St Mary's Abbey, also known as Malling Abbey, is an abbey of
Anglican Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
nuns located in
West Malling
West Malling ( , historically Town Malling) is a market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of 2,590.
Landmarks
West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, a Nor ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, England. It was founded around 1090 by Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester.
History
The manor of West Malling was given by
King Edmund I to
Burgric (or Burhic),
Bishop of Rochester, in 946. The land was lost to the church in the Danish Wars but was restored to the diocese in 1076. About 1090, Bishop
Gundulf of Rochester __NOTOC__
Gundulf (or Gundulph) (c. 1024 - 1108) was a Norman monk who went to England following the Norman Conquest. He was appointed Bishop of Rochester and Prior of the Cathedral Priory there. He built several castles, including Rochester, Col ...
, a former monk of
Bec Abbey in Normandy, chose Malling as the site of his foundation for a community of Benedictine nuns, one of the first post-Conquest monasteries for women. Just before his death in 1108, Gundulf appointed the French nun Avicia as the first abbess.
Gundulf had endowed the community with the manor of Malling and
Archbishop Anselm
Anselm of Canterbury, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also called ( it, Anselmo d'Aosta, link=no) after his birthplace and (french: Anselme du Bec, link=no) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of th ...
had given the manor of East Malling. Royal grants gave the nuns the rights to weekly markets and annual fairs as well as wood-cutting and pasturage rights in nearby royal forests. Bequests and gifts also added to the community's income.
As the abbey prospered, West Malling became a flourishing market town. In the four-and-a-half centuries of Benedictine life at the abbey, major events included a fire in 1190 which destroyed much of the abbey and town, the Black Death in 1349 which reduced the community to four nuns and four novices, and the surrender of Malling to the Crown on 28 October 1538 during the
Dissolution of the Monasteries.
The last elected abbess, Elizabeth Rede, had been deposed when she defied both
Henry VIII and
Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry ...
over the appointment of a high steward for the abbey. Margaret Vernon, who had been tutor to Cranmer's son, and had already surrendered
Little Marlow Priory
Little Marlow Priory was a priory in Buckinghamshire, 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 ...
, was appointed Abbess of Malling in her place. On 28 October 1538, two agents of the Crown seized the abbey seal and signed the deed of surrender, but apparently were unable to persuade a single nun to sign.
Immediately before the Dissolution, Malling Abbey had an annual income of £245, placing it among the wealthiest third of women's communities in England. With its outlying lands, its Norman church, Early English cloister, early 15th-century guest house and two early 16th-century gatehouses, it was a rich prize for the Crown. During the 350 years that followed, the abbey was owned by many families, most being absentee owners.
The buildings fell into ruin until the mid-1700s when Frazer Honeywood, a London banker, built a neo-gothic mansion and repaired the remaining medieval fabric. In 1892, the property was purchased by Charlotte Boyd whose life's work it was to create a trust to restore church property to its original use. She invited a small Anglican Benedictine community, the Community of Saints Mary and Scholastica, to settle at the abbey.
This community had been founded by Fr Ignatius of
Llanthony Abbey (
Joseph Leycester Lyne
Joseph Leycester Lyne, known by his religious name as Father Ignatius of Jesus
( – ), was an Anglican Benedictine monk. He commenced a movement to reintroduce monasticism into the Church of England.
Early life
Lyne was born in Trinity ...
) but had become independent of his rule in 1879, with Mother Hilda Stewart OSB as their abbess – the first Anglican Benedictine abbess since the
English Reformation. This community left Malling Abbey in 1911, joined the Roman Catholic Church in 1913 and now resides at
Curzon Park Abbey
Curzon Park Abbey is one of three monasteries of nuns in the English Benedictine Congregation.
History
It began as an Anglican Benedictine convent at Feltham, Middlesex, founded by Father Ignatius on 24 June 1868. Feltham Priory, or Feltham Nu ...
, Chester.
Present
The Anglican Benedictine community of nuns that has made its home at Malling Abbey since 1916 was founded in 1891 as an active parish sisterhood. The sisters worked among the poor in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, north London, until they became attracted to the Benedictine contemplative life through the preaching of Abbot
Aelred Carlyle
Aelred Carlyle OSB (7 February 1874 - 14 October 1955) founded, around 1895, the first regularised Anglican Benedictine community of monks.
Early life and monastic profession
Born Benjamin Fearnley Carlyle, he was educated at Blundell's S ...
. In 1906, they moved to a farmhouse in
Baltonsborough
Baltonsborough is a village and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 864. As well as Baltonsborough village, the parish contains the hamlets of Ham Street, Catsham ...
, a remote village in Somerset, to begin their enclosed monastic life under Benedictine vows. They were originally called the "Community of the Holy Comforter". In 1916, the trustees of Malling Abbey invited them to move to the more spacious and historic abbey and to continue its tradition of Benedictine prayer, worship, work, study and hospitality.
St Augustine's College of Theology
St Augustine's College of Theology is a non-residential Anglican theological college in the Southeast of England. Founded in 1994 as the South East Institute for Theological Education (SEITE), the college trains men and women for ordained and lay ...
, a non-residential theological college, has been located at St. Benedict's Centre at the Abbey since 2016.
Buildings
Little of the original building is now standing; the tower is
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
up to the first two storeys and
Early English above. Attached to the tower are some remnants of the church, one of the transepts and a wall of the nave; the refectory is also standing. The cloisters were re-erected in the 14th century. There is also a Grade II* 1966 abbey church which is used by the community built by architects
Maguire & Murray.
Sources
* Malling Abbey Archives: for a collation of extant information and publications of the Vita Gundulfi and general histories.
* The National Archives: for Royal Grants and the 1538 Deed of Surrender.
* Kent Archives Office: for information about the Abbey's relationship to the Bishops and Diocese of Rochester, and local history.
See also
*
List of monastic houses in Kent
*
List of monastic houses in England
Monastic houses in England include abbeys, priories and friaries, among other monastic religious houses.
The sites are listed by modern ( post-1974) county.
Overview
The list is presented in alphabetical order ceremonial county. Foundations ...
References
External links
Official website of Malling Abbey*Anglican sites featuring Malling Abbey
Anglican Communities Yearbook
{{Coord , 51, 17, 36, N, 0, 24, 44, E, display=title
Anglican orders and communities
Buildings and structures in Kent
Christian monasteries established in the 11th century
Religious organizations established in 1893
Anglican women's religious houses
Benedictine nunneries in England
1538 disestablishments in England
Anglican monasteries in the United Kingdom