlarged in the 10th. It w ...

. From 2000 until 2008, the abbey ruins were used for training excavations for archaeology students at the School of Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Leicester.

Layout

The archaeological excavations undertaken have allowed historians to calculate the layout and plan of the abbey: which were then plotted out with low stone walls, during the 1920s and 1930s. The abbey church was built on an artificially raised piece of land and is thought to have been richly decorated. It featured a tower at the west end, under which was the main entrance to the church; two large transepts, which extended beyond the church's aisles; and large secondary side chapels, situated either beside 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 ...

, at the east-end of the church."The Story of Leicester Abbey: The Abbey Buildings and Grounds"
, ''Leicester City Council'', ccessed 8 June 2013/ref> 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 ...

lay to the south of the abbey church and was flanked by three ranges of building. The west range contained the "lavatorium", a room used for washing; a vaulted undercroft, used for storage; and, on the first floor, the abbey's best residential accommodation, probably including that used by the Abbot. The East range contained the abbey's chapterhouse; a small room which is presumed to be either a library or a sacristry; a second larger undercroft, again used for storage; a corridor, known as the Slype, leading to the graveyard; and on the first floor were the canon's dormitory and reredorter (communal latrine). The south range contained a further undercroft; a warming house, containing a large fire for the residents to warm themselves by; and to the first floor the refectory, where the brethren ate. To the south of the cloisters lay another three ranges of buildings which were formed around cobbled courtyard. The western range of this courtyard contained the abbey's kitchens. South-east of this courtyard was a large, separate, rectangular building with a small projection facing north: this building is believed to have been the "guest hall", with the projection explained as an

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found projecting from an upper fl ...

. The abbey sat within a large walled precinct. The original precinct walls were constructed of sandstone in the 13th century, and featured both projecting corner towers, and smaller interval towers along its length. Much of this original wall was demolished when the enclosure was enlarged to the south around the turn of the 16th century. This work was thought to have been done under Abbot

John Penny John Penny (died 1520) was an English priest, successively Bishop of Bangor, 1504–1508, and Bishop of Carlisle, 1508–1520. He was also Prior to Bradley Priory 1503–1508. His education is uncertain, though he may have been educ ...

and what remains of the wall is now known as "Abbot Penny's Wall". This new wall was built using red brick, rather than stone, and is decorated by forty-four different patterns or symbols, which include heraldic devices, simple patterns, and religious symbols, all of which were built into the wall using black bricks. The abbey precinct was entered through an outer gateway on the north wall of the precinct. This led to a "halt-way" which was around long, and was flanked either side by stone walls; it was enclosed at the south end by the abbey's formal Gatehouse. The original gatehouse was a single storey construction of two lodges flanking the gate; but this was subsequently enlarged. The new gatehouse measured by : it had round turrets at each corner, thought to contain stairs, and had "a couple of storeys" built above the gate itself. The gatehouse was then flanked to the west by what is thought to be a small, second kitchen. On the eastern side of the precinct lay the abbey's infirmary: a hospital used to care for ill or elderly canons. The infirmary was made up of two large buildings: one a chapel; the other a hall (with latrines to one end) serving as a ward. The abbey precinct also contained an almonry, where poor boys received a free education in a type of boarding school; a water mill; a dovecote; and a fishpond. Leicester Abbey from west

Possessions

Controlled churches

Churches in Leicestershire

, Leicestershire; ''(until around 1218)'' *

Barkby Barkby is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated north-east of Leicester, and only a short way from Leicester's urban sprawl in Thurmaston and Syston. Nearby villages are Beeby and B ...

Barrow upon Soar Barrow upon Soar is a large village in northern Leicestershire, in the Soar Valley between Leicester and Loughborough, with a population at the 2011 census of 5,856. Geography Barrow lies on the east bank of the River Soar, where the ri ...

Billesdon Billesdon is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, with a population of 745 according to the 2001 census, increasing to 901 at the 2011 census. It is just off the A47, nine miles east of Leicester. ...

Bitteswell Bitteswell is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bitteswell with Bittesby, in the Harborough district of Leicestershire in England. It is situated just north of the town of Lutterworth, and in the 2001 census had ...

Blaby Blaby () is a large village in the Blaby District in central Leicestershire, England, some five miles south of Leicester city centre. At the time of the 2011 census, Blaby had a population of 6,194, a slight fall from 6,240 in 2001 figures). B ...

* Cosby ''(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation)'' * Croft * Dishley ''(transferred to

in 1458)'' * Eastwell * Enderby ''(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation)'' * "Erdesby" ''

Arnesby Arnesby is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. Arnesby contains approximately 142 households with a population of about 357 (2011 census). The village is situated south-east of Leicester, on the W ...

? ''(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation)'' *

Evington Evington is an Electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. It used to be a small village centred on Main Street and the Anglican church of St Denys but was close enough to Leicester to become one of the outer ...

Harston Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740. Village Sign The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee y ...

* Humberstone *

Hungarton Hungarton (or Hungerton) is a small village and civil parish in the Harborough district, in the county of Leicestershire, England, about north-east of Leicester and south-west of Melton Mowbray. The population of the civil parish was 269 at ...

* Husbands Bosworth *

Illston on the Hill Illston on the Hill is a small village and parish seven miles north of Market Harborough in the county of Leicestershire. The population of the civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local gove ...

''(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation)'' * Kirkby Mallory *

Knaptoft Knaptoft is a deserted medieval village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire and lies approximately south of the city of Leicester, England. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the se ...

''(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation)'' *

Knipton Knipton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Belvoir, in the Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It lies about from the town of Grantham, just off the A607, and from Melton Mowbray. It borders the ...

* Langton * Leicester, All Saints' Church * Leicester, St Leonard's Church * Leicester, St Martin's Church ''Since 1926,

Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 192 ...

'' * Leicester, St Mary De Castro Church * Leicester, St Michael's Church * Leicester, St Nicholas' Church * Leicester, St Peter's Church ''( Braunstone)'' * Narborough *

North Kilworth North Kilworth is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district, in south Leicestershire, England, north of South Kilworth. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 597. Largely bypassed by the A4304 road, the village con ...

* Queniborough *

Shepshed Shepshed (often known until 1888 as ''Sheepshed'', also ''Sheepshead'' – a name derived from the village being heavily involved in the wool industry) is a town in Leicestershire, England with a population of 13,505 at the 2011 census. It is ...

''(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation)'' *

Stoney Stanton Stoney Stanton is a large village in the Blaby district of Leicestershire, England with a population of over 3,454 in 2001, increasing to 3,793 at the 2011 census. It constitutes a civil parish. The village lies some five miles east of Hinck ...

''(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation)'' * Theddingworth * Thornton *

Thorpe Arnold Thorpe Arnold is a farming village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold in the district of Melton, which is approximately northeast of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England. In 1931 the pari ...

* Thurnby ''(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation)'' * Wanlip *

Westcotes Westcotes is an area to the west of the city of Leicester. It is also a ward of the City of Leicester whose population at the 2011 census was 11,644. It is also known as the West End of Leicester. The area is quite small in comparison with other ...

* Whetstone

Churches outside Leicestershire

Sharnbrook Sharnbrook is a village and civil parish located in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. The settlement was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a parish within the Hundred of Willey but was probably first developed in Saxon ...

, Bedfordshire *

West Ilsley West Ilsley is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The population of the village at the 2011 Census was 332. Location and amenities It is situated in West Berkshire, north of Newbury on the Berkshire Downs. The companion village ...

, Berkshire *

Adstock ''For the municipality in Quebec, see Adstock, Quebec'' Adstock is a village and civil parish about northwest of Winslow and southeast of Buckingham in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire. The 2001 Census recorded a parish popula ...

, Buckinghamshire *

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmlan ...

, Buckinghamshire ''(owned 1 half of the church)'' *

Youlgreave Youlgreave or Youlgrave is a village and civil parish in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, on the River Bradford south of Bakewell. The name possibly derives from "yellow grove", the ore mined locally being yellow in colour. The populat ...

, Derbyshire *

Cockerham Cockerham is a small village and civil parish within the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is south of Lancaster and north-northwest of Preston. Lying on the River Cocker, at the estuary of the River Lune, the parish ...

, Lancashire * Great Billing ''(Billing Magna)'', Northamptonshire *

Brackley Brackley is a market town and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England, bordering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, from Oxford and from Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the inters ...

, Northamptonshire *

Farthinghoe Farthinghoe is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. It is located on the A422 road about north-west of Brackley and south-east of Banbury. The origin of the village's name is uncertain. Possibly, 'hill-spur of the dw ...

, Northamptonshire * Eydon, Northamptonshire *

Syresham Syresham is a village and civil parish in the English district of West Northamptonshire. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 855. It is near Brackley town and close to Silverstone Circuit. It is surrounded by villages and hamlets ...

, Northamptonshire * Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire ''(church granted to the abbey in 1485, but not listed amongst its possessions in 1535)'' *

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore Clifton-upon-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Rugby borough of Warwickshire in England on the north-eastern outskirts of Rugby, approximately from Rugby town centre. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 1, ...

, Warwickshire *

Curdworth Curdworth is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 1,115. Location Curdworth is 11 miles east of the centre of Birmingham. North War ...

, Warwickshire *

Bulkington Bulkington is a large village and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Bedworth, in the Nuneaton and Bedworth district of Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : In the 2011 census the ward ...

, Warwickshire

Monastic cells

Cockerham Priory Cockerham Priory was a priory served by Austin Canons in Cockerham, Lancashire, England. St Michael's Church was granted to Leicester Abbey c. 1153–54, with some land. *

, Leicestershire; (''gained from merger with The College of St Mary de Castro'') * Cawkesberia, Lancashire *

, Lancashire * Ingarsby, Leicestershire * Kirkby Mallory, Leicestershire *

Knighton, Leicester Knighton is a residential suburban area of Leicester, situated between Clarendon Park to the north, Stoneygate to the east, Oadby and Wigston to the south and the Saffron Lane estate to the west. Originally a separate village a couple of mi ...

; '(donated by the 2nd Earl of Leicester upon foundation, and held until around 1218)'' *

Lockington, Leicestershire Lockington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Lockington-Hemington, in the North West Leicestershire district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. The village is close to the Derbyshire border. Although there is ...

Lands held by the abbey at: *

Anstey, Leicestershire Anstey is a large village in Leicestershire, England, located north west of Leicester in the borough of Charnwood (borough), Charnwood. Its population was 6,528 at the 2011 census. This figure is expected to increase due to the building of a ...

(''donated by

'') *

, Leicestershire; ''(until around 1218)'' * Cossington, Leicestershire * Pinslade, Leicestershire *

Ratby Ratby is a commuter village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated to the west of Leicester, and just south of the M1 motorway. (Groby is on the northern side of the M1.) The populat ...

, Leicestershire *

Seagrave Seagrave is a village and civil parish in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire, England. It has a population of around 500, measured at the 2011 census as 546, It is north of Sileby and close to Thrussington and Barrow upon Soar. Hist ...

, Leicestershire *

Stoughton, Leicestershire Stoughton is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire. The population at the 2011 census was 351. Stoughton is east of Leicester, in countryside between two protrusions of the Leicester urban area (Thurnby to t ...

List of abbots

A list of

s of the abbey:

Notes

References

External links

Drawing showing how Leicester Abbey may have lookedThe lid of a 13th-century incense burner discovered at Leicester Abbey
{{Monasteries in Leicestershire , state=expanded Augustinian monasteries in England Buildings and structures in Leicester Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Grade I listed buildings in Leicestershire Grade I listed monasteries History of Leicester Monasteries in Leicestershire Scheduled monuments in Leicester Tourist attractions in Leicestershire 1143 establishments in England Monasteries dissolved under the English Reformation